doloraticn of Mdi'tii'' .[ninuJti. 22.) 



colours of aticni<nu'3 act as a waruitii,^ is not l)orac out by tli<i 

 eagerness witli wliich the cdl sivallows the brightest, sucli a-* 

 tStoin/ifii'd, while* the smaller flutHslies fill their stomachs with 



'rims it wouM ajipcar that iiieclianical protection is mostly 

 subserved by the baij of' small anemones around the caudal 

 extremity of the Indian hermit-crab, Chlceaopajurus Ander- 

 soni. 



The red of Tubipora and the coral of commerce, the varied 

 tints of coral polyps, in which <2,reen of many shades predomi- 

 nates, the blue ot Ileliopora^ the purple of Pennatida, the 

 reddish or pink colour of Tuhnlaria, Gori/ne, and Si/ncoryne, 

 and the long chain ot reddish-orange polypites of Diphyes as 

 it darts hither and thither amongst the bluish masses of 

 floating oceanic animals with much greater speed and certainty 

 ot" direction than usually shown by them, and even seems to 

 elude the hand-net or the dipping-bottle, appears to have as 

 little to do with protection or warning as the green ot' 

 liliizosolenia or the red of the wild poppy. Nor does sexual 

 selection appear to be exercised in the group, though in 

 some, as in the American Aurelia Jl ividala, the female has 

 yellow ovaries, while the male shows roseate spermaria. 

 Nor is the habit followed by Tealia crassicornis in coating its 

 column with gravel (as some sea-urchins do with their 

 bodies), or still more conspicuously with white shell-fragments, 

 in harmony with the views concerning warning coloration. 



The colours of Echinodcrms are often most conspicuously 

 bright, as, for instance, the blues, reds, and purf)le3 of 

 Asteroids, the blues, reds, and variegated red and white of 

 Echinoids, the rods and purples of Grinoids and Ophiuroids. 

 It may be that it is in consequence of these bright colours 

 that some authors have fancied that sea-urchins exhibit pro- 

 tective measures when they cover themselves with bits of 

 pebble and shells; but the same, as already explained, occurs 

 in anemones. 



The brilliant orange-red of Hippusterias in deep water may 

 subserve a purpose unknown to us, yet from analogy this is 

 unlikely. Few torms are more conspicuous on the bottom of 

 the sea or on the blades of tangles at low water than the 

 common cross-li.sh, yet gulls, fishes (cod and cattishes), and 

 an ally of its own (the sun-star) devour it. Thus, while its 

 coloration is certainly not protective, it does not seem to serve 

 as a warning or to be the result of Sexual Selection. The 

 brilliant scarlet of SoUister papposa as it hangs on the tanglo- 

 blades makes it very conspicuous, but there is no evidence 

 either as to protective or warning properties. The same may 



