THE TKUMPLET. 157 



fig, the lower half of the column greatly attenuated, while 

 the upper half was as greatly distended, but with a con- 

 striction between the swollen part and the trumpet-like 

 expanded disk. 



The appearance of the animal varies exceedingly. Some- 

 times it lies utterly flaccid and withered, appearing as if 

 quite dead ; not contracted, but emptied of its water, and 

 the lax membranes collapsed. Then, especially at night, 

 it swells up, erects its broad disk, and stands up like a 

 flower after a shower, with a noble appearance. At such 

 times the tentacles are sometimes much distended, pre- 

 serving their regular conical form, and are of a much lighter 

 hue. They are then occasionally constricted with numerous 

 close rings, and take snaky curves. At times the long inner 

 tentacles are curled in ram's-horn coils over the mouth. 



One of the individuals in my possession has forked 

 tentacles : one of these organs bifurcated at about half its 

 length; another divided near the tip into three, of which 

 one ramification extended on each side horizontally, and 

 the third, which was much smaller, followed the original 

 direction of the tentacle. This tendency is common to 

 Anthea cereus, and to Sagartia viduata. 



That our Aiptasia is tenacious of life will appear from 

 the following curious rencontre, to which a specimen in the 

 possession of Mr. Holdsworth was subjected. " Two days 

 ago," writes my friend, " on making my customary morn- 

 ing's inspection of my family, I missed the Aiptasicu A 

 diligent search in all the crevices of the rock-work having 

 failed to discover it, I began to suspect foul play ; and after 

 administering the stomach-pump, in the shape of a stick, 

 down the throats of some fine specimens of bellis, I suc- 

 ceeded in dislodging the poor lost sheep, in a shapeless 

 mass of membrane and acontta, which were largely ex- 

 posed ; but the animal was too much injured to enable me 



