Descriptions

This soft-coral, commonly known as ‘dead mans fingers’ is attached to a piece of rock, and from the surface of the yellowish fleshy stock numerous eight rayed polyps, shown enlarged, top left, project like minute white blossoms. There is no continuous hard skeleton but irregular calcareous spicules are scattered through the substance of the stock giving it a certain amount of rigidity.

Inscription

The principle drawing on this sheet gives an enlarged representation of a common British Coral called Alcyonium. It is attached to a piece of rock, and from the surface of the yellowish fleshy stock numerous eight rayed polyps project like minute white blossoms. One of these polyps is shown on a larger scale in the upper left hand corner. There is no continuous hard skeleton, as in the true corals, but irregular deposits of carbonate of lime are scattered through the substance of the stock giving it a certain amount of rigidity. Three enlarged drawings of such spicules are shown. Drawings by the late Philip Henry Gosse FRS.



This object is not on display.