PHYLUM OELENTERATA 



"9 



None of the sea-anemones have a true skeleton ; in some, 

 however, there is a thick cuticle, and several kinds enclose 

 themselves in a more or less complete tube, which may be 

 largely formed of discharged nematocysts. In some Alcyo- 



FIG. 58. Alcyonium palmatum. A, entire colony natural size; B, spicules. 

 Mediterranean Sea. (After Cuvier.) 



naria, such as the " dead men's fingers " (Alcyonium, Fig. 58), 

 the skeleton consists of minute, scattered, irregular deposits 

 of carbonate of lime called spicules. Alcyonium carneum 

 occurs below tide- mark off the New England coast. In 

 Tubipora (the "organ-pipe coral") (Fig. 59) there is a con- 



