REPORT ON THE ALCYONARIA. 11 



upwarJa at angles of 35° to 40° to tiie stem. Their law of braineliing is the same a»s in 

 the foregoing species, only the twigs coming off form sharper angles with the branches, and 

 the lateral twigs with the twigs. The terminal twigs are hair-like. The axis is yellowish- 

 brown, the stem has a shining, feebly iridescent surface, soft and flexible, the same in the 

 twigs. It rises sharply and directly fi-om the completely calcified base. 



The polyps are pitcher-shaped, with very broad bases, constricted beneath the circlet of 

 tentacles. This form seems conditional upon the fact that the lower portion of the body 

 contains in all a great number of ova, and cannot therefore be regarded as specifically 

 characteristic, since it is dependent upon the maturity of the sexual organs at the time. 



The spicules of the outer layer are large spindles, rounded off at one end, pointed at 

 the other, often somewhat constricted in the middle. Little warts cover their surface, 

 and at the blunt end are produced into minute teeth. In 

 the polyps they are placed longitudinally, with the blunt 

 end in front, in the tentacles they form four to five rows, 

 towards the base they assume an oblique direction, and 

 then pass up the stem, where they are placed longi- 

 tudinally ; while broad near the polyp, further away they 

 assume a more spindle-like shape, with a blunt end, and 

 they are covered with sharp little spines. 



Spicules of the polyps, length to breadth in mm. — 

 0-41-0-07 ; 0-41-0-04; 0-25-0-03 ; 0-33-0-03 ; in the fio. 3.-^!,minoMon of oasygorgia 

 coenenchyma '4-0 "04. 



The deeper layer consists of flat, very differently shaped bodies, which are attached 

 to one another by fine teeth. At the base of the polyp they form large, transversely 

 elongated, somewhat crooked bodies, which in their curvature are adapted to the con- 

 vexity of the body wall. Length to breadth 0'08-0'267 ; 0"1-0'19 mm.; towards 

 the mouth they become small flat scales or flat spindles without sculpture. In the 

 tentacles one also meets with longish scales with sharp teeth on the edges. Length to 

 breadth 0-1-0 -IS; 0-04-0-14; 0-04-0-12; 0-06-0-14; 0-12-0"16 mm. Finally there are 

 spindles with serrated edges, one end of which is produced into three or four finger-like 

 processes. Height to breadth •2-0 '01 8. In the coenenchyma the lower layer consists 

 of small plates, of oval, three-cornered, polygonal form, of very different sizes, 0"25-0'05 ; 

 0-18, 0-2, 0-1 mm. 



Habitat. — Station 307 ; coast of Chiloe ; depth, 120 fathoms; bottom, blue mud. 



3. Dasygorgia ciipressa, n. sp. (PI. V. fig. 3). 



The strong stem, rising from a flat, expanded, calcareous basis, gives off successive 

 spirals of branches at short intervals. These develop twigs and lateral twigs, which come 



