THE INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES EXHIBITION. 199 



kill them while in their beautiful expanded state has been termed ' ful- 

 mination,' for it is so instantaneous that the animals have no time to draw 

 in their tentacles. 



"Among the exhibits, all of which are from the Gulf of Naples, first 

 must be mentioned the Siphouophores, or Siphon Jelly-fish. The Siphono- 

 phore, as beautiful as fragile, is a colon}' composed of very differently- formed 

 individuals. Some are polype-like feeders, who provide the nourishment ; 

 others are Medusa-like swimming-bells, and others again are real Medusa, 

 which undertake the business of propagation, the whole being inseparably 

 united. There are also specimens of Jelly-fish, which when alive pulsate 

 their pretty bells, fringed with coloured tentacles, through the water. 

 There are young specimens of the so-called 'Venus-girdles,' one of the 

 free-swimming Hydrozoa. When alive, the iridescent light running in 

 waves along the edges of these ribbon-shaped animals, caused by the rapid 

 vibration of innumerable delicate oar-plates, is very beautiful. There are 

 specimens of different kinds of Salpce, delicate creatures of a barrel-shape, 

 which are remarkable for their curious mode of reproduction.* Then there 

 are Heteropods, or Keel-snails, small wonderful crystalline animals, among 

 which the Pterotrachea and elegaut Oarinaria deserve special notice. Among 

 the specimens of large mollusks are Squids, semi-transparent creatures, like 

 winged arrows, which when alive dart to and fro with great rapidity, and are 

 so excitable that they constantly change colour, seeming to blush rosy-red 

 when startled. There are small Octopods, and a specimen of the very rare 

 Paper Nautilus {Avgonauta argo), with its transparent shell. We also find 

 annelids, or marine worms, some with a delicate spiral crown of feathers 

 issuing from a tube [like Serpula vermicnlaris] ; others leaf-shaped, as the 

 Planarians, which are very difficult to preserve, and the beautiful Aphrodita 

 aculeata, or Sea-mouse. This does not look like a worm at all, and has 

 its toilet carefully made before being put into spirit, for its prickly coat 

 has been well brushed to rid it of sand and mud in order to show its 

 beautiful metallic rainbow colours. Sea Urchins and Star-fish are not 

 wanting, and the collection includes Sea Anemones, beautifully preserved, 

 with all their tentacles extended. There are various species of Crustacea, 

 including several of the Amphipoda (to which division belongs the well- 

 known Sand-hopper, Talitrus locusta, Linn.), the transparent Pelagic 

 Crab, Phronima, a finely preserved lobster with its colours quite bright, 

 and a Mantis-shrimp, or Grasshopper-crab. Several fine kinds of Sponge ; 

 several specimens of pretty Polyzoa, like pieces of delicate white net; various 

 Snails ; and the remarkable Holothuria tubulosa, a Sea-Cucumber, with its 



* In the genus Salpa the young are produced by gemmation in chains, 

 consisting of individuals unlike the parent, and becoming oviparous, the 

 alternate generations only being alike. — Ed. 



