HALIOTIS. 209 



dark coral-red II. riifescens developes large^ oblique, swollen, 

 undulating waves, and in proportion as the back is worn 

 down, the colour becomes of a bright red. And very 

 curious is the fact, that, contrary to the analogy of plants 

 or birds, the beautifully painted Ilaliotis Kamtschatkiana, 

 although inhabiting the cold shores of Oonalaska, in the 

 jSTorthern Archipelago, has more the appearance of a tropical 

 than a northern species, and presents a brighter display of 

 colours than any of the genus. The entire surface consists 

 of wavy swellings, variegated in a somewhat tessellated style, 

 with dark coral-red and bright verdigris, over which the 

 spiral ridges pass here and there, articulated with red and 

 white. 



Burke has well remarked concerning the natives of 

 the deep, and his observation equally holds good with 

 regard to numerous mollusca, that although they never 

 quit their native haunts, they speak a language far more 

 emphatic than the thunders of the Yatican. They have 

 each their favourite resorts, either in marine valleys or on 

 open plains, beneath the shelter of sea-rocks, or in their 

 fissures ; and while many affix themselves by the aid of 

 ropes, whicli they form readily, others range at large 

 through extensive forests of sea-plants, than which none 



p 



