SEA-ANEMONES AND THEIR ALLIES. 67 



lamerrts,' 



or partitions, and of "digestive filamerrts," the tangled 

 threads mentioned above. 



As to the special characters of Actinia mesembryan- 

 themum, note the very smooth column, which is always 

 short relative to its diameter; the rather short tentacles, 

 which number about 200, and usually in the expanded 

 condition curl over the margin of the disc. The mouth is 

 elevated on a blunt cone, and the row of blue beads is very 

 characteristic. There is always a narrow blue edging round 

 the base, but in the other parts of the body the colours are 

 very variable. The three common tints are dark red, olive- 

 brown, and green, but in many cases the column is streaked 

 and spotted with lighter colours. This anemone lives well 

 in captivity, and then often gives rise to numbers of tiny 

 semi-transparent young, which make the daintiest of pets. 

 As sea-anemones are so familiar, it is, however, probably 

 unnecessary to expatiate on the habits at length. Gosse 

 names and describes a number of varieties of the smooth 

 anemone, but perhaps the most important point for us is to 

 emphasise the great adaptability of sea-anemones in general. 

 They are, of course, of relatively low organisation, and seem 

 capable of varying in harmony with their environment to a 

 very marked extent. The variability is often displayed by 

 modification in colour, which we have, perhaps, no reason to 

 regard as adaptive, but it is also often shown in other 

 characters. This is well seen in the next sea-anemone, 

 Tealia crassicornis, the thick-horned anemone, which in 

 abundance comes only next to Actinia. It inhabits both 

 deep and shallow water, and between tide-marks sometimes 

 lives in rock pools which never become dry, and at other 

 times under overhanging rocks among gravel and sand. In 

 these different situations it exhibits noticeable structural 

 differences, while of colour differences there is an almost 

 endless variety. 



What may be called typical specimens are to be found 

 under sheltering stones where the sun does not reach. At 

 low tide the anemones form an almost indistinguishable 

 mass of stones and shell fragments, but are yet sufficiently 

 alive to squirt vigorous jets of water at an intruding 

 naturalist, at the same time cowering down yet more closely 

 among the debris. If an attempt be made to remove the 



