REPORT ON THE ALCYONARIA. 109 



are thickened, knob-like. Both stem and branches are flaccid. The length of the 

 principal stem is 145 mm., of the leading branch 120 mm. The stem is 3 mm. thick 

 at its base, the branches 2 mm. The thickened branch-endings have a diameter from 

 3 to 6 mm. In the early portions of the stem and branches the coenenchyma is very 

 thin ; the polyps first appear at the upper portions, here they form closely packed 

 spirals, with intervals of about 1 mm.; towards the apices of the branches they are 

 closely crowded, and here the coenenchyma becomes significantly thickened. 



The polyps stand straight out from the coenenchyma, and are almost cylindrical. 

 The tentacles are completely retractile, so much so that the calyx on a front view seems 

 quite truncated. The calyx is about 2 mm. high, with a basal diameter of 2 mm. 

 The spicules are large spindles, often armed with warty branches and clubs ; they are 

 sometimes more or less bent, sometimes with branched prominences, which give rise 

 to " Stachelplatten"; the club-shaped extremities often project from the surface of the 

 polyp bodies. The spicules measure 0-5 ; 0-08-0-41 ; 0-08-0-41 ; 0-15-0-9 ; 0-2-0-5; 

 0-07-0-46 ; O-l-O'S ; 0-12 mm. Besides these large spicules, there are smaller spindles, 

 often with bifurcate endings, and of 0-23 to 0-35 mm. in length. In the tentacles are 

 found feebly bent spicules, rounded at one end, and thick with pointed spines at the 

 other, 0-47 to 0-04 mm. long. 



The axis is horny, fibrous, soft, and flaccid. The colour in spirits of the stem is 

 brown, of the coenenchyma and polyps a greyish -white, but white when dried. This 

 species, from the habit of the polyps and the tendency of the spicules to branch, seems 

 to lead to the following genus. 



Habitat. — Station 311, ofl" Port Churruca, Patagonia ; depth, 245 fathoms ; bottom, 

 blue mud. 



Genus 6. Villogorgia, Duchassaing and Michelotti (emend. Ridley, ex parte). 



Duchassaing and Michelotti established this genus ^ for a Gorgonid from Guadeloupe, 

 with the following diagnosis : — " Espfeces rameuses dont la surface laineuse ressemble a 

 du velours si on I'examine a la loupe. Avec le secours du meme instrument, on 

 n'aper9oit dans le ccenenchyme ni squames, ni spicules ; les cellules sont saillantes ; 

 I'axe n'est point calcaire. L'absence de spicules et de squamules distingue assez bien le 

 genre Villogorgia des Muricea, Thesea, Acis, &c." The only species described is 

 Villogorgia nigrescens. 



From a diagnosis like this, in which the absence of the spicules is so clearly set 

 forth, one would scarcely be led to imagine that a Muriceid was referred to ; and still, 

 no doubt, the habit of the species, as represented in the drawing, at once reminds one 



1 Memoire sur les Coralliaires des Antilles, p. 32, pi. iv. fig. 2, 1860. 



