227 



hew iamily are questions \\hich the future must decide. Jror 

 the present 1 think it is better to place it in a new family. The 

 single specimen consists of a cyUndrical stem 15 mm. long by 

 1.75 mm. in diameter attached to a stone by a broad base. It 

 gives rise to four main branches which after a course of io-2u 

 mm. again divide into 12 secondary branches. The secondar)- 

 branches are very slender, about 70 mm. in length, and alone 

 bear the zooids. The zooids are fully expanded 0.65 mm. in 

 length from the base of the anthocodia to the base of the ten- 

 tacles and about 0.3 mm. in diameter. The tentacles are 0.4 mm. 

 ui length, and bear from 12-14 pinnae in a single row on each 

 side. 



The stomodaeum of the zooids is long and bears a very well- 

 marked siphonoglyph. 



The zooids increase in numbers partly by additions at the base 

 of the secondary branches (Fig. 10) where there may be seen 

 two rows, one on each side of the branch, of ver)- young zooids, 

 the youngest being nearest to the primaiy branch. In the lower 

 two-thirds of the secondary branches the bilateral arrangement 

 ;s preserved, but in the upper third other zooids are added, and 

 tlien they appear to be distributed on all sides of the branch in 

 a dense cluster. The colony was female, a few of the polyps 

 bearing a single immature ovum 0.05 mm. in diameter. The 

 genus may be described as follows : — 



Genus Malacogorgia. — Colony slightly branched. Axis horny 

 with no trace of lime. No spicules in emy part of tlie colon)'. 

 Polyps arranged bilaterally in the plane of branching at the basal 

 two-thirds of the secondary branches and on all sides of the 

 terminal one-third of the secondary branches. 



M. capensis willi the characters of the genus. Colour in 

 spirit white. 



Family Gorgfoniidae. 



Tliere are man}- unsatisfactory features about the present day 

 definition of this family, and a thorough revision of the genera is 

 ver)' necessary. 



The species m Cape waters which is clearly i^latygorgia 

 albicans of Studer (16) and Eunicella palma of Verrill, and con- 

 sidered by these authors to be the same as Gorgonia albicans 

 of Kolliker (9), Gorgonia palma var. alba of Esper (3) and 

 l>oplu)gorgia palma of E. and H. exhibits the peculiar torch- 

 shaped spicules of the Plexaurid Eunicella, but it differs from the 

 Plexauridae in having a \'er)' thin and not a thick fleshy 

 roenenchym on the main axis. The remarkable flattening of 

 the axis is similar to that of Gorgonia flammea, in which species 

 there may also be noticed a very remarkable .scantiness of 

 coenenchym on the main branches. Until the anatomy of these 



c 



