Ccelenterates 53 



The leathery " fingers/' which may 

 measure three or four inches in length, 

 are formed of colonies of polyps and are 

 normally pale pink in colour, but becom- 

 ing dark red as the eggs begin to 

 ripen. 



In the bushy, fan-shaped Gorgonia the 

 branching colony presents the form of a 

 tree. 



The hard or stony corals are repre- 

 sented in British waters by the Devon- 

 shire Cup, which may cover many square 

 feet of sea-bed. The majority of forms, 

 however hail from warmer seas. The 

 popular red coral which is fashioned into 

 necklaces and all kinds of trinkets is 

 found in the Mediterranean, the Ionian 

 Islands and the shores of Algeria and 

 Tunisia being the head-quarters of the 

 fisheries. Red coral is usually obtained 

 by dragging rope yarn, old nets, etc., 

 over the sea-bed, the nets entangling 

 large branches and tearing them free 



