68 
CLASS L— ORDER II. 
they adhere by their lower part : in fine, there are some 
in which these lines cease to project forward, and are 
attached to the stem by the back part of the cells. 
Therefore, notwithstanding the apparent difference be- 
tween the Amathia lendigera , and the A. spiralis, it is im- 
possible to place them in separate genera, on account 
of the intermediate species which gradually link toge- 
ther beings at first sight exceedingly dissimilar. 
No distinct character can be formed from the dis- 
tance which separates these cellular groups from 
each other ; in the Amathia lendigera , so common in 
our seas, we find individuals in which all the groups 
of cells touch, and others in which those same groups 
are distant two or three millimetres from each other. 
It is in the number and the form of the cells of each 
group, in their situation, ramification, &c., that we 
find the means of distinguishing the species. 
The Amathias are of a horny substance, very 
slightly cretaceous. 
Their colour is a brown fawn, more or less deep. 
They vary in height from one to fifteen centimetres. 
They are frequently found parasites on the Tha- 
lassiophytes ; sometimes they adhere to rocks or other 
hard marine productions by a fibrous base. 
They appear more common in the equatorial and 
temperate seas, than in the cold or icy regions ©f 
either pole. 
LENDIGEROUS. 
1. Amathia lendigera . Branching and filiform ; 
cells with an even border ; groups at unequal dis- 
tances, sometimes very wide apart, 
European seas. 
