ON ELOACTIS MAZELI, 71 



E. mazeli, placing it in the Heteractinise with Eloactis globosa, Ropalactis, 

 Ragactis, Heteractis, and Stauractis. 



The base, he says, is " slightly adherent, often with a rounded vesicle 

 resembling a physa. Column long, cylindrical, sulcated by 20 invec- 

 tions of slight depth, often minutely rugose ; membranous, delicate, 

 scarcely adhesive. Disk small. Tentacles few, bicyclic 10 : 10 ; the 

 length of the tentacles of the external cycle twice that of the tentacles 

 of the internal cycle ; not entirely retractile, rounded at the tips ; out- 

 wardly deflexed. Peristome low, rounded, concave and grooved. Mouth 

 often prominent. No acontia. Gonidia somewhat open. Pharynx often 

 protruded and resembling numerous angular lobes. Size fairly large." . . . 



Delage and Herouard (6), in 1901, described Eloactis mazeli thus : 

 Eloactis is an Actinian which appears to vary in form because of its 

 marked contractility ; the base is only slightly adherent, if at all ; the 

 column is smooth or rugose according to the state of contraction ; it 

 is deeply grooved longitudinally ; the tentacles are few in number and 

 arranged in two cycles ; they terminate in a rounded swelling rich in 

 nematoblasts ; there is no sphincter. 



Delage and Herouard also place it in the Heteractidse (Andres) Heterac- 

 tinae, 11th family ; but they say that the family is probably highly 

 artificial, uniting provisionally several Actinians, concerning the anatomy 

 of which very little is known. They all have a smooth and striated but 

 not verrucose column, and tentacles arranged in various ways, but not 

 branched, and armed by swellings rich in nematoblasts. 



In 1892, Garstang described a living specimen of this interesting 

 anemone from the Devonshire coast {Trans. Devon. Assoc.). Since then 

 several specimens have been dredged from the neighbourhood of the 

 Eddystone and the South Devon coast (cf. p. 68). Almost all were 

 damaged, only the summit of the scapus and oral crown being present, 

 and even these were greatly distorted and contracted. Under these 

 conditions the tentacles were much shortened and strongly capitate ; 

 the coloration of these specimens was usually of little intensity. Some of 

 the specimens still showed signs of life. 



The present paper embodies the results of an investigation of speci- 

 mens dredged off South Devonshire, and of one perfect specimen from 

 the Mediterranean. It is sought — 



(1) To establish the identification of the British specimens as speci- 



mens of E. mazeli (Jourdan). 



(2) To demonstrate the affinities of Eloactis with certain other 

 Actinian types. 



