THE CRESTED ANTIOPA. 325
-whorls of minute, olive-coloured hairs. The other
was a rare species, though sufficiently ahundant here;
Taonia atomaria, resembling a thin yellowish leaf,
split into several divisions, and cut to somewhat of
the shape of a fan. The whole leaf is crossed by
many dark bro^vn lines, which on being magnified are
seen to be composed of dots, clustered together in
this manner. These are the spores, or seeds of the
plant.
Among the animals was a creature of exquisite
beauty, which I now saw for the first time. It was
the Crested Antiopa, one of the naked-gilled Mollusca,
closely allied to the Bolides, some of which formed the
subjects of observation in an earlier part of this volume.
The breathing organs are very numerous; they con-
sist of oval bags, delicately pellucid, arranged all
round the sides and front of the animal, and have an
extremely elegant appearance. Each one has a brown
line running through its transparent substance, and is
tipped with silver-white. The general colour of the
animal is pellucid-grey, with spots and lines of opaque
white, that have tlie lustre of silver. It is about an
inch in length.
This beautiful little animal I brought carefully
home, and placed in one of my large glass vases of sea
water, kept in a fit state for the support of animal life
by growing sea-weeds. It immediately became at
home in its new residence, and remained in good
health for a considerable period. In about a week it
laid on the side of the glass, just beneath the surface
of the water, a beautiful coil of spawn, whicli looked
like a necklace of white beads arranged in successive
r 2