Ch. X.] A WADE ON THE EEEF. 149 



only sparsely covered with coral. Here, accordingly, having 

 taken a boat with a couple of Malays, I jumped over- 

 board, and, in spite of sharks, waded about breast, and 

 even neck, high. Under the coral blocks were numer- 

 ous Eiciaulae, Turbones, Turbonilli, and a few cowries 

 and small cones, mostly encrusted with Nullipores ; but 

 nothing remarkable in the way of shells rewarded my 

 search upon this .occasion. Numerous small Tunicates ad- 

 hered to the stones ; and upon them I also found two species 

 of Nudibranchiata which I had not previously met with. 

 One of these was new, perhaps a species of Chromodoris, 

 and which occurred on no other occasion ; the other, a re- 

 markably tuberculated animal, having but little of that beauty 

 of form and colour which distinguishes the family, was per- 

 haps a variety of the Doris exanthemata of Kelaart, found by 

 him upon the coasts of Ceylon. I afterwards met with other 

 specimens of this Doris on the coast of Borneo, where it 

 attained a magnitude and degree of unsighthness which 

 astonished me. It was there nearly eight inches long, of an 

 ohve-green colour, adorned with. bosses and tubercles, which 

 rendered it anything but a pleasing object. It was also ex- 

 tremely slimy ; and Kelaart remarks that it is impossible to 

 preserve this species ia spirits, owing to its being semi- 

 gelatinous and rapidly dissolving when dead. I did not find 

 this to be the case, however, for aU the specimens I found 

 were readily preserved, and hardened in the spirit. This is 

 one of the largest Nudibranchs recorded ; but the specimen I 

 found upon Fiery Cross Eeef was only three inches long. 



The Malays at once commenced wrenching out the great 

 clams, which they called chama, avowing that they would 

 make excellent curry ; but when I directed their attention 

 to the nmnerous black Holothurise which lay scattered about 



