ACTINIANS FROM THE BAHAMA ISLANDS 109 



apparently overlooked, inasmuch as they would be completely hidden 

 by the expanded tentacles, and even in preserved specimens they are 

 only to be found by careful examination. What their appearance and 

 form may be in the living condition cannot therefore be stated here. 



The occurrence of this species in the Bahamas as well as in the 

 Bermudas suggests the possibility of its identity with one of the forms 

 described by Duchassaing and Michelotti, and in studying their de- 

 scriptions two species are found to be worthy of remark in this connec- 

 tion. The first of these is the Actinia aster mentioned by Ellis ('86) 

 and described by him as having " a thick, fleshy, smooth, and almost 

 cylindrical stem, ending abruptly at the top, w^hich is provided with 

 circular rows of tentacles." This description contains nothing that is 

 particularly distinctive, but nevertheless Duchassaing and Michelotti 

 ('66) have identified with it a form which they describe as about an 

 inch in height and with the tentacles ringed with white and brown, while 

 the body and disk are ^^ color es en rougedtre et en bleu tres-clair.^'' 

 Taking this latter description as a guide for the identification of A. 

 aster, it will be seen that while making the necessary allowances for the 

 uncertainties which are associated with color descriptions, there is a 

 certain vague approximation of the coloration to that of Diplactis 

 hermudensis ; nevertheless, the discrepancies are too great to allow of 

 an identification of the two forms. Dr. Northrop's notes contains no 

 statements as to variations in color of D. hermudensis, and until it is 

 found that these exist and that they approximate the coloration 

 described for A. aster, it seems better to consider the two forms dis- 

 tinct. 



Another form also presents possibilities in this connection, viz. 

 the Anemonia depressa of Duchassaing and Michelotti ('6o), a form 

 with a large disk yellowish in color, with tentacles shorter than the 

 diameter of the disk, and tinted with shades of blue and reddish 

 {^'leurs nuances sont le bleu et le rougedtre'^). A figure is given of the 

 disk and tentacles of this form and might answer for those of D. 

 bermudensis, and if the mention of ^'le bleu^^ were omitted, the color 

 descriptions would correspond fairly well. Of the two possibilities 

 I think the identity of Diplactis bermudensis with A nemonia depressa 

 is the more probable one, but even here the uncertainty is too great 

 to justify the identification without further evidence, and for the 

 present it seems wiser to allow the name used here to stand. 



