CORALS. 135 



their inward margin. Thatching the animal now with a 

 lens, I saw the small mouth slowly open, and move over to 

 that side, the lips gaping unsymmetricallj ; wliile, at the 

 same time, by a movement as imperceptible as that of the 

 hour-hand of a watch, the tiny prey was carried along be- 

 tween the plates towards the corner of the mouth ; the 

 latter, however, moved most, and at length reached the 

 edges of the plates, and gradually took in and closed upon 

 the insect ; after which it slowly returned to its usual place 

 in the centre of the disc." 



The Madrepores, however, are not undiscriminating in 

 their greediness; for, after swallowing a morsel and tasting it, 

 they will frequently reject it, if it does not meet their approval. 



They exhibit under certain circumstances a remarkable 

 power of reproducing parts. Thus new plates will replace 

 those accidentally broken, and a specimen, the base of which 

 had been partly detached from the rock on which it grew, 

 formed a new mouth at the exposed part of the base with 

 tentacula and all complete ; so that the creature could re- 

 ceive food at both ends, and double all the functions of 

 life ; the new mouth stretching and gaping, and enclo- 

 sing its prey, with as much regularity as the old one ! It 

 has also been observed that, when a specimen was divided 



