No: 1: ACTINIARIA OF THE BAHAMAS. 51 
10. Phymanthus crucifer (Les.), Andres. (Pl. IL, Fig. 1; 
Pl. IV., Figs. 6-11.) 
Synon. — Actinia crucifera— Lesueur, 1817. 
Cereus crucifer (Actinia) — Duchassaing and Michelotti, 1866. 
Phymanthus cruciferus — Andres, 1883. 
Several specimens of this form were obtained, usually fastened 
to blocks of coral rock in shallow water. 
The column (PI. II., Fig. 1) is of a cream-white ground color, 
varying toward pinkish at the base, and extending up from the 
base are irregular streaks of crimson. The verruce are of a 
rich crimson and are very evident upon the whitish ground. 
The tentacles are brown, marked with transverse bars of white 
somewhat elevated above the general surface. The disc is 
brown, in some specimens covered with irregular blotches of 
white, and in all cases showed a very marked greenish iri- 
descence when viewed with the light falling on it obliquely. 
The base is firmly adherent, and only slightly larger than the 
column. This varies considerably in length. When fully con- 
tracted, the animal is only a couple of centimetres high and 
conical in shape, the disc being widely expanded, while the col- 
umn is much contracted towards the base. When expanded, it 
measures 8.3 cm. in height and 4.75 cm. in diameter. The 
verrucze are limited to the upper portion of the column, and are 
arranged in vertical rows. A transverse section through one of 
these structures and the adjacent column wall (Pl. IV., Fig. 6) 
shows a marked difference in the histological structure of the 
two parts. In the general ectoderm of the column (ec) are 
many club-shaped glandular cells measuring 6.4 ~ in diameter, 
whose contents are exceedingly granular, and also numerous 
cnidoblasts containing smooth capsules measuring 16.8 in 
length and 2.4m in diameter. The ectoderm of the veruccz 
(mec), on the other hand, is composed of cells which took the 
staining (Borax Carmine) much more deeply, and gave the 
appearance of very fine fibrillation to the layer. Towards the 
mesogloea, but separated from it by a short interval, are numer- 
ous bodies of a somewhat oval shape (fy) which take the stain- 
ing very deeply. Sections through the verrucae were macerated 
for some time in 0.2 per cent acetic acid. The general ecto- 
derm of the column separated very readily from the mesoglcea, 
