7. Anthozoa (incl. Hydrocorallia). B. Alcyonaria. 27 



able to coral growths. The islands of Bermuda afford an interesting com- 

 parison to Zanzibar. 



Gegen die Meinung von Agassiz, dass die Fidschiikorallenriffe nicht in einer 

 Periode positiver Strandverschiebung entstanden seien, wendet sicli Lendenfelcl, 

 der dessen Resultate im Sinne Darwin's deutet. - - Hierher auch May. [Hentschel.] 



Gardiner( 5 ) states that the banks of the Maldives arise on a common 

 plateau at a depth of about 190 fms. The land has been undoubtedly raised 

 above the sea and is now everywhere on the larger banks being washed 

 away. The atoll reefs are growing outwards on all sides while their lagoons 

 are increasing in area and probably also in depth. The atolls owe their 

 existence to the fusion of reefs lying on the circumference of banks, together 

 with the washing away of the reefs in the interior of the same banks as their 

 circumscribing reefs became more perfect. In general the results are in agree- 

 ment with the conclusions drawn by Murray as to the formation of atoll-reefs. 



- See Gardiner (*). 



B. Alcyonaria. 



Hargitt & Rogers give synoptic tables of the Alcyonaria occurring in the 

 West Indies and in West Atlantic coast waters. They describe Spongodes 1 n. 

 (from 75-76 fms.), Solanderia 2 n., Muricella 1 n., Leptogorgia 1 n. 



Kiikenthaii 1 describes from the east coast of Africa (Indian Ocean) Penna- 

 tulids which differ from the Umbellulidai in the fact that the polyps are not in 

 a cluster at the end of the stem but in whorls of 2 or 3 large isolated polyps 

 situated at moderately regular and wide intervals upon the stem. The new 

 family Chunellidse (2 n. g., 2 n. sp.) created to include these specimens is 

 thus diagnosed: Pennatulids with long, slender, rounded quadrangular stem, 

 with an inner axis, a terminal polyp and large polyps arranged in whorls. 

 The author also describes Xenia 2 n., Nephthya 2 n., Paraspongodes 1 n. and 

 Anthomastus 2 n. - - See also Kiikenthal ( 2 , 3 ) and Moroff( 1 , 2 , 3 ). 



Pratt finds on examining free hand sections of living Alcyonium digitatum 

 that the stellate cells of the mesogloea are amoeboid. These cells, which 

 have been regarded as nervous, were observed to withdraw and protrude their 

 pseudopodia (the so-called nerve fibrils) and to wander in a definite course in 

 the mesogloea. After feeding the polyps for 3 days with suspended carmine, 

 minute particles of the pigment were found in the endoderin cells of the 

 ccelentera, some of which were observed to be amoeboid. After 4-7 days feeding 

 the carmine particles were seen in the cells of the endodermic canals and in 

 the solid cords of endoderm cells of the mesoglcea (some of the cells of both 

 these becoming amoeboid) and also in the stellate and fusiform cells. These 

 cells therefore appear to be endoderm cells which have become amoeboid and 

 have wandered into the mesogloea. Probably they transmit stimuli but are 

 also nutritive and excretory in function. They may be therefore looked upon 

 as neurophagocytes. 



Versluys( 2 ) describes the Chrysogorgiid* collected by the Siboga Expedition, 

 and, having also examined the type specimens of this family in the Challenger 

 collection, he supplements or corrects Wright and Studer's descriptions. The 

 author gives an account of the structure and branching in, and a revision of, 

 the family and genera. In Chrysogorgia there are on the surface of the 

 ccenenchyme numerous cylindrical or conical outgrowths, the epidermis at 

 the tip of which clearly differs from that over the rest of the outgrowth and 

 contains nematocysts. These outgrowths have no mouth. They are modified 



