[1] Trochus ziziphinus, which the reader will see figured in the upper right corner of Plate I.

[2] Phasianella pullus.

[3] Conch. Syst. ii. 252.

[4] LeÇ. ElÉm. 188.

[5] Nassa incrassata.

[6] Nassa reticulata. A figure of this species is seen in the lower left corner of Plate I.

[7] Aporrhais pes-pelicani, which the reader will see figured in the centre of Plate I.

[8] CyprÆa EuropÆa, which is delineated in the lower right corner of Plate I.

[9] Pecten opercularis, of which see a group in Plate II.

[10] Parnell’s “Hermit.”

[11] For a description of the mode in which this action is performed, see Devonshire Coast, p. 50, et seq.

[12] Quin died in 1766. Montagu, in 1803, says of this Pecten, that “it is known by the name of Frills or Queens,” with no allusion to the actor. The term “frill” obviously refers to the form of the shell.

[13] The principal figure in Plate III. represents this species (Pentacta pentactes) in the expanded condition described in the text.

[14] Sipunculus punctatissimus, figured in Plate III., to the left.

[15] Sipunculus Bernhardus.

[16] Triopa clavigera.

[17] Doris tuberculata, which the reader will see figured in Plate IV., in the centre of the foreground.

[18] Eolis coronata, figured in the upper part of Plate IV., above the Sea Lemon.

[19] Both these are depicted in Plate IV. That on the right of the picture is the spawn of Doris tuberculata; that on the left is the spawn of Eolis coronata.

[20] Alder and Hancock (Doris).

[21] Purpura lapillus, sometimes known as the Dog-winkle. Three individuals, representing the varieties of colour, are seen in the middle of Plate V., and a cluster of their egg-capsules in the lower left corner.

[22] See Devonshire Coast, p. 60.

[23] Trans. Micr. Soc. (Ser. II.), vol. iii. p. 17.

[24] Patella vulgata, represented by two examples in Plate V., at the left side of the picture.

[25] Emarginula reticulata, of which a figure appears in the right-hand corner of Plate V.

[26] Fissurella reticulata.

[27] Pholas dactylus; the principal figure in Plate VI., represented as exposed in its burrow by the splitting off of a portion of the limestone rock.

[28] Zoologist, p. 7819.

[29] Nat. Hist. of Brighton, p. 185.

[30] Zoologist, p. 6541.

[31] Saxicava rugosa; represented by the smaller figure in Plate VI.

[32] Actinia mesembryanthemum, represented in Plate VII., at the lower right-hand corner.

[33] Anthea cereus, var. smaragdina, represented at the left hand of Plate IX.

[34] M. Coste has lately communicated a paper to the Academy of Sciences on the progress of his artificial oyster-beds on the western coast of France. Several thousands of the inhabitants of the island of RÉ have been for the last four years engaged in cleansing their muddy coast of the sediments which prevented oysters from congregating there; and as the work advances the seed wafted over from Nieulle and other oyster localities settles in the new beds, and, added to that transplanted, peoples the coast, so that 72,000,000 of oysters, from one to four years old, and nearly all marketable, is the lowest average per annum registered by the local administration, representing, at the rate of from 25 to 30 francs per thousand, which is the current price in the locality, a sum of about two millions of francs, the produce of an extremely limited surface. That the waves or currents carry the seed of oysters is a well-known fact, since the walls of sluices newly erected are often covered with them. In the island of RÉ, the existence of the oyster-beds, however, no longer depends upon this contingency, they being now in a state of permanent self-reproduction. The distinction of oyster-beds into those of collection and those of reproduction is quite unnecessary, since the property of reproduction belongs to them all. In some localities it is sufficient to prepare the emerging banks for collection to see them soon covered with seed; but in other places nothing would be obtained without transplanting proper subjects, an operation which by no means impairs their reproductive qualities. The concession of emerging banks is anxiously applied for by the inhabitants of the coast; the more so as improvements in the working of this branch of trade are of daily occurrence. Thus, Dr. Kemmerer, of RÉ, covers a number of tiles with a coating of a kind of mastic, brittle enough to enable him to detach the small oysters from it. When this coating is well covered with seed he gets it off all in one piece, which he carries to the place where the seed is to grow. The same tile he coats a second time, and so on as long as the seed will deposit upon it. In short, wherever the violence of the currents and the instability of the bottom do not present irresistible obstacles the cultivation of the oysters has become a lucrative business.

[35] Alcyonium digitatum, for which see Plate VII. It is the white object near the middle of the picture, partly concealed by the intervening leaf of green Ulva.

