MEDUSA. 119 



of the spike, which is nearly a foot long, is made 

 up of transparent semi-cartilaginous scale-like 

 bodies, arranged so as to resemble a catkin, 

 and they are followed by innumerable grape- 

 like organs, which contract and expand at the 

 will of the animal. These are speckled with 

 vivid crimson, and are intermixed with long 

 twining tendrils, giving the whole a singularly 

 plant-like aspect. They are as delicate as they 

 are beautiful, and any attempt to raise them 

 entire out of the water is almost sure to fail, 

 as the slightest blow dissolves the union of the 

 numerous parts composing the elegant, yet com- 

 plicated, whole. Whether they form many 

 animals bound together into a floating republic, 

 or are all to be regarded as the varied and mul- 

 tiplied organs of one creature, is a question as yet 

 open to discussion. 



Almost as beautiful is the Porpita. The only 

 specimens we met with were cast on shore on 

 the sands near Patara. It is a disk of transparent 

 cartilage, of the size and shape of a half-crown 

 piece, marked with concentric furrows, crossed 

 by radiating striae. The upper surface is covered 

 by a purple membrane ; the lower bears sus- 

 pended innumerable suckers of the most brilliant 



