214 ^Ir. J. E. Uiiordcn on the Genus Alicia. 



(tlietype species) ; A. costa^, Pane. ; A.grandis, Vcrr. ; A.2J>'e- 

 tiosa, Dana ; .1. rhadina, ITadd. & Sliackl. Unfortunately 

 only the second species, A. costcs, is available for microscopic 

 investigation ; but until this is done tlie generic relationship 

 of the others, founded entirely upon external characters, must 

 be assumed. 



Johnson thus defines his genus Alicia: — " Base adherent 

 at pleasure; greatly exceeding column. Tentacles simple, 

 ]\Iargin of disk simple, without spherules. Column beset with 

 stcdked appendafjesy 



His figures and description of A. rnirabilis appear suflS- 

 ciently clear to enable one to recognize the species, while the 

 character of the genus — " Column beset witli stalked append- 

 ages " — is sufficient as an external feature to separate it from 

 all other previously described genera, and would certainly 

 include Panceri's and Verrill's species. 



Verrill, however, has evidently mistaken the relationsliip 

 of tlie disk and column in the genus. He speaks of the disk 

 as " broad, with a naked area or ' fosse ' between the tentacles 

 and the margin," and the marginal tubercles as " elongated, 

 pedunculated, the end divided into two to six rounded lobes." 

 In A. casta this naked area or " fosse " is certainly the distal 

 portion of the column, as is well shown in Andres's figure, 

 and from the fact that the sphincter muscle occurs in this 

 place. 



The genus has generally been placed under the family 

 Bunodidge, from the fact that the column possessed what were 

 regarded as tubercles mainly disposed in vertical series. The 

 characters of the family Bunodidse are now defined by 

 McMurrich (1889) as the following: — " Actinia adhering to 

 foreign bodies by a flat contractile base. Column occasionally 

 smooth, but usually provided with tubercles, either simple or 

 compound. No cinclides. Sphincter muscle is strong and 

 circumscribed. Perfect mesenteries usually numerous, those 

 of the first cycle, with the exception of the directives, being 

 gonophoric. Ko acontia. Tentacles smooth, cylindrical, and 

 entacmaeous." Hertwig (1888) considers "the endodermal 

 sphincter [circumscribed] must occupy the first place in the 

 diagnosis." The Cystiactis we had under consideration from 

 Australia has, from Quoy and Gaimard's figure, always been 

 taken to be one of the Bunodidae, on account of possessing 

 what appeared to be tubercles disposed in a vertical series. 

 Histologically, however, we found it to differ from that family 

 in the salient character of having a well-developed diffuse 

 endodermal sphincter in place of a circumscribed one, and 

 also in the fact that the so-called tubercles are really hollow 



