72 COMATULA. 



apex and downwards towards the base of the arms. These specimens 

 which have made a further progress are plentiful, and have all the 

 pinnas complete down to the bifurcation, mth a few additional claspers 

 added at the back. At figure 19, a middle-sized Comatula decanemos 

 is given, as they appear in June when pregnant with ova ; and at 

 fig. 26 is a portion of an arm magnified, with the ova beginning to 

 escape from the conceptacula, which they do successively from the 

 base upwards. Mr. Millar, in his labored but excellent work on the 

 Crinoidese, has figured our Comatula in this stage as a new species, 

 under the title of C. Jimbriata ; indeed, no naturalist who had not 

 investigated their habitudes in their own element, and at all seasons, 

 could possibly arrive at the knowledge of this very remarkable and 

 curious piece of economy, which may be considered as unique. 

 These animals are further distinguished by the peculiarity of having 

 two openings to the intestinal canal, by which they also differ from 

 the rest of the Asterice. 



"The great abundance of Comatula, in the places they inhabit, is 

 not to be wondered at when we are aware how exceedingly prolific 

 they are ; thus each arm may be estimated to bear thirty fruitful 

 conceptacles, each producing about a hundred ova, and as there are 

 ten such, this gives 30,000 ! as the amount of ova produced by a 

 single individual." 



