66 Bulletin Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. VII 



predominant kind being long clubs, about 2.5 times as long as 

 those of the external layer and distally tapered in one direction, 

 needle-like, with the entire surface bearing numerous coarse no- 

 dules. The spicules of the external layer are shorter bars, with 

 the surface almost entirely covered with coarse nodules. 



The autozooids, which are completely retractile, within an 

 oval aperture of a long diameter of about one millimeter, have 

 the length, when expanded, of 11 millimeters; the polyps, when 

 folded, forming a subspherical bud ; when dilated, forming a vase- 

 like flower, with a length of 2.6 millimeters, the tentacles being 

 1.5 millimeters long, digitate, with about 18 digits per tentacle, 

 each digit a short, broad, blunt process, the cavity within it con- 

 fluent with that of the central portion of the tentacle. The antho- 

 codial armature has the formation alternate spicules. These small 

 spicules are linear bars of smooth or finely granulose surface, not 

 verrucose and with aborted apices. 



The spicules of the stalk are shown in plate 17, fig. c. These 

 are predominantly of the larger size, there being less than two 

 percentum of the smaller kind. All consist of an elongate central 

 rod, from 0.8 to 1.2 millimeters long, and 0.25 millimeters median 

 transverse width, with the entire surface regularly covered with 

 coarse excrescences, somewhat tree-like, consisting of a short, 

 thick trunk supporting distally a crown, somewhat convex, of 

 irregular marginal contour, nodular and granulose. These excre- 

 scences are placed in close formation, the usual distance separating 

 them being usually from one-third to not quite one-half the di- 

 ameter of a nodule. 



This species is distinguished from all other members of the 

 genus by its very distinctive spiculation. 



Genus: DENDRONEPHTHYA Kukenthal 

 Dendronephthya rosamondae, new species 



Plates 18, 19 and 20 



Type: One magnificent colony, taken at Anambas Islands, 

 Lat. 30° N., Long. 106° E., 8 miles west of Terampa Cove, Siantan 

 Island, South China Sea, in 33 fathoms, February 6, 1929, by the 

 "Ara." Dedicated to Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt. 



