44 CORAL GALLERY. 



On the other hand, those species that have the power of 

 travelling through the air or traversing the ocean are far less 

 fixed in their habitat, and thus the list of so-called " British 

 Birds" receives accessions from time to time from stragglers 

 which find their way from the European continent or even across 

 the Atlantic. 



Slight but permanent variations from the continental type 

 may be recognised in a few of our native species, some of 

 the most marked among vertebrated animals being the Irish 

 Stoat, the Squirrel, the Eed Grouse, the St. Kilda Wren, the 

 Coal Tit, the Goldcrest, and several species of fresh-water 

 fishes, mostly belonging to the genera Salmo and Goregonus. 

 Some of the latter, such as the Vendace, the Gwyniad, and 

 their allies, of which specimens are exhibited in the wall-case 

 in the pavilion, have an extremely local distribution, being only 

 found in some small groups of mountain lakes. 



Of the Seals, only two species are really natives of Britain, 

 the Common Seal {Phoca vitulina) and the Great Grey Seal 

 {Halichcerus grypus) ; both these being shown in the pavilion. 

 Coral Gallery. Parallel with the Bird gallery to the north side (right on enter- 

 Gufde price ^^S)' ^^^ approached by several passages, is a long narrow gallery 

 &d.) containing the collection of Corals and of Sponges and allied forms. 



Commencing at the eastern end, some of the lowest forms of 

 animal life are exhibited in the wall-case and table-cases ; they 

 belong to a group called Protozoa, and, for the greater part, 

 are so minute, that they can be only studied with the micros- 

 cope ; their structure is therefore illustrated by means of models 

 and figures. The next divisions of the gallery are occupied by the 

 Sponges, most conspicuous among these being a series showing 

 the variations of the common bath-sponge (cases 1 and 2), the 

 beautiful flinty Euplectella or Venus' Flower-basket (fig. 16), 

 the Japanese Hyalonema or Glass-rope Sponge (case 3), and the 

 gigantic Poferion or Neptune's Cup, of which several speci- 

 mens are placed on separate stands. Special interest attaches 

 to the case showing the different kinds of Sponges used in 

 commerce. 



Nearly the whole of the remainder of the gallery is given up 

 to Corals. In life these creatures display an immense variety 

 of form and colour, sometimes presenting a marvellous resem- 



