110 POPULAR HISTORY OF THE AQUARIUM. 



The Antheas in the tanks of the Zoological Society are 

 numerous and fine, particularly that variety of Anthea ce- 

 reas which has its tentacles very long and slender, of a 

 greenish tint, or bufp with pink or purple tips. These 

 tentacles do not seem to be arranged in symmetrical cir- 

 cles, but hang in a kind of irregular bunch, turned and 

 twisted in all directions. It is but rarely that they are 

 seen apparently motionless, and even then a near and steady 

 gaze will detect a slight action in the extreme tips of a few 

 of the most distant. In general there is a slow, graceful 

 twirling among all the anthers, excepting when some living 

 animal swims, or is pushed sufficiently near to attract atten- 

 tion. Then all the anthers twirl and coil in the most gro- 

 tesque combinations, and look like a twisted knot of small 

 snakes engaged in mortal combat. In the sea, attached to 

 the rocks, these Antheas would appear as fixtures, and on 

 being removed, the rock beneath them presents a hollow, 

 as though they had corroded or eaten away a space 

 corresponding to the size of their foot, like the limpets 

 and some Cirripedes. This would appear to indicate a very 

 sedentary, stationary life ; but the habits of the creature 

 when in captivity do not well correspond with this indica- 

 tion ; for, in the tank, he shifts his position rather fre- 



