a new British Sea-Anemone. 43 



flower just beneath the surface of the water. After referring 

 carefully to your ' History/ I found much resemblance in the 

 column to the Bunodes Ballii, but far more likeness in all other 

 respects to the Aiptasia. Its column has the crimson specks of 

 the former; but it has the size and flexibility of the latter. It 

 also resembles Aiptasia in the length of its tentacles, in the fact 

 that these often become extremely attenuated, in never quite 

 closing the disk, in its well-marked radii, and also in having the 

 margin crenate ; for all the finer specimens of Aiptasia which I 

 have observed have the margin crenate, not tentaculate."* " The 

 green of the tentacles is very much that of the common Utva ; 

 and, like that, it keeps its brilliant colour by lamp-light, when 

 Anthea loses much of its beauty." 



Mr. Alford immediately submitted his prize to me for exami- 

 nation. We had both thought that it might possibly prove to 

 be Actinia pustulata of Dana ; but a reference to the figures and 

 descriptions in that author's great work on ( Zoophytes ' at once 

 set this suspicion at restf. I have no hesitation in pronouncing 

 it hitherto unrecognized. With very obvious affinities to both 

 Aiptasia and Anthea, the character of the column well distin- 

 guishes it from either. The surface in Aiptasia is minutely cor- 

 rugated, in Anthea cancellated by the intersection of furrows; 

 in JEgeon there are frequently seen transverse wrinkles ; but 

 the warts are very manifest when, from a peculiar curve of the 

 body, these cross wrinkles are quite obliterated. It has much 

 more of an erect column than Anthea. After very many pro- 

 tracted watchings with a powerful lens, when the body was in 

 the most favourable conditions for observation, I could never 

 discern the slightest trace of cinclides ; nor has any amount of 

 provocation educed the emission of acontia. 



The cylinders of which the skin of the column is built up are 

 alternately larger and smaller : each of the former terminates in 

 a short process (the marginal tentacles), the latter are truncate. 

 This structure is seen to most advantage when the animal is 

 greatly distended. 



With respect to its habits in captivity, several circumstances 

 indicate that this charming' species is very eligible for the aqua- 



* I have considered these marginal processes as budding tentacles in 

 both species. Perhaps I am wrong, but it may suffice to say that in this 

 respect j&geon agrees with Aiptasia. They are the projecting summits of 

 the cylinders or flutes, and alternate with the outermost row of tentacles 

 proper. 



t A. pustulata, A. veratra, A. clematis, and A. florida of Dana appear 

 to constitute a genus of Actiniadce (as limited in Act. Brit. p. 1/1 ), agree- 

 ing with Actinia in the possession of marginal spherules, and differing 

 from it in having a warted column. M. Milne-Edwards (Corall. i. 274) 

 has given the name of Phymactis to this genus. 



