Page:The aquarium - an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea.djvu/63

36 it quite common in these ledges, of which it appears characteristic.

Its habit is to lurk in narrow fissures, in the cavities of the under sides of stones, or not infrequently in the deserted holes of Pholas or Saxicava. The disk is wide and flat, and as it is very expansile, it spreads itself to a considerable distance around the margin of its hole. So essential is it to its comfort, however, that it should have a retirement, that if it be put into an Aquarium, though it may at first affix itself to a flat stone or to the surface of a shell, it will crawl along upon its base till it finds some loose stone, beneath which it will insinuate itself till it is quite concealed, or a narrow crevice or fissure, as between two contiguous stones, into which it may thrust its body.

The Weymouth Anemone is very easily distinguished from any other species that I am acquainted with, by several constant characters; and though there are three well-marked varieties, they are all easily recognised as constituting but one and the same species. The marks common to all, and yet peculiar, are the following. The exterior surface is rough with numerous sucking glands, arranged in close-set perpendicular ridges of pale-yellow warts, with a crimson freckled skin showing between. Every wart has a crimson speck on its summit; and as these are small and numerous, they impart a general red hue to the whole body. The tentacles are not numerous, and are chiefly marginal; they are pale pellucid-yellowish in one variety, and in another lovely rose-colour, but in either condition are studded with transversely-oval