THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. 117 



never found on this Crab, nor on Pinna ingens, but fre- 

 quently on Pecten maximus, as "well as on Buccinum un- 

 datum, and on stones.* I do not remember myself to have 

 ever seen it on a bivalve. 



We have no species of Sea- Anemone "which, to such an 

 extent as this, shoots forth those filaments which I have 

 called acontia, and which are undoubted weapons of offence. 

 On being rudely handled, or otherwise alarmed, from vari- 

 ous points of the body, particularly from the larger warts, 

 the loop-holes (cinclides) give issue to these threads, which 

 exactly resemble in appearance white sewing-cotton. They 

 are often shot forth with force to the length of four or even 

 six inches ; and under circumstances of great irritation an 

 immense bundle of such threads is projected from the mouth. 

 Their interior end remains, however, attached to the cavity 

 whence they issued, and they are soon withdrawn again. 



Most species of Anemones give out a rank penetrating 

 odour, but it is more than usually offensive in S. parasitica. 

 It is communicated to the fingers on handling the animal ; 

 and repeated washings with soap, and even scrubbings with 

 a brush, scarcely avail to remove it. It is insufferably 

 nauseous. 



8. parasitica, like its congeners, is by turns oviparous 

 and viviparous. To the former mode of increase Mr. G. 

 H. Lewes bears witness. " In the water of a pan con- 

 taining, among other animals, specimens of Actinia para- 

 sitica, I twice noticed abundance of light-purple ova floating 

 at the surface. Some of these were placed in a vase by 

 themselves, and others left in the pan; but no further 

 development took place. One day, dissecting a parasitica, 

 I found in its ovaries these very purple ova which had 

 attracted my attention. "f 



Mr. Lewes doubts, however, that it is viviparous. This 

 point has been settled by my friend, Mr. F. H. West. " A 



■ Johnston, Br. Zooph. 228. \ Sea-side Studies, 141. 



