Haduon and Shackleton — A Revismi of the British Actinice. 645 



[Dysldea (?) papUlosa : 



Johnston, 1844, Hist. Brit. Sponges (in part), pp. 190, 251, pi. xvi., figs. 6, 7. 

 Carolia couchii : 



Gray, 1867, Proc. Zool. Soc, p. 239. 



Palythoa couchii: 



Fischer, 1874, Nouv. Arch. Mus., Paris, pp. 235, 239 ; 1874, Comptes rendus, lxxix., 

 p. 1209 (trans. 1875, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4), xv., p. 374) ; 1875, Actes Soc. linn. Bordeaux, 

 XXX., p. 8. 

 Polythoa arenacea : 



(Not of D. Ch.) Andres, 1884, var. coucJiii, Le Attinie, p. 308 ; Pennington, 1885, var. linearis, 

 Brit. Zooph. (in part), p. 182. 

 Palythoa arenacea: 



(Not of D. Ch.) Carus, 1884, Prod. Fauna Medit., p. 75. 



Form. — Column cylindrical, rising to about three or four times its diameter. 

 Margin cut into 12 or 14 (generally the latter number) large, fleshy, triangular 

 teeth, which are connected by a thin web of transparent membrane. In a state 

 of semicontraction these teeth form strongly marked, converging ridges on the 

 flat summit of the column. Incrustations of fine sand. When the column is 

 much distended, the grains of sand become considerably separated, and the 

 visceral cavity can be seen through the transparent and smooth integuments. 

 Disc, generally flat or slightly concave, but protusile in a conical form ; radii 

 distinct. Tentacles 28 (or 24), bicyclic, those of the inner row correspond to the 

 marginal teeth ; they are subequal, they taper gradually, are bluntly pointed, 

 and about equal in length to the diameter of the column. Coenenchyme, 

 narrow, irregularly creeping, soft, invested with sand like the column. 



Colour. — Column and coenenchyme pale brown ; disc pellucid, reddish-gray, 

 dusted with excessively minute white specks ; tentacles translucent, nearly 

 colourless, opaque white tip ; lip opaque white. 



Dimensions. — " One-eighth of an inch [3 mm.] in diameter, and about thrice 

 that height [9 mm.] in extension. In contraction the button is usually about aline 

 [2 mm.] in height, Mr. Holdsworth has obtained specimens much larger than 

 these." 



Habitat. — " var. linearis. — The condition above described, in which the root- 

 band creeps in a narrow ribbon over stones and shells. Cornwall and Devon." 



The foregoing description is taken from Gosse, and refers to the specimens he 

 had seen alive ; perhaps he has incorporated older observations in it. 



We have not been able to see any specimens of this species from the recorded 

 localities, although we have made numerous efforts to do so. Our generous 

 friend Canon Norman put some Zoanthese from the Channel Islands at our 

 disposal, which bear a very strong superficial resemblance to JE. couchii, as defined 



