NO. 1923. DESCRIPTIONS OF PACIFIC ALCYONARIA— NUTTING. 61 



Color: The colony is a light buffy-brown. 



Locality.— Station 4936; Sata Misaki Light, N. 21° E., 5.7 miles; 

 103 fathoms. 



General distribution. — Pacific and Indian Oceans; Japan. Down 

 to 1,250 meters. 



CALIGORGIA VENTILABRUM Studer, 

 Caligorgia ventilabrum Studer, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1878, p. 647. 



A number of very large fragments of one or more specimens of 

 this species were collected by the -U. S. Fisheries steamer Albatross. 

 Station label lost. 



One fragment is 54 cm. long. Diameter at base 6.5 mm. The 

 main branch is somewhat flattened. The branching is typically 

 dichotomous, except that the main branch gives off a number of 

 laterals, mainly from one side. The terminal t\\\gs are very long, as 

 much as 20 cm. in some cases. All of the branches are erect, nearly 

 parallel, the whole forming a flabellate structure. The average 

 diameter of the secondary branches is 4 mm. 



The calyces are in regular whorls of 4 on distal ends of branclilets 

 and 12 on large branches. On the longest branches they are irreg- 

 ular, often wanting. There are but 4 or 5 whorls of calyces to the cm. 

 The individual calyces are large, 2 mm. long, with 9 or 10 scales to 

 the adaxial and outer lateral rows. Some of the latter have the 

 peculiar lateral processes figured by Versluys in Caligorgia affinis.^ 

 Otherwise the specimens agree better with C. ventilabrum. 



The inner laterals and adaxials are greatly reduced in number, 

 being apparently represented by their distal elements alone; although 

 these appear to be rudimentary scales representing the basal ones. 



The operculum is not conspicuous, composed of smooth triangular 

 scales, the adaxial being the smallest and the abaxial the largest 

 and overlapping slightly the others. 



Color: The axis is almost black proximally, lightening distaUy. 

 The general color of the colon}" is very light tan-brown. 



Locality. — Label lost. 



Type-locality. — North of New Zealand, 90 fathoms. 



A very fine species. The specimens just described are the largest 

 of the genus. 



CALIGORGIA ASPERA Kinoshita. 

 Caligorgia aspera Kinoshita, Primnoidae von Japan, 1908, p. 39. 



Colony in fragments, the longest piece being 12.2 cm. long and 

 with a spread of 6.2 cm. There are branches on two sides of the 

 main branch, forming a flabellate structure; side branches dividing 

 dichotomously sometimes to branchings of the sixth order and attain- 

 ing a length of 5.9 cm. in some cases. 



1 Primnoidae of the Siboga Expedition, p. 76. 