[36] Sagartia rosea, of which a specimen, only partially open, is delineated in the centre foreground of Plate VII.

[37] Sagartia miniata.

[38] Sagartia nivea; two of this species, one closed, the other partially opened, are seen at the left corner of the foreground in Plate VII.

[39] Sagartia venusta, a group of which occupies the right-hand side of Plate IX., including both expanded and closed individuals.

[40] Sag. bellis, sphyrodeta, troglodytes, pura.

[41] See my History of the British Sea-anemones.

[42] Actinoloba dianthus.

[43] For a fuller account of these organs and their offensive function, which constitute an apparatus not exceeded in interest by any that I know of in the whole realm of natural history, I beg to refer the reader to my Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast, and my Actinologia Britannica, passim.

[44] Tealia crassicornis, which forms the subject of Plate VIII.

[45] Lucernaria campanulata is represented in the upper right-hand corner of Plate VII.

[46] Cardium rusticum, figured at the left hand of Plate X., with the foot thrust out and pushing.

[47] Cardium edule.

[48] Highlands and Islands of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 349.

[49] Voyage round Scotland, vol. i. p. 460.

[50] Venus fasciata, of which a figure is given in the midst of the foreground of Plate X.

[51] PalÆemon serratus, represented in the upper figure in Plate XI., resting, as described, on a leaf of IridÆa edulis.

[52] Crangon vulgaris, a figure of which may be seen in the lower part of Plate XI.

[53] British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, p. 257.

[54] Solea vulgaris, and S. pegusa.

[55] British Fishes, vol. ii. p. 298.

[56] Rhombus punctatus, delineated at the right-hand side of Plate XII., adhering to a flat stone.

[57] Ammodytes lancea, for which see the centre of Plate XII.

[58] Trachinus vipera, represented by the lower figure in Plate XIII.

[59] So old Drayton, in his “Polyolbion” sings, quaintly enough, and with a noble defiance of grammar:—

[60] Since the above was written, the question has been set at rest, by Dr. GÜnther’s and Mr. Byerley’s actual discovery of poison-glands in connexion with these spines.

[61] Gasterosteus spinachia, represented by the upper figure in Plate XIII.

[62] It is depicted in Plate XIV.

[63] Jones’s Animal Kingdom, p. 90.

[64] This species, together with the following, is represented on Plate XV.; the latter coiled among the stones, and preparing to attack a Serpula.

[65] Glaucus, p. 103.

[66] Aplysia punctata, of which two specimens, one viewed sidewise, and the other mounting an angle of rock, showing the front of its head, are depicted in Plate XVI. Sowerby applied the name of “hybrida” to the species, and Forbes and Hanley have adopted it; but even the inflexible law of priority does not warrant the perpetuation of a name which is glaringly absurd, and expresses a manifest contradiction; for if the creature were a hybrid, it would not be a species, and not be entitled to a specific name.

[67] Outlines of Comp. Anatomy, p. 371.

[68] De Anim. Marin., quoted in Johnston’s Introd. to Conchology, p. 18.

[69] This animal will be described in a subsequent chapter.

[70] Journal of Researches, chap. i.

[71] Johnston.

[72] Dentalium entalis, represented at the right-hand corner of the foreground in Plate XVII.

[73] Pileopsis Hungaricus, of which a specimen is represented in the attitude of life, adhering to the dark rock, in Plate XVII.

[74] Litt. de la France, i. 133.

[75] Gammarus locusta.

[76] Bate and Westwood’s Crustacea, p. 382.

[77] Bate and Westwood, p. 380.

[78] Bate and Westwood, p. 391.

[79] It is named Ligia oceanica, and is represented in Plate XVII., in the centre of the picture.

[80] Phyllodoce viridis.

[81] P. laminosa, represented in the middle and right of Plate XVIII.

[82] Litt. de la France, ii. 223.

[83] Nereis margaritacea, of which the head and fore parts of the body crawling over a stone are depicted at the left-hand corner of Plate XVIII.

[84] Polynoe cirrata.

[85] Dr. Williams, On the British Annelida, p. 219.

[86] Lepidogaster bimaculatus, of which individuals of different varieties of colour, and in different attitudes, are represented in Plate XIX.

[87] Let me refer my readers to an excellent and most interesting paper on this little fish, by my friend, Mr. W. R. Hughes, in the Zoologist for July 1864.

[88] Asterina gibbosa, figured in the right-hand foreground of Plate XX.

