THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA. 125 



ing, and when a foreign object as the end of a pencil be 

 placed upon that region of the body where the knobs are 

 thickest, it is quickly caught hold of and retained by these 

 structures. The region of the object immediately around 

 the circle of tentacles is thickly set with these knobs which 

 here appear to have the form of immature tentacles, and 

 may be homologous with these structures. The object 

 of the Actinian in covering itself with pebbles and bits of 

 shells may be protection. 



This species is closely related to Bunodes papillosa 

 Verr., figured by Lesson in the "Voyage Coquille," PI. in, 

 fig. 2. It also resembles B. pluvia Verr. (see Notes on 

 Radiata, Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. i, p. 468. It is closely 

 allied to Urticina of Ehrenberg in the greater or less ir- 

 regularity in the arrangement of the tubercles. The de- 

 scriptions of our West Coast Actiniaria often unaccompa- 

 nied by figures are often perplexing, and the diagnosis of 

 the species not all that might be wished for. While my 

 name is probably a synonym, the characters of the species 

 are somewhat different from those recorded for other forms 

 of Bunodes. 



The species is also related to B. Sabelloides And . 



The following description of the soft parts of the body 

 may give' some idea of its general external form. 



Body column cylindrical, with thick opaque leathery 

 walls crossed externally by vertical lines of tubercles in 

 indistinct rings. These knobs increase in numbers about 

 the oral disk. When the oral disk is fully expanded the 

 knobs in this region are closely crowded together and re- 

 semble immature tentacles. Margin tuberculate. Color 

 of body uniform yellow and green. Rows of knobs pale 

 chocolate or brown. No acontia observed. No c\ 7 clides. 

 Tentaqles simple, stumpy, arranged in many rows, eutac- 



