362 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
its tropical allies. The Australian coast produces giant 
species which may measure no less than from 18 inches 
to 2 feet across their expanded disks. These giant 
anemones are further interesting on account of the cir- 
}cumstance that they are self-constituted ‘“ harbours of 
refuge” to sundry species of fishes and crabs, which 
nestle among their tentacles like birds in a leafy bower. 
The anemones are themselves bright in colour, but the 
| associated fishes are even more so. In an example which 
was photographed by the writer on the Western Australian 
coast, the anemone was olive-green, with the tips of the 
tentacles bright mauve. The fishes, of which three examples 
were present, were brilliant orange-scarlet with white 
bands. In addition to the fishes a small flat-clawed crab. 
shared the sheltering hospitality of the anemone. Some 
of the tropical coral-reef-frequenting anemones, which have 
their tentacles beautifully branched, must be cautiously 
| handled, in consequence of their notable stinging proper- 
ities. All sea-anemones and corals are, in fact, provided 
with peculiar stinging-cells, with which they benumb and 
thus make an easy capture of the living organisms on 
which they prey. While the majority of the sea-anemones 
live single or individually separate lives, there are some 
which form aggregations or colony-stocks of numerous. 
units. These compound growths are brought about by 
repeated budding, or the sub-division or fission, without 
complete separation, of an originally single individual. It 
is by a similar process of recurrent sub-division that the 
wonderful fabrications of the coral-polyps are built up. 
An ordinary coral-animal or polyp, as previously 
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., [Milford-on-Sea 
PORTION OF A STAG’S- 
HORN CORAL 
Each minute circular cell represents the situation 
in life of a smail sea-anemone-like 
animal, or coral-pilyp 
stated, differs in no respect 
from a sea-anemone, except- 
ing for the possession of a 
calcareous skeleton secreted 
within its basal tissues, includ- 
ing portions of the mem- 
branous radiating partitions. 
Some coral-animals, like the 
majority of the Anemones, are 
solitary, and rorm single attached 
or loosely lying corals. The well- 
known MUSHROOM-CORALis one 
of the latter. One species 
observed, which was _ photo- 
graphed through the water by the 
writer as it lay expanded in a 
tide-pool on the Australian Great A CLUMP OF STAG’S-HORN CORAL 
Rarrier Reef, might easily be The life-colours of this coral are a delicate cream with brilliant magenta tips 
Photo by W, Savtlle-Kent, F.Z.S. 
