720 



THE SYNAPTA. 



on which are set numbers of tiny spicules which look as if they were anchors for a fairy 

 fleet. They are of extremely minute dimensions, and are quite invisible without the 

 aid of a microscope, but never fail to excite admiration when they are well exhibited. 

 Perhaps the best method of bringing out their beautiful shapes is by using a parabolic 

 condenser or a spotted lens, as then their translucent grassy forms shine out against a 

 dark background. 



These little objects are of exactly the same shape as the classic anchors of ancient 

 times, and were it not for their extreme minuteness, the person who sees them for the 

 first time is tempted to think that they have been manufactured by some ingenious 

 impostor. But the hand of man is quite incapable of making these beautiful little ob- 

 jects, with their long shanks, their gracefully curved arms, and their sharply-pointed 

 and regularly-serrated flukes. 



Peatacta pentactes. 

 Cucumarla Drumtnondil. 



Nor are the anchors the only wonders which so appropriately deck the skin of a 

 marine animal. If the little prominences can be neatly placed under the microscope 

 without being rubbed, each anchor is found to be affixed by the end of the shank to the 

 end of a curiously-formed shield, made of the same translucent substance as the anchor 

 itself, and pierced with a perfectly regular pattern like ladies' " cut-work " embroidery. 

 These shields hold the anchor in such a way that, as the shield lies flatly upon the skin, 

 the flukes of the anchor are held in the air. The object of this remarkable arrangement 

 is not known. 



There are several species of Synapta, all with the anchors and shields, but the pattern 

 upon the shields is different in the various species, as is the shape of the anchor. These 



