50 Bulletin, Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. IV 



Order: ALCYONACEA. 



Family: ALCYONIDAE. 



Genus : ALCYONIUM Linne. 

 Alcyonium palmatum Pallas. 



Plate 11. 



Type: Pallas' type came from the Mediterranean Sea and was 

 deposited either in the Leyden or the Belgian Museum ; probably the 

 former. 



Distribution : Littoral in the Mediterranean Sea. 

 Material examined .- One colony, dredged in 35 f ms. of water, five 

 miles N. E. by N. of Cape Carthage, Gulf of Tunis, Mediterranean 

 Sea, July, 1927. 



Two specimens, dredged in 35 fms., five miles N. E. by N. of Cape 

 Carthage, Gulf of Tunis, Mediterranean Sea, July 21, 1927. One of 

 these colonies is attached at the base to a specimen of the gastropod 

 shell, Chenopus pespelicanus Linne. One small specimen, Cape Spar- 

 tivento, Sardinia, depth 325 fms., 1927. 



Color : In life the color of this species is variable, being translucent 

 light yellow or rose-red; the skeleton of the "fingers" being composed 

 of loose calcareous spicules, the fingers being thus capable of swelling 

 up by the absorption of large quantities of water. 



Technical description: A very thorough analysis of this species 

 with diagnostic figures is to be found in G. von Koch's article, "Die 

 Alcyonacea des Golfes von Neapel" (Mitth. Zool. Neapel, vol. IX, 

 p. 663, figs. 14, 15, 16, 1891). 



J. A. Thompson considers A. acaule Marion to be a variety of 

 palmatum and gives an exquisite color figured of acaule. (Monaco, 

 Fasc. LXXIII, p. 10, color plate II, fig. 16, 1927.) 



There is a very fine photographic illustration of a living colony of 



A. palmatum given in Dr. A. J. Barreiro's article on Coelenterates, 



(Historia Natural Zoologica, t. II, p. 421, 1926, Barcelona). 



References: Alcyonium palmatum Pallas, Elenchus Zoophytorum, 



etc., p. 349, 1766 (with list of pre-Linnaean references). — Koch, 



G. von, Mitth. Zool. Station Neapel, vol. IX, p. 663, text figs. 14, 



15, 16, 1891. — Kukenthal, Jena Zeitschr. Naturw., vol. XLII, 



p. 61, 1 pi., 12 figs., 1906. (Compares A. palmatum and A. brio- 



nense n. sp.) — Thomson, J. A., Res. Campag. Sci. Monaco Fasc. 



LXXIII, Alcyonaires, p. 10, pi. II, fig. 16, color plate, of variety 



acaule Marion, 1927. 



