154 
THE OCEAN WORLD. 
offer no solid foundation, large specimens are never found on them. In 
its young state the animal is naked, and measures about the fifteenth 
of an inch in diameter, and about the thirty-second of an inch in 
height. In the earliest state in which I have seen the calcareous 
polypidom, there were four small rays, which were free or unconnected 
down to the base ; in others I have noticed six primary rays, hut in 
every case they were unconnected with each other. Other rays soon 
make their appearance between those first formed; they are mere 
calcareous specks at first, hut afterwards increase in size. The first 
union of rays is observed as a small calcareous rim at the base of the 
polype, which afterwards increases in height and diameter with the 
age of the animal.” 
The animals of this interesting polvpier are vividly described by 
Dr. Coldstream, in a communication to Dr. Johnston, as he observed 
them at Torquay : — 
“ When the soft parts are fully expanded,” ho says, “ the appear- 
ance of the whole animal closely resembles an actinia. When shrunk, 
they are almost entirely hid amongst the radiating plates. They are 
found pendent,” he adds, “ from large boulders of sandstone, just at 
low-water mark. Sometimes they are dredged from the middle of the 
bay. Their colour varies considerably. I have seen the soft parts 
white, yellowish, orange-brown, reddish, and of a fine apple-green. 
The tentacula are usually paler.” 
The CcmjophyUice are sometimes dredged from great depths ; Pro- 
fessor Travers dredged one in eighty fathoms, and Dr. Johnston re- 
marks that the existence of an animal so vividly coloured at so great a 
depth is worthy of remark. “ When taken,” says the professor, “ the 
animal was scarcely visible, being contracted ; when expanded, the 
disk was conspicuously marked by two dentated circles of bright apple- 
green, the one marginal and outside the tentacula, the other at some 
distance from the transverse and linear mouth. In the dark, the 
animal gave out a few dull flashes of phosphorescent light.” 
In addition, wo may mention the assertion of Mr. Swainson, that 
C. ramea, common in the Mediterranean, is occasionally found on the 
Cornish coast ; but Dr. Johnston thinks it improbable that it could 
have escaped the attention of Mr. Couch and Mr. Peach, had it been so. 
As belonging to this family, we present here illustrations of Fla- 
helium pavoninim, Lesson (Fig. 67). 
