MEMOIRS 



READ BEFORE THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



I. Revision of the Polypi of the Eastern Coast of the United States. By A. E. Verrill. 



Read November 19th, 1862. 



_L HE Polyps of this coast have hitherto been less studied than the representatives of most 

 other classes, and, up to the present time, there has been no attempt made to bring together 

 in a systematic form the species that have been at various times described, both in this 

 country and in Europe. Many of these have, however, long since found their natural posi- 

 tions in the general systematic works of Ellis, 1 Pallas, 2 Lamarck, 3 Lamouroux, 4 Cuvier 5 

 Milne-Edwards, 6 and other distinguished naturalists of Europe, and in the magnificent work 

 of Dana, 7 published by our own government. Besides these references, often very brief 

 and imperfect, disconnected notices and descriptions of other species are found scattered 

 through many volumes of the Proceedings and Journals of our scientific societies and 

 associations. 



But these materials, owing to their inaccessibility, and, in many cases, to their original 

 imperfection, have not been made available either for scientific study and comparison with 

 the European species, which have been carefully examined during many years, or to incite 

 local naturalists and collectors to more careful studies of the habits and structure of these 

 beautiful and interesting beings, and more thorough search for other forms. 



It was for the purpose of supplying in some measure the deficiency in these respects, 

 and to establish a basis for future investigations, rather than to present anything new, 

 that the present work was undertaken ; but, on account of the constant accessions of 

 new materials, it has now become necessary to present quite a number of undescribed 

 species, and it is very probable that many more remain to be hereafter discovered. I have 

 also deemed it useful to introduce brief descriptions of the higher groups and their prin- 

 cipal subdivisions, even in some cases when they were extralimital, in order to illustrate 

 more clearly the position and zoological affinities of the species described. To do this I 



1 John Ellis. Essay towards a Natural History of Coral- 4 J. V. F. Lamouroux. Histoire ge'nerale des Folypiers 

 lines, 4to, London, 1754; Natural History of many curious coralligenes flexibles, 8vo, Caen, 1816. 



and uncommon Zoophytes, 4to, London, 1786. (Edited by 5 Georges Cuvier. Itegne Animal, t. iv., Paris, 1817; 2d 



Solander.) edition, t. iii., 1830. 



2 Petrus Simon Pallas. Elenchus Zoophytorum, 8vo> 6 H. Milne-Edwards. Histoire naturelle des Coralliaires 

 Leyden, 1766. ou Polypes proprement dits. 3 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1857. 



3 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Histoire naturelle des animaux 7 James D. Dana. United States Exploring Expedition 

 sans vertebres, 8vo, Paris, 1815-22 ; 2d edition, 1836. under Capt. Wilkes. Zoophytes, 4to, with folio plates, Phil- 

 adelphia, 1846 ; plates, 1849. 



MEMOIRS BOST. SOC. NAT. HIST. Vol. I. p. 1. \ DECEMBER, 1863. 



