ANTIPATHARIA. 99 



so as to form two arcs. The length of the branches on the concave surface of the 

 stem greatly exceeds that on the convex, so that the contour is symmetrical. 



The spines are typical both as to size and arrangement. A few are bifurcated, 

 but as this is only of local occurrence it does not justify the dignity of a new species. 

 The polyps are also typical, but in some, owing to contraction, the tentacles are 

 very inconspicuous. 



A beautiful complete colony (D), closely resembling a young larch tree, was 

 attached to a stone by a disc-like expansion. It is 30 centims. in height, the greatest 

 width being 10 centims. The first 10 centims. are bare, owing to the branches 

 having been broken off, and the next 6 centims. bear branches only on one side. 

 The diameter of the axis at the base is 2 millims. The spines and polyps are typical. 

 A great number of barnacles are attached to the branches. 



Another complete colony (E) was more of the bottle-brush type. It is 13 - 5 centims. 

 high, with branches down to the very base breadth 6 "5 centims. The diameter ot 

 the axis at the base is 1*5 millims., tapering to 0"5 millim. The branching is not so 

 regular as in the others, but in no case do the branches overlap. The spines and 

 polyps agree closely with the typical forms, but the colour of the branches is slightly 

 darker. 



Localities : Station LXIIL, west of Periya Paar, in the Gulf of Manaar, 

 40 fathoms ; and Station XXIV., off Foul Point, outside Trincomalee, 46 fathoms. 



Stichopathes ceylonensis, n. sp. Plate, fig. 9. 



A small, complete, simple colony attached to a piece of stone by an almost spherical 

 expansion. It is 8 "5 centims. long, but only reaches a height of 6 centims. owing to 

 its spiral course. 



The diameter at the base is 1 millim., and this diminishes to 075 millim. at the tip 

 of the colony, so that the tapering is very slight. The stem is translucent, golden 

 brown near the base, becoming paler upwards ; it is hollow throughout its entire 

 length. The first 4 centims. are straight, followed by two open sinistrorse spirals 

 1 "3 centims. in diameter. 



The spines near the base are short, triangular, and compressed, standing at right 

 angles to the stem, disposed irregularly, but mostly one to two lengths apart. Four 

 may be seen from one aspect. On the upper half of the colony the spines are of the 

 same type, but considerably longer in proportion to the thickness of the stem, being 

 equal to about one-third of the diameter. They are arranged in steep sinistrorse 

 spirals and longitudinal rows about two to three lengths apart. Four can be 

 distinctly seen from one aspect, while the tips of two others are visible, so that there 

 are eight altogether in a spiral. 



The polyps are typical and prominent. The tentacles are very long and transparent, 

 and the sagittal pair are inserted almost diametrically opposite. They are separated 

 by a distance of about one-half the length of a polyp. Towards the top of the colony 



O 2 



