38 BULLETIN OF THE 



incised or lobed, the divisions are partly acute, and are mimerous and narrow, 

 but not very long, and many are again divided into smaller lobes and rough, 

 points. These measured .86 by .28, .77 by .33, .77 by .29, .67 by .29, .62 

 by .24, .57 by .19, .48 by .21 mm. They are accompanied by smaller, irregular, 

 lobed and incised flat spicula, and by still smaller roughly warted spindles. 



In the coenenchyma there are many rather large, flat, rudely oblong or irreg- 

 ular, rough spicules (Fig. 3 a, i, j, k), of various sizes, which are strongly and 

 irregularly lobed and incised, all around ; they vary greatly in shape, but have 

 no projecting point. Some of these measured .67 by .33, .62 by .33, .57 by .24, 

 .53 by .29, .53 by .24, .42 by .24, .43 by .19 mm. These are mingled with and 

 more or less concealed by smaller, roughly warted spindles, which are often 

 crooked. 



The arched transverse spicula (Fig. 3 a, h), within the margin of the cali- 

 cles, are long, slender, finely warted, strongly bent in the middle, tapered and 

 acute at both ends. Some of these measured .90 by .05, .80 by .038, .76 by 

 .05 mm. 



The convergent spicula from the polyps and bases of the tentacles (Figs. 3 a, 

 g, 3 b) are sinular but less curved, and the largest of them are a little stouter. 

 Some of these are .85 by .07, .76 by .038, .71 by .05 mm. 



Two specimens, of large size, were taken at Station 306, off George's Bank, 

 in 524 fathoms, N. Lat. 41° 32' 50", W. Long. 65° 55'. The larger one is 

 over 2 feet high (620 mm.) and 18 inches (456 mm.) broad. 



One of these had many of the branches dead, and incrusted by a small 

 variety of Epizoanthus Americanus ; on it there were also specimens of an 

 actinian (? Urticina, sp.) and of a barnacle (Scalpellum). 



A large dead and denuded gorgonian, probabably this species, from Station 

 317, in 333 fathoms, N. Lat. 31° 57', W. Long. 78° 18' 35", is curiously cov- 

 ered, over nearly its whole surface, by small confluent actiniae (Plate VI. Fig. 9). 



Several fine examples, some of them of large size, have been brought from 

 the fishing banks, off Nova Scotia, by the Gloucester fishermen, and presented 

 to the U. S. Fish Commission. 



Paramuricea tenuis Verrill, sp. nov. 



Coral rather slender, flabellate, thickly branched, the branches occasion- 

 ally coalescent, the main branches ascending and giving off numerous much 

 smaller, widely divergent lateral branches, which mostly divide again in the 

 same manner ; final branchlets slender. Axis soft, light brownish yellow, 

 finely striated, having a wood-like appearance. Coenenchyma thin, dull gray 

 or brown in alcoholic specimens, filled with a great abundance of rather small, 

 fusiform and irregular- shaped, often bent, very roughly warted spicula, which 

 lie at all angles, one end of many of them projecting slightly from the surface 

 as small conical spinules. Culicles not crowded, mostly arranged along the 

 eilges of the smaller branches and branchlets in a single row on each side, 

 small, short, cylindrical or verruciform, usually swollen at the base, the sum- 



