Fam. 3, Plate 36. 



EOLIS DESPECTA, Johnston. 



E. alba, linea olivacea undata in medio dorsi; branchiis amplis, ovatis, in serie unica utrinque 

 digestis : tentaculis dorsalibus longis, lateribus pedis anterioribus non productis. 



Eolidia despecta, Johns, in Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. 8, p. 378, fig. 35 e: idem in Ann. Nat. Hist, 

 vol. 1, p. 123. 



Hab. On corallines at or beyond low-water mark. Berwick Bay, Dr. Johnston. Whitley, North- 

 umberland, Oban, Argyleshire. 



Body two or three lines long, slender, tapering gradually to a point behind ; trans- 

 parent white with a slight greenish tinge in the centre from the viscera shining through. 

 Two reddish streaks pass backwards from the dorsal tentacles towards the first branchial 

 papillae, and two fainter ones also pass forward to the oral tentacles ; besides these there is 

 a streak of pale red on each side of the body below the branchiae. These reddish markings 

 are, however, sometimes wanting. Dorsal tentacles long, tapering, smooth, and stout, 

 approximating at their bases, but generally spread much apart and inclined forwards ; pel- 

 lucid, with the red streak of the head and shoulders passing a little way upwards. The oral 

 pair short not above one third the length of the dorsal ones, linear and pellucid. BrancJiice 

 large, oblong-ovate, pointed, forming a single line of four papillae on each side of the back. 

 The first pair are opposite each other, the rest alternating. The central part of each papilla 

 is of a pale olive green or yellowish brown, coarsely and irregularly granulated with a much 

 darker shade of the same colour ; the outside rim whitish and transparent ; the tips opaque 

 white, with sometimes a reddish band. A dark vessel of the same colour as the branchiae, 

 and similarly granulated, is seen passing down the centre of the back in a zig-zag line sending 

 off a branch into one of the papillae on each side alternately at the angles. Foot very narrow, 

 tapering to a point behind, and extending considerably beyond the papillae ; the front is 

 rounded and not produced at the sides. The eyes are small. 



The specimen from which Dr. Johnston's description of this pretty little species was 

 taken had only three papillae on each side, and was probably a young one. It is subject to 

 a little variation in colour and markings ; some individuals being very pale, while others 

 have the red or olive markings more or less conspicuous. The very large and undulating 

 central branch of the digestive system is lined with coloured granules, and has in all proba- 

 bility the same function to perform as the glands of the papillae. It may therefore be con- 

 sidered a portion of the hepatic organ. In this peculiarity, as well as in its general aspect, 

 this little creature shows a departure from the type of Eolis. It appears nearly allied to 

 the Limax tergipes of Forskal, upon which Cuvier founded his genus Tergipes ; but that 

 eminent naturalist was, we think, led into an error by relying upon the structure and func- 



