Pufflets, pimplets and muzzlets – Gosse and the common names of sea anemones

Philip Henry Gosse (above), together with his young son Edmund, moved to a new house in St Marychurch, Torquay in 1857. It was a tough year for him, as his wife, Emily, died of breast cancer and Omphalos, his book that attempted to resolve the conflict between Creation and the contemporary view of the geological record, was published to a hostile reception from all quarters. Against this background, Henry busied himself with collecting on the shore and working on describing the British sea anemones and corals. He published what was to become Actinologia Brittanica in 12 parts from 1858 to 1860 and the parts were gathered into a book that was published in 1860 [1,2]. I am fortunate to own a first edition of the book and I have also seen many of the original paintings by Gosse on which its illustrations are based [3].

To many, sea anemones and corals may seem an odd subject for study, yet these primitive animals fascinated many Victorian collectors and they gain their name because of their bright colours and the way they superficially resemble flowers. While those of scientific bent used a Latin binomial classification, others used the common names that are found in the book and which provide a splendid example of the richness of the English language. Gosse himself was aware of the colour provided by these names and, in the Preface of The Romance of Natural History [4], he wrote:  

In my many years’ wanderings through the wide field of natural history, I have always felt towards it something of a poet’s heart, though destitute of a poet’s genius.

That’s not to suggest that Gosse was not a good scientist (he was a Fellow of the Royal Society), but he recognised the value of popularising the subject. Here is a list of the common names of most British sea anemones and corals, as given by Gosse (the definite article has been omitted in each case) [1]:

Plumose anemone *

Daisy anemone *

Scarlet-fringed anemone *

Rosy anemone *

Ornate anemone

Fish-mouth anemone (*)

Orange-disked anemone *

Snowy anemone *

Sandalled anemone

Pallid anemone

Translucent anemone

Eyed anemone

Cave-dwelling anemone *

Snake-locked anemone *

Parasitic anemone *

Gold-spangled anemone

Cloak anemone *

Walled corklet *

Warted corklet

Painted corklet

Eyelet

Trumplet

Opelet *

Beadlet *

Deeplet

Gem pimplet *

Glaucous pimplet

Red-specked pimplet *

Diadem pimplet *

Marigold wartlet

Dahlia wartlet

Necklet

Gapelet

Scottish pearlet

Scarlet pearlet

Arrow muzzlet *

Waved muzzlet

Trefoil muzzlet

Sand pintlet

Rock pintlet *

Painted pufflet

Crimson pufflet *

Sprawlet

Vestlet

Crock

Crimson Imperial

Yellow Imperial

Globehorn *

Sandy creeplet

Furrowed creeplet *

Wrinkled creeplet

Devonshire cup-coral *

Moray cup-coral

Shetland cup-coral

Winged cup-coral

Smooth-ribbed wedge-coral

Knotted wedge-coral

Scarlet crisp-coral

Tuft-coral

Weymouth carpet-coral

Scarlet and gold star-coral

* = collected by Gosse from the shores around Torquay

(*) = sent to Gosse, having been collected by others from the shores around Torquay

Of the 61 types of sea anemone and coral in this list, 22 (36%) were collected by Gosse from the coast around Torquay. Although an excellent area for discovering these fascinating creatures, the high number reflects Gosse’s industry rather than this coast being a mecca for the animals. As an example of his industry, he remarks that the area shown in the image below was an especially good one for sea anemones, if one ventured by small boat to explore the cracks and fissures during low spring tides.

Anyone reading the list, and who wishes to escape the superficiality of the modern world, will be struck by the beauty of the names. My favourites are the red-specked pimplet, the dahlia wartlet, and the crimson pufflet: Gosse’s illustrations of these sea anemones, scanned from my copy of Actinologia Britannica, are shown below (in order).

I’m sure you will have your own favourites and, like Gosse, be stimulated to find examples during visits to the British coast.

[1] Philip Henry Gosse (1860) Actinologia Britannica: a history of the British sea-anemones and corals. London, John Van Voorst.

[2] R.B.Freeman and Douglas Wertheimer (1980) Philip Henry Gosse: A bibliography. Folkestone, Wm. Dawson & Sons Ltd..

[3] https://rwotton.blogspot.com/2017/04/stunning-biological-illustrations.html

[4] Philip Henry Gosse (1860) The Romance of Natural History. London, J.Nisbet & Co.