R. KOMEYAMAI. — GEN. CHARACTERS. 257 



pressions into which two or more excnrrent canals open in 

 common. 



The coarse parenchymal bundles, showing themselves on the 

 gastral snrface, pursue an irregular, but on the w^hole transverse- 

 ly directed course. Just inside the origin of the coronal rays 

 along the superior oscular edge, there runs in a ring a strong, 

 projecting bundle of fibers (see the upper part of fig. 2). 

 Further, at this end of the wall a number of parenchymal bundles, 

 running outside of the innermost, sinuously transverse bundles, 

 assume a longitudinal disposition in association with the root of 

 each coronal ray. 



If, in an imaginary case, all the finer and loose spicules should 

 be removed so as to leave the coarser parenchymal bundles alone 

 in situ, there would remain a frail, wide-raeshed and loosely inter- 

 woven basket-w^ork, in which the onter and the inner bundles 

 would be found, relatively speaking, to pursne directions inclined 

 respectively in the longitudinal and the transverse directions. 

 Thus, its general appearance would be much the same as in 

 other species of the genus. However, one not unimportant 

 peculiarity seems to consist in the fact that in the present species 

 a much smaller portion of the skeleton at base, than] in either 

 B. ohinoseana or R. phœnix, is subjected to synapticular amalga- 

 mations. 



In the specimen described, the wall is quite firm in the 

 region immediately adjoining the basal mass, which as usual is 

 hard and compact. About 20 mm. above this region, the fusion 

 of parenchymal spicules already becomes an occasional occurrence. 

 A short distance farther above it is no longer to be found. I 

 should think that, if all the loose spicules should be washed 

 away, as they are after death on the native bottom, there would 



