ASTERIDEA. 497 



interesting of the British star- fishes, and quite unique in 

 the gracefulness of its form and the exquisite beauty of its 

 colouring ; its life- history is not only remarkable, but it 

 possesses the additional interest of being the only living 

 representative in our seas of the group of organisms so 

 familiar to us in the fossil state as Encrinites. The deli- 

 cate structure of this species renders it impossible to ex- 

 hibit it satisfactorily in a dry or mounted state. The cen- 

 tral cup-shaped body gives off five rays, which divide so 

 near the base as to appear like ten. These are furnished 

 throughout their length with membranaceous pinnae. 

 Tuhularia Dumortierii, Plate IV. ^o. 92, appears rather 

 to belong to Comatula than Tubularia. A description of 

 this interesting polype will be found in Johnston's Brii. 

 Zoophytes, p. 53. 



Professor Wyville Thompson, in a paper on " ^Qd^- 

 JAlies" (see Intellectual Observer, August, 1864), says: — 

 " Comatula rosacea, the most common British species, is 

 found abundantly in Lamlash Bay, in Arran and Strang- 

 ford Loughs, in Dulkey Sound, in Kirkwall Bay, and 

 generally distributed in deep water all round the British 

 and Irish coasts. In general structure it resembles very 

 closely the head of Neocrinus decor us ; it has, however, no 

 stem, but in the position of the stem, and forming the 

 base of the cup, there is a hemispherical plate covered 

 with rows of cirrhi, exactly like the stem-cirrhi on the 

 stalked forms. When at rest it holds on to a stone or 

 weed, and spreads out its beautiful feathery crimson 

 arms, like the petals of a flower. At other times it swims 

 rapidly through the water by graceful impulses of its arms. 

 In spring, the hundreds of ovaries dotted over its pinnules 

 are turgid with eggs, and if at this time it is captured, and 

 placed with some sea-weed in a tank, bunches of bright 

 orange-coloured eggs hang in clusters around, giving the 

 delicate pinnatic arms the appearance of the fronds of 

 some wonderfully graceful fern in rich fructification. 



" The phases passed through by the young before they 

 come to resemble their parents in form and mode of life 

 are of extraordinary beauty, and most instructive in deter- 

 mining the true zoological relation which the free crinoids 

 bear to their fixed ancestors. At first a minute, almost 



K K 



