52 Bulletin, Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. IV 



retracted the verrucae present the appearance of an eight-rayed 

 circle, somewhat drawn inward or puckered at the center. The ver- 

 rucae occur irregularly as shown in the photograph. On the basal 

 portion of the colony the calicles are not elevated above the surface 

 of the branches, but farther along the branches they form distinct 

 verrucae. The zooids are entirely retractile within the calicle, which 

 is lined without and within with the chrome yellow spindle-shaped 

 spicules and closed by eight rather inconspicuous convergent seg- 

 ments. The tentacles are short, fleshy, about 0.5 mm. to 1 mm. long, 

 original color lost, and are closely covered by small spicules. 



The spicules composing the axis and verrucae are of the kinds fig- 

 ured. The most abundant is the long, spindle-shaped type covered 

 with rounded, granular protuberances. These spicules measure: 0.5 

 mm. to 0.6 mm. long; 0.1 mm. to 1.5 mm. greatest width. Much 

 smaller granular spicules are found in the coenchyma. 



Name: I take pleasure in dedicating this species to the collector, 

 Mr. William K. Vanderbilt. 



Corallium vanderoilti is apparently the first precious coral to be 

 described from West Indian waters, and is therefore of unusual 

 interest. 



Record of a single species of this genus from off the Irish coast 

 constitutes the only other record of the genus in the Atlantic, it being 

 known chiefly from the Mediterranean Sea, Indo-Pacific and Japanese 

 waters. 



Family: PLEXAURIIDAE. 



Genus: PLEXAUBA Lamouroux. 

 Plexaura fusca (Duchassaing and Michelotti). 



Name : Sea- Whip. 



Type: The localities cited for the species in the original descrip- 

 tion are Guadeloupe, St. Thomas, St. Croix, W. I. Depository: 

 Museum d'histoire naturella de Turin. 



Distribution: Littoral. The Florida Reefs, Bermudas and the 

 West Indies. 



Material examined : One very large specimen from the south coast 

 of Cuba, February 15, 1924, by the "Ara." 



Color: In life the rods are light yellow or brown. The polyps 

 are very numerous, placed so closely together that their expanded 

 tentacles overlap. The tentacles and disk are dull yellowish or brown- 

 ish. When dried the coenchyma becomes very pale yellow or purplish 



