168 THE GEMMACEOUS ANEMONE. 



THE GEMMACEOUS ANEMONE. 



The most obvious character of this fine species lies 

 in its large and numerous warts. These are not con- 

 tractile, or otherwise changeable in appearance, and 

 therefore are always appreciable. They are well- 

 defined, protuberant, round or oval, of considerable 

 size on the upper part, but diminish regularly towards 

 the base : they are arranged in about 30 longitudinal 

 series, which of course diverge from the centre w^hen the 

 animal is contracted ; between some of the principal 

 series there are other smaller rows, not included in 

 the above number. Each principal series contains about 

 twenty-two warts. Six of the rows are white, and these 

 are disposed symmetrically, so as to form a white star 

 on the summit. Between every two white rows, are 

 from three to five rows of an ashy grey, with dark 

 grey centres. The ground colour is delicate rose-pink 

 or carnation at the base, gradually merging into a 

 reddish-grey between the thickly-set warts. The re- 

 semblance which the Actinia, in this condition, with 

 its radiating lines of warts, bears to the common Sea 

 Urchin denuded of its spines, is singularly close and 

 striking. (Plate YIII. fig. 1.) 



The tentacles are about fifty in number, arranged in 

 three or four imperfect circles. They increase in size 

 from without, the innermost range being largest: 

 they are conical, obtusely pointed, and more or less 

 bent in a sigmoid curve, like the branches of a can- 

 delabrum. Their colour is a pellucid olive on the 

 exterior side, unspotted, but marked across the inner 

 side with about eight transverse oval bands of white. 



