But we have turned a stone beneath which lurk several specimens of a
much lovelier creature yet. I see by the gleams of crimson and azure
which shine out from it, that it must be the Crowned Eolis.[18] It
looked a little heap of fibrous semi-pellucid flesh when out of water,
and, like the Triope, must be immersed to display its beauties. Now in
the phial of water, how elegant it is! Its body is long and slender,
tapering away to an almost imperceptible point behind, of a clear
translucent white. The head forms two long smooth taper tentacles,
which wave hither and thither as the creature gracefully glides along;
and besides these it has two other tentacles, distinguished as the
dorsal pair, resembling, in their position and in their structure,
those of the Doris and Triope, but not sheathed.
The chief glory of this exquisite animal, however, is in its breathing
organs. These consist of clusters of finger-shaped papillæ, set
transversely across the back, in about six rows, with the middle line
of the back free. Each of these papillæ is pellucid, with a central
core of the richest crimson, while a very brilliant flush of steel
blue is reflected from the surface, and the tip is opaque white. The
combination of these hues has a most charming effect.
You would scarcely suppose such lovely creatures were fierce and
carnivorous; but they are the most determined enemies of the Sea
Anemones. This beautiful Eolis I have often seen assaulting an Anemone,
ferociously tearing away its tentacles, or gnawing great holes in its
side, and, when touched, stiffening and erecting all its brilliant
papillæ, as the porcupine does its quills.
All these creatures are Mollusca very closely allied to the Cowry and
the Trochus which we lately examined, but destitute of a shell. The
exposure of the breathing organs is a distinguishing character (these
being more commonly, in the order, concealed in a cavity), whence they
are called _Nudibranchiata_, or Naked-gilled Mollusks.
At this season, wherever we find the animals themselves, we may with
confidence expect to find their spawn. This is deposited in masses,
which possess characteristic forms. Thus this roll, which looks as if
you had made a thin ribbon of paste, half an inch wide, and rolled it
into a loose scroll of two or three turns, and then affixed it by its
edge to the under side of a stone, is the spawn-mass of the Sea Lemon.
And here is a much more elegant scroll, of which the constituent is a
slender thread, twisted into a frilled or figure-8 form, as it goes
on to make the spire.[19] This has been laid by the beautiful Crowned
Eolis. If you examine either of these masses with a lens, you will see
that it is composed of a vast multitude of white eggs, suspended in a
clear jelly, in which they are arranged in transverse rows, giving the
opaque appearance to what would else be colourless and transparent.