54 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



good description of it, and at once recognised the figure in Gosse's 

 "Actinologia," Ihave no doubt as to the correctness of his discovery, and 

 do not hesitate to add this pretty species to the fauna of Grreystones. 



I am thus able to record two species as new to Ireland, and two 

 which, though not new, have been but rarely found. Doubtless care- 

 ful search at Greystones will add more species to the list. 



Passing on from this part of my Paper, I now proceed to give some 

 details respecting the general marine invertebrate fauna, compiled from 

 rough notes taken while in pursuit of a special subject. 



The area over which I worked was, roughly speaking, a rectangle, 

 commencing in a line with Cable Pock, at the southern point of Bray 

 Head, and extending southward for six or seven miles, with a maximum 

 distance from shore of about four miles and a-half . Within this area 

 I made a large number of hauls, at varying distances from shore, 

 beginning at about two hundred yards and running out thence to 

 the distance mentioned. I also examined the shore line and as far as 

 1 could the shallow water near shore. This latter search, however, 

 was not very easily made, as the water was seldom of that absolute 

 smoothness required for a satisfactory exploration. 



Before giving a list of the fauna, so far as I collected it, it will be 

 desirable briefly to note the main features of the shore and sea bottom 

 of this area. 



Cable Pock runs out a short distance in the sea, then sloping back, 

 rapidly gives place first to a number of large stones of Cambrian and 

 quartz rock, which in turn are replaced by a beach of mingled pebbles 

 and sand. This beach extends for about a mile and a quarter to the 

 south, when it is interrupted at Greystones by a group of low cliffs of 

 slates, grit, and quartz rock, the former being folded and contorted in 

 very striking forms. This promontory has a base of between a quarter 

 and half a mile, and is succeeded to the southward by another beach 

 of pebbles and sand which extends to Wicklow, a distance of some 

 eleven miles from Greystones. The general features of the sea bottom, 

 so far as I can judge, are briefly these : — Opposite Cable Pock there 

 is a considerable area of greyish mud. On a level with the North 

 Strand, as it is locally called, there is nearer shore a bottom of coarse 

 pebbles, merging into the rocks at Greystones : further out the bottom 

 is rocky and very rough, a condition which is maintained up to the 

 Moulditch Bank, a steep ridge running out about a mile and a-half in 

 a direct line from shore, and rising to within a few fathoms of the 

 surface. Beyond this the bottom seems to be composed, like the 

 beach, mainly of pebbles of varying size, a character which it main- 

 tained as far as my investigations extended. Prom this brief sketch 

 it will be readily seen that the shore offered but few advantages for 

 collection. Pebbly beaches as a rule are barren ground, save for what 

 may be washed in by onshore winds, aud the rocks were not of suf- 

 ficient height or extent to afford good pools in which animal life could 

 flourish. Hence, saving for the two common species of sea anemones, 

 Tealia crassicornis, and Actinia mesemhrianthemum, and shore crabs. 



