CROAVX OF TENTACLES. loT 



than would at first be supposed. When well ex- 

 hibited the tentacles have a lustre between glass 

 and pearl; the body, in a favourable specimen, is 

 like a crystal cup, and the food, usually composed 

 of small red and orreen globes, glows like emeralds 

 and rubies, as if in the height of luxury the little 

 epicure had more than rivalled Cleopatra's draught, 

 and instead of dissolving, swallowed its jewelry whole. 

 So lustrous and varied in colour is the whole appear- 

 ance of the animal under these circumstances, that 

 it is frequently alluded to by one of our first artists, 

 to whom it was displayed. 



It is said by some authors that the tentacles are 

 used to seize prey. Tliis never occurred under my 

 observation, although their basal portions are often 

 approximated when an object is forced down to the 

 grinding apparatus below. The Stephanoceros is a 

 ravenous feeder, and swallows a variety of creatures. 

 Green vegetable monads, rich red and brown globes 

 of similar characters, and any animalcule that comes 

 in her way is acceptable; and even good-sized rotifers 

 do not escape her all-consuming maw. On one oc- 

 casion I noticed one of the loricated sort, more than 

 half as long as one of her tentacles, rapidly swal- 

 lowed, and passed downwards without attempting to 

 escape. Objects much too big for the gizzard are 

 often gulped down, and probably receive a pre- 

 liminary softening and maceration in the crop. Very 



