VIRGULARIA MIRABILIS. 57 



The present seems a suitable place to discuss further that curious 

 mutilation of the speciniena which we have seen to be so constant, nay 

 almost universal, a feature of museum specimens of Vinjuhiria mirahilis, 

 and which applies also, thoui^h apparently in rather less deforce, to 

 other species of the genus as well. 



The facts on which all authorities are a<*reed are the followiuo : — • 



1. — The great majority of specimens of Viranlaria mirahilis as brought 

 to the surface by di-edging are broken short at both ends. 



2. — The fracture at the upper end occurs at very variable situations, 

 but that at the lower end occi;rs very commonly at the junction of 

 stalk and rachis, and nearly always within a short distance of this point. 



3. — Specimens with perfect stalks are very rare, but a certain 

 number have beeia obtained and described from various localities. 



4.— Specimens with perfect tops appear, with the sole exception of 

 the Glasgow specimen drawn in Fig ] , to be absolutely unknown. At 

 any rate we have been unable to find any record of other specimens, 

 and KoUiker, who has made a special study of the whole group, ex- 

 pressly states that he does not know of the existence of any. 



Of these facts, acknowledged by all, no explanation has, so far 

 as we can ascertain, been attempted hitherto. Under these cir- 

 cumstances we would venture to submit the following considerations. 

 In the first place it miist be borne in mind that Viiujularia is 

 found living alongside of two other closely allied and very similarly 

 constituted genera, viz., Funiculina and Pennatula, and may even be 

 brought up at the same haul with one or other of these ; and yet while 

 the specimens of Virgidaria are invariably broken, those of Funiculina 

 or Pennatula are as invariably unmutilated. The cause of the mutilation 

 is, therefore, to be sought for in some one or inore of tliose points in 

 which Virgularia differs from the other two genera, and which in some 

 way or other determine that it shall be broken, while the allied forms 

 remain entire. 



Now the chief points of contrast, between Virgularia on the one 

 hand, and Funiculina and Pennatula on the other, are — 



1. — The great brittleness of the stem of Virgularia, and the fact 

 that, instead of tapering upwards to a fine flexible point, it remains of 

 considerable thickness up to the very top of the rachis. 



2. — The length of the stalk in Virgularia, and its strongly marked 

 hook-like termination. The stalk is much longer relatively than that 

 of Fu)iiculina, and is much longer absolutely than that of Pennatula. 



We know from the observations of Rumph and Darwin, to be 

 noticed further on, that Virgularia lives with the stalk planted in the 

 sea bottom, and the rachis freely projecting above it ; and from an 

 observation of Captain Lancaster's* it appears to require a tolerably 

 firm pull to draw out a Virgularia from its hole. 



* KeiT's " Collectiou of Voyages," vol. viii., p. 119. Quoted in Darwin's 

 " Naturalist's Voyage round the World." 



