Actinaria G 119 



or extremely short; it may be hour-glass shaped, or become much swollen, 

 as in PL XXX, fig. 1, with the basal disk appearing relatively small. The disk, 

 also, is protean in form, changing from concave to convex. Tentacles are rather 

 stout in full expansion, but may be rather long and tapered, numerous, up to 

 96 or more in good size specimens. The region of the sphincter muscle some- 

 times shows a slight thickening. 



The colour is also variable. Large specimens usually have the column trans- 

 lucent pink or flesh-colour or pale greenish, with paler mesenterial stripes showing, 

 but it may also be mottled or streaked irregularly with pale red, rose-red, or 

 scarlet, but the capitulum, just below the margin, is generally paler, without 

 red mottlings, but this area is often poorly defined. 



The tentacles are often translucent pale flesh-colour or pink, with two or 

 more, often three, bands of carmine or light rose-red, the distal one at the tip. 

 The basal band usually extends around the sides of the tentacles and often 

 extends inward as a partial radial line on the disk. The disk is coloured similarly 

 to the column; it often has a circle of light red or rose-red spots, or a continuous 

 ring of red or scarlet around the mouth, and another circle of red spots farther 

 out towards the tentacles. 



Nearly always there are two small flake-white spots in front of each tentacle 

 of the inner circle, more noticeable in the young, in which the other colours 

 are paler and the texture more translucent. The two siphonoglyphs are usually 

 bright red or scarlet; inside of mouth is pink or salmon-colour. The sphincter 

 muscle in the larger specimens is well defined in sections with an ovate or clavate 

 outline, varying in form according to the amount of contraction and the age. 



It often grows to rather large sizes. Some examples had the column in 

 expansion over 2 inches (50mm) high and nearly as broad; others were consider- 

 ably larger. More commonly it is about half that size; tentacles about 10-16mm 

 long. 



This handsome species often closely resembles Urticina crassicornis in its 

 colours, especially when young, and it is very often confounded with the latter, 

 when they occur together, as they often do in the bay of Fundy and the sheltered 

 bays near Eastport, Maine. It seldom has the notable red radfal lines on the 

 disk and running out between the tentacles generally, but not always, charac- 

 teristic of U. crassicornis. 



The best way to distinguish it is to make a transverse section of the sphincter 

 muscle, which is mesogloeal instead of being large, circumscribed endodermul, 

 as in Urticina. 



It never has small suckers, usually more or less evident on Urticina, nor 

 any verruese, characteristic oiTealiopsis. (See above, p. 110 G, note). It is des- 

 titute of acontia and cinclidse, which distinguishes it from all the Sagartiadse. 



McMurrich (1910), following Carlgren, adopts for this species the name 

 Stomphia coccinea (Miiller, 1776). I fail to see any good evidence that the A. 

 coccinea of Miiller was this species. Gosse and others have referred it to Sargartia 

 coccinea, with more reason, I believe. 



This is essentially a rather shallow water species, and seldom littoral. It 

 occurred frequently in my many dredgings, from 1860 to 1872, in the bay of 

 Fundy, Eastport harbour, Maine, South bay, etc., in 8 to 35 fathoms. It did 

 not occur in the later deep dredgings of the U. S. Fish Commission. It has 

 not been found South of Cape Cod. 



Dawson dredged it in the mouth of the St. Lawrence. McMurrich records 

 it from Passamaquoddy bay, young, (1910). It generally occurs on gravelly 

 or stony bottoms, attached to stones and dead shells. It seems to be rather 

 rare on the northern European coasts. Gosse records several examples from 

 Moray Firth, Loch Long, etc., all brought up on the lines or nets of fishermen. 

 There are no reliable Arctic records known to me. 



