Fam. 5. Phyllactidae.—These are distinguished by the presence of a broad collar of foliaceous or digitate processes outside the circle of tentacles. The processes have some resemblance to the foliaceous tentacles of the Stichodactylinae. They are found in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, but have not yet been found in the British area.
Fam. 6. Bunodidae.—This family is characterised by prominent verrucae and tubercles of the body-wall. It contains several British species, of which Bunodes gemmacea found between tide marks on our southern shores is fairly common. The very common British species Urticina (Tealia) crassicornis is usually placed in this family, but exhibits some peculiarities which seem to warrant its removal to another division of the Actiniaria. It is found in tide pools attached to rocks, but is usually partially hidden by adherent sand or small stones.
Fam. 7. Minyadidae.—This family contains a number of floating Anemones. The basal disc is folded over to form a gas bladder lined by a cuticular secretion. The species are principally found in the seas of the southern hemisphere.
Sub-Order 2. Stichodactylina.
Fam. 1. Corallimorphidae.—In this family the marginal cycle of tentacles and accessory tentacles are all of the same kind. The accessory tentacles are arranged in radial rows. All the tentacles are knobbed at the extremity. The musculature is weak. Capnea sanguinea, Corynactis viridis, and Aureliania heterocera belong to the British fauna. They are all small Anemones of exquisite colours, but are not very common. The genus Corallimorphus is principally found in the southern hemisphere.
Fam. 2. Discosomatidae.—The tentacles are all of one kind and are very numerous. The mesenteries are also very numerous. The sphincter muscle is strong.
This family includes a rather heterogeneous assembly of forms, and will probably require some rearrangement as our knowledge increases. Nearly all the species are found in the shallow waters of the tropics, and among them are to be found some of the largest Anemones of the world. Stoichactis kenti, from the Barrier Reef, is from one to four feet in diameter across the disc. In the West Indies these Anemones do not attain to such a great size, but Homostichanthus anemone from Jamaica is sometimes 8 inches in diameter.
Fam. 3. Rhodactidae.—In this family the body-wall is smooth and the oral disc greatly expanded. The tentacles are of two kinds. On the margin there is a single cycle of minute tentacles, while on the disc there are numerous tuberculate or lobed tentacles. Many of the species of this family are quite small, but Actinotryx mussoides from Thursday Island has an oral disc 8 inches in diameter. The genera and species are widely distributed in the warm, shallow waters of the world.
Fam. 4. Thalassianthidae.—The tentacles are simple or ramified (Fig. 166), and in some cases very long (Actinodendron arboreum). Many of the specimens of A. plumosum and Megalactis griffithsi are of very large size, 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Of the former of these two species Saville Kent remarks: "The colours are lacking in brilliancy, being chiefly represented by varying shades of light brown and white, which are probably conducive to its advantage by assimilating it to the tint of its sandy bed. When fully extended the compound tentacles are elevated to a height of 8 or 10 inches, and bear a remarkable resemblance to certain of the delicately branching, light brown sea-weeds that abound in its vicinity." The same author calls attention to their stinging, which is "nearly as powerful as the ordinary stinging nettle."
