1861.] ON THE SEA-ANEMONES OF MADEIRA. 301 



-^ Anthea cereus, Johnston, 



This species is by far the most abundant of the Madeiran Acti- 

 naria, being found in almost every pool on the rocks between tide- 

 marks. It is undoubtedly the animal described in Dana's great 

 work under the name of Actinia jlagellifera (Comactis fiagellifera, 

 M.-Edw.). 



Actinia mesembryanthemum, Ellis & Sol. 



This species stands next in regard to abundance. The commonest 

 variety is coloured a red-purple, with numerous black dots on the 

 column. Sometimes the spots are greenish grey, sometimes the 

 marginal spherules are red-purple instead of being azure. The animal 

 is frequently of an umber-brown ; and a few specimens have occurred 

 which had a brown body and disk, with red-purple base and tenta- 

 cles. Two specimens have been met with which had a dull-green 

 body and tentacles, with a white base, blue marginal spherules, and 

 a blue line at the junction of the column with the base. At the time 

 I possessed these two Actinice a third specimen was obtained, slightly 

 diiferent from them ; and this was placed in the same glass. On 

 looking at them after the lapse of a few hours, I found that the new 

 comer was in contact with one of the others, and that six of the mar- 

 ginal spherules of the latter on the side of contact had expanded into 

 large, colourless, ovate vesicles, retaining only their original blue 

 colour at the tips. The upper part of the body of the animal was 

 separated at this time from the tentacle-bearing disk by a deep fosse. 

 Subsequently more of the blue tubercles expanded, until ten in this 

 state were counted ; after a while the disk expanded laterally, the 

 vesicles contracted, and the fosse disappeared. Whilst the vesicles 

 existed, the tentacles in their neighbourhood became much reduced 

 in diameter, so as to be filiform, I am not aware whether a similar 

 phenomenon has been observed by others. 



Actinia virgata, sp. n. 



Base of a deep flesh-colour, adherent to stones, not much exceed- 

 ing the column when the tentacles are expanded ; when these are 

 withdrawn and the column is depressed, it frequently spreads out into 

 an enlarged irregular oval. Column delicately smooth, imperforate, 

 non-adhesive; substance fleshy, marked by numerous (45 to 50) pairs 

 of straight, purplish-blue lines, which extend from the margin of the 

 disk to the angle of the column and base, where there is a circum- 

 ferent line of the same colour. Each of these lines is about half as 

 wide as the space between any two ; sometimes a line is broken up 

 into dots. When the animal is in a contracted state, the lines are 

 brought so close together, and their colour so deepened, that it 

 appears nearly black. The disk has the margin closely set with azure 

 tubercles, about thirty in number ; it is smooth, of a pinkish flesh- 

 colour, often pufi'ed out into a cone, at the top of which is the mouth. 

 Tentacles about eighty in number, crowded in three or four rows, 

 placed near the margin of the disk, moderately long, with little differ- 



