72 LIFE BY THE SEASHORE. 



tentacles, and will often expand fully while lying loose in 

 a jar. It never fixes itself very firmly, and the "cave- 

 dwelling " habit is no doubt associated with the fact that it 

 seems unable to cling tightly enough to resist wave-action, 

 and must therefore seek protected crevices. 



y\s to p,r>1nrfl.t,inTi T though the actual tints of column, disc, 

 and tentacles show much variation, yet there is considerable 

 constancy in the markings, which constitute important 

 specific characters. The column is marked with light 

 stripes most conspicuous towards the base, the disc is 

 beautifully marked with radiating bands, each band being 

 patterned in dark and light tints, and at the base of the 

 tentacles there is a black mark of the shape of a B, the 

 curves being directed towards the mouth. This B-mark is 

 eminently characteristic of Sagartia troglodytes. Finally, 

 the tentacles themselves are banded in dark or light tints, 

 and are of much importance in producing the resemblance 

 to sand so characteristic of the expanded anemone. 



There are a number of other species of Sagartia, mostly 

 showing some indication of the elaborate patterns of S. 

 troglodytes, but these do not occur, between tide-marks at 

 least, on the East Coast, and naturalists living on the West 

 may be referred direct to Gosse's book. 



The last of our East Coast species is Actinoloba dianthus, 

 the plumose anemone, a form which is often said to be an 

 inhabitant of deep water, but which in sheltered places is 

 not uncommon between tide-marks. On the Clyde it has a 

 special preference for the supports of piers, and there occurs 

 in the most gorgeous profusion, clustering thickly about the 

 whole length of the uprights; the smaller specimens between 

 tide-marks, the larger further down, so that their pale tints 

 gleam faintly through the green depths of water, and the 

 outlines of their translucent bodies are hardly discernible in 

 the dim light. In such situations they reach a great size, 

 having a column some six inches long, with a disc of several 

 inches in diameter. But it is only under exceptional cir- 

 cumstances that such specimens can be seen close inshore, 

 certainly not as a rule in the shallow waters which fringe 

 the beach on the East Coast. There one cannot look for 

 specimens of more than an inch or so in height, and as 

 already mentioned, these usually occur in sheltered places 



