. Ocean wonders: a companion for the seaside. ight of fourinches; they exist sometimes sin-gly, and then again in groups con-taining two or three dozen. Thetubularian is ensconced in a tough,horny, semi-transparent tube, aboutthe diameter of a fine knitting-needle ; and the little occupant canbe discerned through the walls,appearing like a disjointed mass ofreddish fluid. The horny sheathdoes not extend, as does the sertu-larians, in a protecting calycle single head oe tubulaeia, show-around the head. They have the ™ meDCs„-b™s (a^.very singular habit of self-decapitation. A head rises intovie
. Ocean wonders: a companion for the seaside. ight of fourinches; they exist sometimes sin-gly, and then again in groups con-taining two or three dozen. Thetubularian is ensconced in a tough,horny, semi-transparent tube, aboutthe diameter of a fine knitting-needle ; and the little occupant canbe discerned through the walls,appearing like a disjointed mass ofreddish fluid. The horny sheathdoes not extend, as does the sertu-larians, in a protecting calycle single head oe tubulaeia, show-around the head. They have the ™ meDCs„-b™s (a^.very singular habit of self-decapitation. A head rises intoview from out of the end of the tube, and at about theend of four days drops off, when another promptly takesits place and expands for the same brief period, only toundergo the same fate as its predecessor. The openingand expansion of these little heads is like that of theflowering of minute daisies! a wonderful sight, which Ihope none of my readers may die without witnessing. Ina subsequent chapter of this book I will more fully describe. 158 THE OCEAN. how and where these beautiful objects for the aquarium maybe obtained. Hydractinia polyclina, a yelvet-like mass, frequentlyfound on the shells inhabited by hermit-crabs and on thewhelk, is yet another species of hydroids, composed of suchthickly-massed individuals that with the aid of the naked eyeonly it would be impossible to count them. These, however,are actually united together at their bases. In clear water,and when fully expanded, they exhibit a reddish or whiteappearance. There is another class of minute creatures, a sort of moss-like animals, called Bryozoa. They are found on marineplants, constructing their reticulated, lace-like cells. Theyare compound animals, and belong in one aspect to the mol-lusca family, and are shell-fish anatomically speaking, al-though they have neither a venous nor an arterial system,the nutrient fluid being contained in the visceral Bryozoa are found very plentifully on the
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