54 



sort of proboscis for the sucking in of food. It spreads over the sulcated part 

 of the arms, hands, fingers, and tentacula, concealing under it nourishing ves- 

 sels, which may be sometimes traced spreading into the muscular integuments 

 between the fingers. The arrangement of its calcareous plates is peculiarly 

 elegant in the tentacula (PL. n. fig. 6. and 7.) where they form two series an- 

 gularly pointed at their inner edge, thus producing a serrated line of insertion 

 between each other. Their minuteness may be conceived from the observation, 

 that from ten to twelve are necessary to cover the excavated canal of a single 

 tentacular joint, which, taking the amount of these, would require about 200 

 plates for each full grown tentaculum. 



I have in vain endeavoured to trace apertures at the terminating points of the 

 fingers and tentacula, although GOETARD alleges, that here orifices existed serv- 

 ing as mouths to the animal for the taking in its food. It appears probable to me 

 that from this assertion M. LAMARCK derived his generic character of EN- 

 CRINUS. " The branches forming the umbel are filled with polypi in rows." 



The late Mr. TOBIN'S specimen, is in another point highly instructive. 

 The animal must have suffered material mutilation previously to its having been 

 taken from its marine abode, and hence affords a striking illustration of its 

 power of reproducing lost parts, to which I alluded when speaking of the auxi- 

 liary arms ; the most surprising instance of this, is, that the animal has repro- 

 duced from one of the scapula two new arms (PL. i.) each having its two hands 

 and six fingers, but as yet not an eighth part the size of the full grown ones. 

 They are highly muscular, and prove the gradual developement and formation 

 of the calcareous joints in the manner which I have endeavoured to explain, 

 when speaking of the superior portion of the column and the formation of the 

 auxiliary side arms. The pointed termination of tiie fingers is coiled, which 

 demonstrates the greater sensibility and flexibility of this part during the life of 

 the animal. The new formed arms protrude from near the inner concave or 

 channelled margin of the scapula over the central perforation, leaving the 

 rest of its slanting surface covered by a conspicuous yellow brown epidermis. 

 In a few other instances, new formed fingers proceed from the cuneiform joints 

 in different stages of growth, sometimes almost assimilating in size with those 

 whose place tht-y now supply. In one case two joints of a finder have been 

 broken transversely on one side, their parts somewhat displaced, ami the frac- 

 tureheuled by new secreted matter. The effects of an injury sustained by the._ 

 investing membrane of the column, and the consequent irregularity of the 



