56 VORACITY OF THE ACTINIAE. 



' Nothing/ says Professor Jones, ' can escape their 

 deadly touch. Every animated thing that comes in 

 contact with them is instantly caught, retained, and 

 mercilessly devoured. Neither strength nor size, nor 

 the resistance of the victim, can daunt the ravenous 

 captor. It will readily grasp an animal, which, if 

 endowed with similar strength, advantage, and 

 resolution, could certainly rend its body asunder. It 

 will endeavour to gorge itself with thrice the quan- 

 tity of food that its most capacious stomach is 

 capable of receiving. Nothing is refused, provided 

 it be of animal substance. All the varieties of the 

 smaller fishes, the fiercest of the Crustacea, the most 

 active of the annelidans, and the soft tenants of 

 shells among the mollusca, all fall a prey to the 

 Actiniae/ 



This is a sweeping statement, and, although corro- 

 borated by Sir J. Dalyell and others, is one that 

 requires to be received with a certain degree of 

 caution. It most certainly does not apply to A. 

 bellis, A. parisitica, A. dianthus, troglodytes, or any 

 other members of this group ; and to a very limited 

 extent only is it applicable to A. coriacea or A. 

 mesembryanthemum. 



As may readily be conceived, the writer could not 

 keep monster specimens, such as are often found at 

 the sea shore; but surely if the statement were 

 correct that, as a general rule, the actiniae eat living 

 crabs, the phenomenon would occasionally occur with, 



