734 MR. J. p. MCMUKRICH ON THE SYSTEMATIC 



evidence points to its being an introduced form, possibly from 

 the other side of the Atlantic, but AValton suggests that neither 

 New England nor South Devon was its original home, it having 

 been introdviced into both localities at approximately the same 

 time. 



There is another possibility, or rather a strong probability. 

 In 1846 Mr. W. P. Cocks captured at St. Ives, on the north 

 coast of Cornwall, a form which he later (1851) described as 

 Actinia chrysosplenium. He sent drawings and a description of 

 it to Johnston, who included it in his ' History of the British 

 Zoophytes' (1847), and he conferred the same favour on P. H. 

 Gosse, the drawing being this time the coloured one which is to 

 be found reproduced in plate vi. of the 'Actinologia Britannica' 

 (1860). Gosse referred it, with some doubts, to the genus 

 Sagartia and added thi^ee additional localities at which it was 

 found by Mr. Cocks, all on the Cornish coast, but neither he nor 

 Johnston had personal knowledge of the form, their descriptions 

 being based on notes furnished by Cocks. 



Oocks's original figures do not suggest much resemblance to 

 S. hicice ; they show relatively large circular spots scattered over 

 the column, looking like verrucpe, but representing really, as may 

 be gathered from the description, spots of bright yellow, the 

 ground-colour varying " from a bright pea-green to the dark holly- 

 leaf tint." But it is also stated that the yellow may be arranged 

 in stripes instead of spots, and in the figure reproduced by Gosse 

 it is so represented, the similarity to the coloration of S. lucice 

 being thus very great. In Gosse's figure, however, the tentacles 

 are shown as if very few in number and j)lump ; Cocks's original 

 figure, on the other hand, represents them as much more numerous 

 and tapering, quite as they are in S. lucice. Combining the two 

 figures, then, olie would have a fairly accurate representation of 

 a S. lucice, both as regards its external form and its coloration. 

 It is true that no acontia were observed ; but S. lucice is somewhat 

 sluggish in emitting them, and the comparison that Cocks makes 

 in a letter to Gosse of the appearance of the column-wall to that 

 of a piece of " india-rubber when j^ierced with a pin" may well 

 have been suggested by the somewhat pustulous appearance 

 frequently presented by S. lucice. Indeed; making allowances 

 for the imperfections of descriptions of Actiniae written before 

 1860, I do not hesitate to express the opinion that when 

 examples of Cocks's species, taken in his localities, are studied, 

 they Avill be found to be identical Avith ^S'. lucice. 



If this opinion be correct then the species has been located on 

 the southern coast of England at least since 1846, and its 

 appearance at Plymouth in 1896 may have been merely an 

 easterly extension of its area of distribution, similar to Avhat 

 occurred on the NeAv England coast betAveen 1891 and 1901. 

 This Avould seem a simpler explanation of the facts than the 

 supposition that it had been introduced from some distant 

 locality. 