[89] Echinus miliaris, a specimen of which may be seen delineated in Plate XX., in the upper left-hand corner.

[90] Comatula rosacea; a fine specimen of which, taken by myself in a little cove near Torquay, I have delineated in the centre of Plate XX.

[91] Porcellana longicornis.

[92] Porcellana platycheles, represented by the central figure in Plate XXI.

[93] The Aquarium: 2d Ed. pp. 37-45.

[94] Galathea squamifera, represented in Plate XXI., at the left hand, in the act of shooting backward.

[95] G. nexa, for which see the right-hand corner of the same Plate.

[96] G. strigosa.

[97] Tenby, p. 169, Plates VII. and VIII.

[98] Crenilabrus Cornubicus, of which a group, in several varieties of colour, size, and position, are represented in Plate XXII.

[99] Aquarium (2d Ed.), p. 108.

[100] Sagartia parasitica.

[101] Cottus bubalis, two specimens of which are figured in the centre and left corner of Plate XXIII.

[102] Zoologist, p. 1403.

[103] British Fishes (2d Ed.), pp. 79, 81.

[104] Syngnathus lumbriciformis, represented in its favourite attitude, on a tuft of Chondrus, at the right side of Plate XXIII.

[105] In a paper read before the Zoological Society on June 11th, 1861, Dr. J. E. Gray describes as new to naturalists these and other habits of the Pipe-fishes, which he had observed when watching specimens kept in the tanks of the gardens in Regent Park. And he takes occasion to lecture other “persons who have leisure and opportunity” for not giving more particulars of the manners of fishes. But the habits in question had been described in minute detail by myself nine years before (see my Devonshire Coast, p. 180, et seq.), together with many other interesting points in the economy of these curious fishes. The still earlier observations of Mr. Couch are also thus cavalierly ignored.

[106] Syngnathus acus.

[107] Zoology for Schools, p. 221.

[108] Col. i. 16, 17.

[109] Blennius ocellaris: it is the principal figure in Plate XXIV.

[110] Blennius pholis.

[111] Originally communicated to a Monmouthshire newspaper in Oct. 1847.

[112] Gobius minutus of zoologists, represented in the centre of Plate XXIV., partly overshadowed by the Butterfly Blenny.

[113] Solaster papposa, represented, about one-third of the natural size, by the right-hand figure on Plate XXV.

[114] Ophiocoma granulata, seen in the upper left-hand corner of Plate XXV.

[115] Gonoplax angulatus, the principal figure in Plate XXVI., occupying the foreground.

[116] Ebalia; a male specimen of E. Bryerii is represented in Plate XXVI., clinging to the stem of an aged tangle, in the upper left-hand corner.

[117] E. Pennantii.

[118] Aquarium (2d Ed.), p. 154.

[119] Pagurus Bernhardus; so called, I presume, from Bernard, the monk, in allusion to its passing its life in its cell: whence also “Hermit-crab.”

[120] In Plate XXVII. both species are represented. In the foreground is a full-grown Pagurus Prideauxii tenanting a whelk-shell, which carries a fine specimen of the Cloak Anemone (Adamsia palliata). In the distance is seen P. Bernhardus, inhabiting a shell of Natica.

[121] See my Aquarium, p. 156, et seq.

[122] These facts were originally published in the Zoologist for 1859 (p. 6580). In the Quarterly Journal of Science for January 1864, some observations of Colonel Stuart Wortley are cited, confirmatory of mine, which, however, are wholly ignored by the Editors.

[123] Physalia pelagica, of which a representation is given in the centre of Plate XXVIII. Some naturalists make two or three other species, but I do not think that their distinctive characters can as yet be depended on.

[124] Gatherings of a Naturalist, p. 7.

[125] I ought to say that, as usual in these stranded examples, the tentacles and suckers were so mutilated by washing on the shore, that I have been compelled to aid my observation by the figures of Eschscholtz and Huxley, on whose correctness I could depend.

[126] See his Gatherings in Australasia, for much interesting information on both these animals.

[127] Op. cit.

[128] Sarsia tubulosa; a group is represented of the size of life, in the lower right-hand corner of Plate XXVIII.

[129] Æquorea Forbesiana; this fine species forms the subject of Plate XXIX.

[130] Aurelia aurita, represented (about one-fourth of the natural size) in Plate XXX. On the extreme right and left are seen the young, in the stages of Hydra, Strobila, and Ephydra.

[131] Cydippe pileus, seen, of the size of life, near the upper left-hand corner of Plate XXX.

[132] Dr. Drummond, in Trans. Roy. Irish Acad. for 1839.

