




54 
sort of proboscis for the sucking in of food. Tt spreads over the sulcated part 
of the arms, hands, fingers, and tentacula, concealing, under it nourishing ves- 
sels, which may be sometimes traced spreading into the muscular integuments 
between the fingers. The arrangement of its calcareous plates is peculiarly 
. elegant in the tentacula (PL. 11, fig. 6. and 7 where they form two series an- 
 gularly pointed at their inner edge, thus producing a serrated line of insertion 
between each other. Their minuteness may be conceived from the observation, 
that from ten to twelve are necessary to cover the excavated canal of a single 
tentacular joint, which, taking the amount of these, would require about 200 
plates for each full grown tentaculum. | | 
Thavein vain endeavoured to trace apertures at the terminating points of the 
fingers and tentacula, although Gurraxp alleges, that here orifices existed sery- 
ing as mouths to the animal for the taking in its food. It appears probable to me 
that from this assertion M. Lamarck derived his generic character of En- 
crinus. “ The branches forming the umbel are filled with polypi in rows.” 
-The late Mr. Tontn’s specimen, is in another point highly instructive. 
The animal must have suffered material mutilation previously to its having been 
taken from its marine abode, and hence affords a striking illustration of its 
power of reproducing lost parts, to which I alluded when speaking of the auxi- 
liary arms ; the most surprising instance of this, is, that the animal has repro~ 
duced from one of the scapula two new arms (Pr. 1.) each having its two hands 
and six fingers, but as yet not an eighth part the size of the full grown ones. 
They are highly muscular, and prove the gradual developement and formation 
of the calcareous joints in the manner which I have endeavoured to explain, 
when speaking of the superior portion of the column and the formation of the 
auxiliary side arms. The pointed termination of the fingers is coiled, which 
demonstrates the greater sensibility and flexibility of this part during the life of 
the animal. ‘The new formed arms protrude from near the inner cone 
channelled margin of the scapula over the central perforation, 
rest of its slanting surface covered by a conspicuous yellow brow 
In a few other instances, new formed finger 
in different stages of growth, 
ave or 
leaving the 
n epidermis. 
sometimes almost assimilating in size with those 
whose place they now supply. In one case two joints of a finger ከ 
broken transversely on one side, their parts somewhat displaced, and the frac- 
turehealed by new secreted matter. The eflects of an Injury sustained by the 
investing membrane of the column, and the consequent irregularity of the 
ave been 
s proceed from the cuneiform joints . 
