320 TUKBINOLIADiE. 



Locality, 



Shetland Isles ; Moray Firth ; deep water. 



Looking over the cabinet of Dr. Howden, of Montrose, 

 last winter, my eye fell on this little Coral, which seemed 

 new to me. Its owner was so kind as to transfer it to 

 my possession, when, on careful examination, it proved 

 to be an unrecognised species, with the characters above 

 enumerated. It may be distinguished from P. caryophyllus 

 by the relative proportion of the height to the diameter, 

 and from all other described species by the number of septal 

 cycles. 



Dr. Howden dredged the specimen off Ord Head in 

 Bressai Sound, Shetland, in thirty or forty fathoms, on a 

 bottom of small stones, to one of which it is attached. 



In March of the present year Mr. Gregor sent me, on a 

 valve of Lutraria, a specimen, which appears to be of the 

 same species, but of younger age. It is not more than 

 half the size of the former, but in other particulars agrees 

 sufficiently. On my putting it into sea-water on its arrival, 

 the pellucid flesh came up and filled the intersepts, giving 

 satisfactory evidence of its freshness. Unfortunately it 

 had been sent through the post, packed dry ; it was probably 

 alive when despatched. The whole corallum in this speci- 

 men is of the purest translucent whiteness. It came up 

 on a fisherman's line from the Moray Firth, in about forty 

 fathoms, hard bottom. 



The specific name is from Thule, the ancient designa- 

 tion, as presumed, of the Shetland Isles. 



Taxilianus. 



Thulensis. 



pteropus. 



