ZOOPHYTES. 245 



parasitic in tufts upon our common Tubular Coral- 

 line. A beautiful species of the Indian seas 

 (Tubipora musica], resembles a cluster of organ- 

 pipes, with several transverse floors or stages run- 

 ning through it. The pipes are of a rich red 

 colour, and the polypes of loveliest crimson hue, 

 with arms of bright green. 



There is a curious British zoophyte belonging to 

 the Tubulariadse, which, though not frequent, de- 

 mands notice from its great beauty. The Cory- 

 morpha nutans is about four and a half inches long, 

 and its stem about half an inch in diameter. When 

 young, part of its stem is enclosed in a thin horny 

 tube, which afterwards disappears: it grows rooted 

 in the sand, and has a clear white stem, delicately 

 tinged with pink, and pinkish brown lines running 

 down it. A head terminating in a pink trunk, 

 and surrounded by tentacles of pure white tint, 1 

 above which are placed numerous orange-coloured 

 processes, completes this beautiful animal. Forbes 

 and Goodsir thus describe an individual which they 

 found in the Bay of Stromness, Orkney: u When 

 placed in a vessel of sea-water, it presented the 

 appearance of a beautiful flower. Its head grace- 

 fully nodded, bending the upper part of its stem. 

 It waved its long tentacula to and fro at pleasure, 

 but seemed to have no power of contracting them. 

 It could not be regarded by any means as an 

 apathetic animal, and its beauty excited the admi- 

 ration of all who saw it." 



But turning from this rarer beauty, to some 

 common species, known to all familiar, with the 

 sea-side, we proceed to the family of Sertularia, 

 many species of which are generally taken for sea- 

 weeds. Our engraving will enable the reader to 



