1^61.] ON THE SEA-ANEMONES OF MADEIRA. 305 



of taking Red mullet {Mullus surmuletus, L., and M. barbatus, L.). 

 When I first saw it, only just covered with a little water, it was in a 

 contracted state, and my first impression was that a compound Asci- 

 dian was before me. After keeping it for three weeks in a small 

 tank, I attempted to bring it with me to England in order to show 

 it to those interested in this tribe of animals ; but being unfortu- 

 nately unable to attend to it in the earlier part of my voyage, it 

 perished, to my great regret. 



As to its habits during the time it lived in my tank, I may say that 

 it bore confinement very well, and took its food (the flesh of Patellce) 

 with considerable readiness. It frequently shifted its position in the 

 tank, and on one occasion it was seen floating base uppermost ; when 

 attached, its upper part was seldom destitute of motion, but that 

 motion was exceedingly slow. The tentacles were usually more or 

 less displayed ; but it has been observed with them so completely 

 wthdrawn that it was not easy to discover the precise situation of 

 the disk and mouth. The tentacles possessed the power of stinging ; 

 but, though the skin was made red, the pain was not great. 



Fam. Cerianthid^, M.-Edw. 

 Saccanthus maderensis, sp. n. 



Column lengthened, worm-like, with a conical imperforate base ; 

 skin smooth, apparently without suckers or loopholes ; of a pale 

 chestnut-brown colour ; enveloped in a loose non-adherent tube 

 secreted by the animal, open at both ends. Disk without marginal 

 spherules, cup-shaped, capable of being expanded so as to have a 

 diameter twice that of the column. Tentacles of two kinds : 1st, 

 marginal, twenty-four in number, in one series, but often arranged, 

 when fully displayed (and then bending inwards and outwards alter- 

 nately), so as to have the appearance of being placed in two rows ; 

 these tentacles are slender, tapering, uniform, longer than the dia- 

 meter of the column, and are coloured brown with pale rings : 2nd, 

 short filiform tentacles, about twenty-five in number, arranged in two 

 or three irregular circles round the mouth, coloured a uniform brown ; 

 these labial tentacles hardly equal in length the radius of the disk. 



Only one specimen of this interesting animal has fallen in my way. 

 When first brought to me, its appearance was that of a mass of dirt 

 which had a certain convoluted shape, and out of which protruded 

 at one place a reddish semitransparent body (the base), and at another 

 some tentacles, which partly folded up on being touched. At first 

 sight I took the animal for an Annelid ; but during the night it shufiled 

 off" its muddy coating and displayed itself in its true character. It 

 was then seen to have a length of about 2^ inches, with a diameter of 

 about a quarter of an inch. The column was quite smooth, cylindrical, 

 and of a brown colour approaching to auburn or chestnut. When 

 examined with a lens, some fine longitudinal lines were perceived, 

 dividing the body at regular intervals, and about -^-^ of an inch 

 apart. Faint angular transverse lines were also visible, pretty closely 

 set. It seemed shy, and never expanded its tentacles completely, 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1861, No. XX. 



