110 CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



Family : ETJDENDEIIDyE. 



Eudendrium pusillum, von Lendenfeld (17). Plate I., fig. 5. 



From their mode of growth, smooth stems and the colour of the zooids, and also 

 from the position of the gonophores, I believe the present Ceylon specimens to belong 

 to this species. Many of the colonies are only half an inch in height, but some are 

 larger than has yet been described for E. pusillum, reaching 1^ inches. The main 

 stem is of a very dark brown, annulated at its origin and with a few rings occurring 

 here and there, up the stem. The branches are alternate, ringed above their origin, 

 and the ramuli which terminate in hydranths bearing gonophores are ringed or 

 wrinkled throughout. These last are not so long as the ordinary ramuli, their 

 hydranths never lose all the tentacles, although they become atrophied. There are 

 only female gonophores present. The hydranths have about 26 tentacles each. As 

 this species has not been figured before, I show it on Plate L, fig. 5. 



Locality : This species, previously known from Port Jackson, Australia, occurred 

 on the experimental pearl-oyster cages hung over the side of the ship at Cheval Paar, 

 in the Gulf of Manaar, in April, 1902. 



Family : HYDRACTINIIDiE. 

 Podocoryne denhami, n. sp. Plate I., fig. 6. 



Trophosome. Basal crust beset with numerous tall, stout, linear, reddish spines. 

 Hydranths white, with about 24 tentacles on the barren ones and only 4 or 5 on 

 those bearing gonophores, and these latter are also considerably smaller. 



Gonosome. A pair of large and globose gonophores to each hydranth. 



Locality : Growing on a Murex shell containing a Pagurid dredged in Palk Strait. 



This species resembles Podocoryne areolata (Alder) in general appearance of the 

 hydranths, the spines and the gonophores, as figured by Hincks, but the tentacles 

 are far more numerous on the larger hydranths of the colony, and the gonophores 

 when separated from the colony are found to be borne on hydranths in place of being 

 sessile on the common base, as at first sight they appear to be. 



At Professor Herdman's suggestion, this interesting new species from the north of 

 Ceylon is named in honour of Mr. E. B. Denham, C.C.S., Assistant Government 

 Agent in the Manaar district, near where the specimen was obtained. 



Clavactinia, n. gen. 



Trophosome. Hydranths claviform, sessile, with filiform tentacles forming several 

 verticils below the base of a conical proboscis ; borne on an expanded crust. 



Gonosome. Sporosacs borne on blastostyles which rise directly from the crust 

 between the hydranths. 



This genus differs from Hydractinia in having several verticils of tentacles (see 

 Plate I., fig. 3), and in not having globular clusters of thread-cells in place of tentacles 

 on the blastostyle. 



