MEMBRANIPORA PILOSA. 



MEMBRANIPORA PILOSA. 



181 



An abundant and beautiful zoophyte for examination in the 

 living state, as the fearless little polypes, rise up in crowds 

 from the shelter of their pearly homes, and fling forth their 

 white ciliated tentacles, waving, curling, contracting, and 

 expanding, in very ecstasy of life, drawing in the food it 

 requires by means of the currents these tentacles make. 



In this living state the Membranipora is only a brown, 

 thick crust on rock or sea- weed ; but when the zoophyte is 

 dead, we find it on the brown fucus or the crimson ]3eles- 

 seria, or sheathing the stem of Chondnis crispus, like a 

 delicate net, pure white, or pale fawn colour, when mounted 

 dry, it is perfectly lovely. We now see the oval horizontal 

 membranous cells, sharply toothed and granulated, whilst 

 behind the mouth of each is a long jointed bristle, which 

 in life lashed the water to and fro, keeping the Polypidom 

 free from obnoxious particles. If, however, the observer is 

 at the sea-side, whilst examining a living Membranipora, he 

 may look for the singular organ described by Dr. Parre and 

 by the Rev. T. Hincks. It is oblong, placed between the 

 base of two of the arms, and attached to the tentacular 

 ring. B/ound the opening at top is a play of cilia, and it is 

 lined with cilia. These gentlemen observed numbers of 

 filamentous bodies wriggling up from the visceral cavity, and 

 as it reached the base of this organ, they were drawn into, 

 carried upward through the ciliated channel, and ejected, 

 being then whirled away by the tentacular currents. These 

 are supposed to be spermatozoic bodies called cercarise, and 

 subservient in some way to the function of generation. 



Besides Mebranifora, I would direct attention to various 

 species of Lepralia. Scarcely a stone or a shell from the 

 great deep but yields most varied forms of these zoophytes. 

 In the Channel Islands, Jersey, by Mrs. Gatty, of Eccles- 

 field, Guernsey, on Phylophora rubens, and also at Sidmouth, 

 the loveliest species called 



