214 WRIGHT, ON THE GENUS ALCYONID. 
Db) 
form or membranous ccenosare. It is to this family that we 
must look for the forms to connect the Zoantharian Actinozoa 
with the Alcyonarian. Representative groups occur in both 
orders, Zoathus resembling Sarcodictyon, and Haimeia hav- 
ing somewhat the appearance of an Actinea; but still the 
one order contains polypes furnished with but eight tentacles, 
and having their somatic chambers some multiple of four ; 
the polypes of the other have tentacles more or less numerous, 
but never eight, and their somatic chambers a multiple of five 
or SIX. 
As a rule, all the Alcyonaria are aggregated forms, in this 
presenting a contrast to the Zoantharia, which contain whole 
families of solitary or isolated polypes. This was so universally 
the case, that even the discovery of a solitary Aleyonarian, 
called by Milne-Edwards Haimeia funebris, appears not to 
have convinced some of the writers on this subject that it was 
an exception to the rule; and Professor Greene disposes of 
the anomaly by saying that “‘it may yet prove to be an im- 
mature form.’* It is apparent, however, on the perusal of 
the ‘Manual of Celenterata,’ that (though a most valuable 
contribution to the advancement of science, when regarded 
from an educational point of view), its author had evidently 
no practical personal acquaintance with the Aleyonaria, and so 
this surmise must be taken quantum valeat. It is true that 
the description in the ‘ Histoire des Coralliaires’ is meagre in 
the extreme; but still there is no young state of any Alcyo- 
narian polype which at all resembles Haimeia. Feeling con- 
vinced of this, and looking for an opportunity of satisfying 
my mind on this point, it was with great pleasure that I re- 
cognised among a small gathering of old marine shells and 
Hydrozoa collected by Mr. William Harte, C.E., on the coast 
of Rathmullen, co. Dublin, and obligingly forwarded to me, 
an old valve of Cardium Norvegicum, which seemed to have 
on it a minute isolated Aleyonarian. This I at first thought 
to be the Haimeia funebris of Milne-Edwards; but, un- 
fortunately, the only details in its diagnosis being negative, 
and there being no drawing of the species, I could not 
satisfactorily determine this point. These little creatures 
lived in a large aquarium for a period of more than six 
months, during which time they were constantly under my 
observation. I fixed the shell quite close to the glass front 
of the tank, and was able to use in their examination a two- 
inch and inch-and-half lens, without disturbing them in the 
slightest ; they were by no meaus timid, but kept their row of 
* Loe. cit., p. 208. 
