ANIMAL CHLOROPHYLJ- B47 



(6) A c t i ni II b e r m u d e n s i s . 



Actinia ber mud en si's is a deep red anemone, wliich 

 is fomid on the rocks just about the level of low tide. At high 

 tide, when the water splashes over them, their tentacles open 

 up for feeding ; when out of contact with the water thty draw 

 their tentacles into the interior of the column and have the 

 appearance of a deep-red gelatinous mass hanging limply from 

 the rocks. The specimens used in the present study were 

 obtained from the caves on the north side of Long Island 

 (Bermuda) where they occur in considerable numbers. This 

 species is distinguished by a very remarkable power of resisting 

 unfavourable surroundings ; as an example, it will remain 

 alive sealed in a 100 cc. of sea-water for from six to seven days 

 (Fulton, 1921 a). 



A . b e r m u d e n s i s is coloured uniformly by red pigment 

 granules, which are spread through the entire ectoderm. 

 The granules are not of a definite size, however, and the out- 

 lines of the cells which contain them are never clear in the 

 living tissue and can be discerned only with great difficulty in 

 tissue which has been fixed. In shade, the pigment is precisely 

 the same as the red pigment patches of Condylactis. Con- 

 sequently a series of experiments was performed with a view 

 to determining whether or not the two pigments are identical. 

 Small pieces of tissue from each species were teased out and 

 placed side by side upon a slide. Their action in the presence 

 of an acid was first tested. In both cases when either lO/N 

 hydrochloric acid or lO/N valeric acid ^ were added a decided 

 increase in the depth of colour took place. When treated with 

 alkalis (NH^OH and NaOH, lO/N and 50/N) no change 

 could be observed. Neither of the pigments could be dissolved 

 with any of the following solvents : ether, chloroform, methyl, 

 ethyl or amyl alcohol, petroleum ether, xylol, or pyridine. 

 In acetone, however, the pigment of A. bermudensis 



^ It has been shown by Crozier (1915, 1916 «, and 1916 c) that, of 

 twenty-two of the more common acids, valeric is the most penetrating to 

 tissues. 



