46 



General distribution. The type was found in Arafura Sea, 49 fathoms. 

 Color. The colony is grayish brown in alcohol, axis dark brown, and the spicules are 

 colorless. 



Menacella Gray, (Emended). 



Menacella Gray. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4, Vol. V, 1870, p. 406. 

 Menacella Ridley. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 5, Vol. IX, 1882, p. 191. 

 Menacella Wright and Studer. Challenger Reports, the Alcyonaria, 1889, p. LV. 



Gray's original definition for this genus is as follows : — 



"Coral very much branched, fan-shaped, irregularly reticulated ; stem simple. Bark very 

 thin, formed of numerous very slender fusiform spicules in bundies placed in different directions. 

 Polyp cells short, cylindrical, covered with spicules like the bark, with a smooth convex 8-rayed 

 lid, placed close together on the sides of the branchlets, and more scattered and further apart 

 on the sides of the branches". 



Ridley examined the type of M. reticularis Gray, and decides that Gray was wrong 

 in identifying that species with Gorgonia reticulum Pallas. He also says that the spicules are 

 black. This appears to the present writer to be due to some chemical change, or stain, rather 

 than representing the original condition ; black spicules being unknown in this family. It also 

 seems probable that such a unique character would be noted and mentioned by Gray, were it 

 the condition of the specimen as seen by him. 



For our present purpose a definition for this genus may be constructed by merely 

 condensing that of Gray by leaving out certain characters not of generic value, as follows : — 



Menacella. Colony flabellate and reticulate, calyces short cylinders, spicules all spindles 

 irregularly disposed in the calyx walls. 



The type, and only known species in Menacella reticularis Gray. 



1 . Menacella reticularis Gray. 



Menacella reticularis Gray. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4, Vol. V, 1870, p. 406. 

 Menacella reticularis Ridley. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 5, Vol. IX, 

 1882, p. 191. 



Stat. 28. 8°43'.7S., II5°I9'.5E. Bali Sea. 143 meters. Coral bottom. 



The specimen is, almost entirely denuded of calyces and ccenenchyma and consists of 

 the ramifications of the axis cylinder bearing numerous cysts occupied by parasitic barnacles. 

 These are oval, brown in color, and the whole specimen bears a striking resemblance to a 

 piece of Sargassum with its globular cysts. 



The colony is 20 cm. high and about 1 7 cm. in diameter; is strictly flabellate in form. 

 and reticulate to a slight degree. The axis of the main stem is 3.5 cm. in diameter. The colony 

 is unilateral, most of the branches being on one side of the main stem. The average distance 

 between branches is about 4.8 mm. The calyces are irregularly distributed on all sides of the 

 branches, being more crowded towards the tips of the twigs where they form a clump or 

 cluster; while they are over 1 mm. apart in other places. 



