16 FEROCITY OF EOLIS. 



papulosa. One of these was rather large, the others 

 scarcely half grown. One day I found the largest 

 eating the tentacles of the Anthea, and when I at- 

 tempted to pull it away, it held so firmly that the 

 mouth was almost everted. Soon afterwards I again 

 found it at the same work of destruction, and one of 

 the smaller specimens was attacking the unfortunate 

 Anthea also. They were eager and fierce, stretching 

 forward to their prey from their points of attachment, 

 to which they adhered only hy the extremity of the 

 foot, and frequently erecting and reversing their 

 crowded branchiae. On being again removed they 

 again returned, though from a considerable distance; 

 so that whenever I looked at the pan, I almost always 

 found one or all of the Bolides devouring their victim, 

 so much larger, though more sluggish, than them- 

 selves. The tentacles when gnawed and torn, became 

 shrivelled ; some of them were torn away by the 

 Eolides, and a large quantity of viscid albuminous 

 matter was discharged in the form of irregular threads 

 or webs, attached to the surrounding objects. The 

 process went on from day to day On one occasion, 

 one of the Eolides attacked a magnificent Actinia 

 crassicornis in the same vessel, and had eaten a hole 

 in its side as large as a pea before I discovered it. 



Anthea cereus is abundant around Tor Abbey 

 Headland, inhabiting in great numbers the shallow 

 pools in the red sandstone and conglomerate, which 

 occur on the broad surface left exposed at low water. 

 They are principally of the variety with plain grey ten- 

 tacles, but specimens of the more beautiful variety 

 described above, having those organs of a satiny 