[133] Antennularia antennina, figured in Plate XXXI., springing from the lower left corner. It will be easily recognised from the description.

[134] For details and figures of these developments, I beg to refer the reader to my Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast.

[135] Scalpellum vulgare, seen in Plate XXXI., in the position described in the text.

[136] Balanus balanoides, of which a group is seen in the extreme left of the foreground in Plate XXXI.; B. porcatus, a single specimen, is a little to the right.

[137] Lepas anatifera. A group, the size of life, is seen depending in the upper right-hand corner of Plate XXXI.

[138] Pyrgoma Anglicum, of which three specimens are seen attached to a Caryophyllia Smithii, at the left side of Plate XXXI.

[139] Zoologist, pp. 7054, 7111.

[140] Serpula contortuplicata, a mass of which forms the subject of Plate XXXII., mingled with S. triquetra.

[141] Some in this infant state are seen in Plate XXXIII.

[142] Brit. Annelida, in Rep. Brit. Assoc., 1851.

[143] Zoologist, p. 5976.

[144] Vide supra, p. 135.

[145] Sabella tubularia, represented as occupying the foreground and the left-hand side of Plate XXXIII.

[146] I have figured a group in the centre of Plate XXXIII. I cannot satisfactorily identify it with any species described in Grube’s Fam. der Anneliden. It has some affinities with the Sabella penicillus of MÜller; and still more with S. gracilis of Grube. This latter is defined, however, as wanting the two naked threads by the mouth, which in my little species are sufficiently conspicuous. I must leave it undetermined.

[147] Sabella bombyx, represented in Plate XXXIII., towards the right hand, springing out of a group of Serpula tubes.

[148] Intellectual Observer, vol. iii. p. 77.

[149] Ascidia ——?; perhaps A. prunum; but much uncertainty rests on the names of the Tunicata. The species is represented in Plate XXXIV.: two specimens on the left hand.

[150] Clavelina lepadiformis.

[151] Perophora Listeri. For magnified figures of these animals the reader is referred to my Tenby, Plate V., and Devonshire Coast, Plate XV.

[152] Cynthia grossularia; of which a group is depicted in Plate XXXIV., seated on an old cockle valve, to the right of the foreground.

[153] Cynthia quadrangularis, represented in the background of Plate XXXIV., rising above the cockle shell which supports the Currants.

[154] Amoeroecium proliferum.

[155] Two familiar kinds of Botryllus are represented in Plate XXXV.; of which I cannot with certainty indicate the specific names.

[156] Wanderings in New South Wales, etc., vol. i.

[157] Tenby.—The systematic appellations of these four species are Halichondria panicea, Halichondria rosea, Halichondria sanguinea, and Grantia compressa.

[158] Grantia coriacea.

[159] Halina Bucklandi.

[160] Halichondria incrustans.

[161] Leuconia nivea.

[162] It is possible that these may be fragments of the longer needles; but from their bluntly-pointed ends, and general agreement inter se, I do not think so.

[163] Leuconia Gossei (Bowerbank MS.). Dr. Bowerbank, to whom I have communicated this species, thinks that it may have been confounded by former observers with the preceding. “The broad specific difference between them is that L. nivea has very large triradiate spicula at its surface, and L. Gossei has not, but has in lieu of them very large acerate ones at right angles to the surface.” (Bowerb. in litt.)

[164] Hymeniacidon caruncula.

[165] Hymeniacidon albescens.

[166] Pachymatisma Johnstoni.

[167] Microciona carnosa.

[168] I have been minute in the descriptions of these species, because the student of marine zoology has so little to aid him in the identification of our Sponges. This South Devon coast is peculiarly rich in these productions; and several of these, though common here, are considered, as Dr. Bowerbank tells me, quite rare. The figures, which I have drawn from the life with great care, will, I trust, leave no difficulty in the identification.

Plate XXXVI. is devoted to the above species of Sponges. Beginning from the upper right corner, we have Halichondria panicea, greenish yellow, with perforated hillocks: it occurs also in other parts of the picture. The scarlet one next below is Grantia coriacea. The black one to the right is Halina Bucklandi. The plump buff one under the scarlet is Halichondria incrustans. Below this is the contorted Leuconia nivea. Then follows, below, and a little to the left, Hymeniacidon caruncula. Below this are two specimens of Leuconia Gossei, and on the left, yellow, with a slender serpent-like projection, Hymeniacidon albescens. Behind this is the grey globular Pachymatisma Johnstoni, and below, to the left, the pale red Microciona carnosa.