1044 Marvels of the Universe 
There is, however, one exception to this rule; in a genus termed Appendicularia, which consists 
of one or two minute species, the tadpole form is retained through life. These are shown of the 
natural size in the upper right-hand corner of page 1045. 
Now, whilst all the Ascidians have this method of reproduction, viz., the production of eggs 
from which free-swimming larve are developed, many species have a second method, viz., 
reproduction by budding, e.g., in Clavellina. Hollow, root-like threads are thrown out from 
the base of one individual, and from these, buds arise and develop into new individuals—like 
young strawberry-plants on their “‘runners,’’ until a colony is formed as shown below, or as 
those shown on page 1042. 
In what are termed the Compound Ascidians, such as those shown in the coloured plate, this 
reproduction by budding results in the formation of groups so symmetrical that each group or 
colony can be taken as one 
organism, especially as the 
leathery tunic in these runs 
continuous from one to the 
other, so as to present an 
unbroken leathery surface in 
which the little individuals 
appear to be simply embedded 
(page 1043). 
In some species, such as 
Morchellium (shown in the 
coloured plate), they are set 
side by side so as to form 
pear-shaped masses, which are 
usually grouped side by side 
and suspended by their small 
ends from some overhanging 
portion of rock. In the beauti- 
ful Strawberry Ascidian (also 
in the plate), they are arranged 
[By J. Sinel. 
CLAVELLINA. in double rows in zigzag 
A group of this Sea Squirt, the members connected at the base. A developing method, the little bright-red 
bud i the left. Tk ime iz ae ; ; 
Udstarecens on ner et nT Ut ces nnctinctes asap. individuals, each with a tiny 
collar of white, forming a pretty design on a flattened strawberry-shaped mass which is affixed 
to the rock by a short stout stalk. 
In some species the separate individuals are so small as to be invisible to the unaided eye, and 
they appear to be set without order in a leathery skin which encrusts either rock or seaweed. One 
remarkable species named Leptoclinum lacazii forms encrusting masses sometimes a foot square and 
of a brilliant crimson colour (see plate). This species is found only at the very lowest range of 
the tide in rock grottos or deep oozy recesses. 
Those who have read Victor Hugo’s “ Toilers of the Sea” will perhaps remember that in 
describing the marine cave in the Channel Island in which one of his heroes had been eaten by 
an octopus, he says: ‘‘ The walls were splashed with crimson stains, as if giants had been fighting 
there.’ It was Leptoclinum lacazii that the renowned novelist had seen, but he did not know 
what these red splashes were. In some of the thin, stone -encrusting ones, such as Didemnum, the 
leathery skin or communal tunic is closely packed with myriads of microscopic many-rayed stars 
of carbonate of lime or of silica, and thin slices of this, seen under the microscope, present a 
spectacle like the starry sky at its best. 
