48 REPORT ON THE PENNATULIDA. 



This is doubtless very beautiful, but unfortunately does not appear 

 to liave the smallest shred of dii'ect evidence in its support. It is 

 difficult to ^et to the oi'igin of these accounts, but this is apparently to 

 bb found in an observation of Bohadsch, whom we have already 

 mentioned as the first describer of FuiiiruUnn. 



Bohadsch describes Pennatnla as a deep-sea animal, which is 

 sometimes cau.t^ht " with other fishes." He notes its phosphorescent 

 properties, to which we shall refer below, and then says * that on one 

 occasion, in the year 1749, while sailing in the Mediterranean, he 

 observed some phosphorescent body about four feet below the surface 

 of the water, and being at that time " in historia naturali miuiine 

 versatus '' he asked the sailor.s what it was, and they told him that it 

 was PeiDKi, i.e.. a sea-pen or sea-feather. 



Now Ellis avowedly obtained the greater part of his information 

 concerning I'eniuiiula from Bohadsch, and there is much reason for 

 thinking that Dr. Grant's account is based on that of Ellis, so that it 

 would really seem as if Dr. Grant's glowing description rests merely on 

 a solitary observation made by a man who speaks of himself as 

 ■• knowing very little indeed about natural history at the time"; an 

 observation which consisted in looking over the side of a ship and 

 seeing something phosphorescent in the water, whose shape he was 

 unable to make out, but which the sailors told him was a Sea-pen. 



We are accordingly of opinion that the statements concerning 

 Pennatnla swimming freely cannot be accepted unless fresh evidence 

 from direct observation is brought forward. 



Assuming then that Pennatnla does not swim, there still remains 

 the question as to what is the natural position of the pen ; it un- 

 doubtedly dwells at the bottom of the sea, but is it planted upright or 

 does it lie horizontally on the bottom ? 



Sir John Dalyell, a very careful observer, expresses an opinion, 

 though by no means a decided one, that the horizontal position is the 

 natural one. He is however much troubled by the stem, whose use on 

 his theory he is unable to understand. t A few other zoologists have 

 adopted this view, prominent among whom is again Dr. Grant,* who 

 says : " The slow contraction of the Pennatnla pltosphorea coils up the 

 thin flexible extremities of its calcareous axis, and moves the 

 retroverted spines of its exterior surface so as to push the animal slowly 

 along a rough surface." 



Our own opinion is very strongly in favour of the now generally 

 accepted view that Pennatnla lives erect, planted in the sea-bottom. 

 The absence of polypes on the stalk, the presence of the supporting 

 calcareous stem, and especially the proportions of this stem in 

 different parts of its length, and the pale colour of the stalk, speak 



* Bohadsch "De quibusdam anhnalibus uiariniis," 1761, p. 107. 



t Dalyell : " Rare and Eemarkable Animals of Scotland," vol. ii., 18-)8. 



; Grant : " Outlines of Comparative .\uatoniy," 18J1, pp. 1.32-1.33. 



