STYLIFER. 135 



shell : analogous to jDarasitic plants, which strike their roots 

 into the branches of trees or shrubs. 



This elegant Kttle parasite dwells within the fleshy sub- 

 stance of another animal. Mr. Cuming found him closely 

 burrowed in different parts of the rays pertaining to the 

 oral disc of Asterias Solaris, or Star-fish ; and with so much 

 adroitness had the creature made a comfortable dwelling 

 for himself, by the aid, most probably, of his rudimentary 

 foot, that he was almost hidden from sight. With that 

 instinct of self-preservation, imparted to all such parasites 

 which depend for existence upon their nidus, the Stj/Ufer, 

 like the Ichneumon among insects, carefully avoids the 

 vital parts ; hence Mr. Cuming never found his domicile 

 except in the rays, though occasionally penetrating at 

 their base. 



The shell of this strange creature is delicate and trans- 

 parent. When extracted, the older shells present the 

 appearance of a milky clouded glass bubble, but the younger 

 shells are beautifully transparent. And yet even in these 

 a variety of form exists. The S. astencola is round as a 

 pea ; the S. suhidatus is long and tuberculated : both forms, 

 however, exhibit the peculiar elevation of the apex, after the 

 manner of a rude mammillary style or column. 



