300 MR. J. Y. Johnson's notes [June 25, 



base, pale red, more or less ringed and spotted with opake white : 

 sometimes the dilated bases have a dark neutral-tint band, and below 

 this a white band round them. Mouth not raised on a cone, but 

 sometimes puffed out. Acontia emitted sparingly. 



This Sea-anemone is able to take considerable variety of shape ; 

 sometimes it is contracted, sometimes swollen out at the middle, and 

 when irritated into a state of complete contraction, it has a very ru- 

 gose appearance. "When detached from any support, I have seen 

 it contract its base so much that a small hole only was visible. It 

 has the power of expanding or distending both the lower and upper 

 parts of its body, the expanded portions becoming semitransparent, 

 and assuming the appearance of bladders, whilst the rest of the column 

 retains its rough opake coating. This coat adheres so strongly, 

 that I have in vain endeavoured to remove it with my finger-nail 

 from a healthy animal. From a specimen, however, which had been 

 severely wounded in removing it from its native rock, I succeeded in 

 peehng off the coat in patches. The animal is not timid, it will 

 keep its tentacles expanded until it is touched ; but in the day-time 

 it seldom pushes them out to their full stretch ; they are usually 

 held curved over the margin of the disk. It is rather fond of as- 

 cending the side of the tank until it nearly reaches the surface of the 

 water ; then, attaching itself by part of its lower disk, it will bend its 

 body loosely downwards at an angle of 4.5°. It is hardy in the aqua- 

 rium, rather sluggish in its habits, and adheres firmly to its support. 

 It is not uncommon under stones in pools amongst the rocks covered 

 at high tide. The size is not great ; the largest I have seen measured 

 about half an inch in height when contracted, and expanded to a 

 length of about an inch and a half. 



AiPTASiA coucHii, W. p. Cocks, sp. 



Not very common : usually found under loose stones near the level 

 of low tide. It preserves at Madeira all the chief characters and 

 habits possessed by its British sisters — restlessness of disposition, 

 flexuosity of tentacles, power of lengthening and contracting the 

 column, love of attaching itself to the side of the tank near the sur- 

 face of the water, the column hanging downwards with the disk and 

 tentacles widely expanded ; lastly, eagerness in seizing and swallow- 

 ing its food. Sometimes it will abandon all support aud suspend 

 itself freely in the water, base uppermost, remaining thus for several 

 hours without moving, save in being continually employed in distend- 

 ing the column laterally. The distention began to show itself at the 

 disk, and travelled slowly along until it reached the base ; when this 

 had been effected, the animal stretched itself out and then recom- 

 menced the operation. One of my specimens, now living in a glass of 

 sea-water, presented itself one day as a globular vesicle three-quarters 

 of an inch in diameter. The disk aud tentacles had been retracted, 

 and the tips of some of the latter were just visible at the bottom of 

 a depression resembling that seen at the top of an apple. 



