The Story of Some Strange Animal Colonies 125 
sinuous neck crowned with what looks like a bird’s head, the beak of which, as the 
neck sways to and fro, constantly opens and shuts with an angry snap. It is a scene 
of marvellous activity and action, for while the tentacles wave about w afting food into 
the mouth of the animal, the strange-looking bird’s-heads are swaying about in all 
directions, making angry snaps at everything that comes in their way and hanging on with 
bull-dog tenacity, even clutching each other should they happen to come in contact. 
For a long time these bard eens, which are peculiar to this species of bryozoa, 
were a sore puzzle. At first it was thought that they devoured the creatures that 
they caught and so helped to maintain the life of the colony; but more careful 
obsoumaition showed that this was not the case, for the bird’s-head shaped things were 
found to have no stomach or digestive apparatus. The part they really wae, is to 
act as scavengers and _ police- 
men to the community, keep- 
ing the body of the colony 
clean, and frightening off all 
unwelcome intruders. With 
their beaks, these bird’s- 
heads pick off all foreign 
substance that may fall on 
or come in contact with the 
body of the colony, while 
the angry waving of their 
heads, and gnashing of their 
beaks, is enough to strike 
terror to the hearts of the 
majority of inquisitive or 
dangerous creatures that may 
venture too near. 
Other species of bryozoa 
have the bird’s-head process 
replaced by hollow, whip- 
like thongs, called “ lashers,”’ 
hs TM GON OF Ge GEL 
1. Free-swimming offspring of Jelly-fish. 
2 and 3. It becomes fixed to the rock and settles down for the winter. which are in constant motion, 
4. Develops tentacles with which to catch its prey. ae ieee alc 
5. With the advent of spring waist-like constrictions appear, which foreshadow— thi ashing the water in all 
6 and 7. The formation of a pile of individuals; and these— directions over and round the 
8. As they are liberated one by one become Jelly-fish. 
animal, so as to keep off any 
large creatures that may approach and only allow small things to enter within the 
dangerous whirlpool current that leads to death and digestion. 
“Tilke the hydrozoa, the founder of each colony of bryozoa has a free-swimming 
period of existence. During the spring of the year, many of the little cells of the 
colony give protection to minute, orange-coloured eggs, from which escape in due time 
tiny free-swimming creatures, who after enjoying for awhile their free life settle down 
upon some connltortelble and suitable resting-place and become the founders of new 
colonies. From a single individual, the sallomy rapidly grows, and increases both in 
size and the number of its members, by a most remarkable budding process which 
takes place all round what may be termed the growing edge of the colony. 
Ye Nate Dinca 
