Dr. C. Colliugwood on Gigantic Sea- Anemones. 31 



so that the skull, skeleton, and external characters of the fur 

 showed P. niger to be only a variety of P. jylatyrhinus^ as 

 Dr. Murie has already correctly surmised would be found to 

 be the case. I finally have just had a typical brown ordinary 

 P. platyrhinus prepared for the Melbourne Museum, and have 

 found in it the small lateral lobes on the outer margin of the 

 anterior third of the nasals, which I first noticed in the so- 

 called P. niger ^ and of which there was no trace in five skulls 

 previously prepared ; so that there can no longer be the least 

 doubt of the black and brown individuals being only varieties 

 of one species. With the P. setosus^ we have thus four well- 

 marked living wombats, and at least two fossil extinct ones. 



While referring to Dr. Murie's paper above quoted, I may 

 take the opportunity to remark, in reply to his observation 

 that, in my description of P. latifrons published by Mr. Gould, 

 I did not lay sufficient stress on the peculiarity of the softness 

 of the fur, that I have there contrasted it with the coarse hair 

 of the common wombat in the strongest manner, by comparing 

 it to the fur of the English wild rabbit in this respect. 



Melbourne, Oct. 26, 1867. 



IV. — Note on the Existence of Gigantic Sea-Anemones in the 

 China Sea, containing within them quasi-])arasitic Fish. 

 By Dr. C. Collingwood. 

 The most remarkable circumstance which I met with when 

 wading upon a submerged reef in the China Sea was the dis- 

 covery of some Actinige of enormous size, and of habits no less 

 novel than striking. I observed in a shallow spot a beautiful 

 large convoluted mass, of a deep blue colour, which, situated 

 as it was in the midst of magnificent corals of every colour of 

 the rainbow, I supposed also to be a coral ; but its singular 

 aspect induced me to feel it, when the peculiar tenacious touch 

 of a sea-anemone made me rapidly withdraw my hand, to 

 which adhered some shreds of its blue tentacles. I then per- 

 ceived that it was an immense Actinia, which when expanded 

 measured fully 2 feet in diameter. The tentacles were small, 

 simple, and very numerous, of a deep blue colour ; and the 

 margin of the tentacular ridge was broad and rounded, and 

 folded in thick convolutions concealing the entrance to the 

 digestive cavity. 



While I was standing breast-high in the water, admiring 

 this splendid specimen, I noticed a very beautiful little fish, 

 which hovered in the water close by, and nearly over, the 

 Anemone. The little fish was 6 inches long, the head bright 



