HYDROCORALS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC — FISHER 537 



The surface is covered with thin-walled, crowded, blisterlike female 

 ampullae 1 to 1.6 mm in diameter; many are so close as to be in 

 contact. Scattered irregularly among these, sometimes in series, 

 are deep gastropores each with one or two associated dactylopores of 

 full size forming a low scoop-shaped protuberance. The slit points 

 toward a gastropore and in some instances is confluent with it but is 

 separated by a sunken partition. Some of the gastropores have 1 to 

 3 smaller dactylopores (pi. 69, fig. 3) associated with them to form a 

 primitive sort of cj^closystem. At the base of the colon}'', on the large 

 trunk and branches where there are few or no ampullae, the gastro- 

 pores are surrounded by 3 to 6 symmetrically placed narrow dactylo- 

 tomes with only a very shght lip at the outer end (much less than in E. 

 pourtalesii). 



The gastropores are 0.25 to 0.35 mm in diameter and about twice 

 as deep (pi. 69, fig. 3a). The style is 0.34 to 0.4 mm in length, spicu- 

 late, pointed; the tip reaches a little more than halfway to mouth of 

 pore, while the uddth of the style is about two-thirds that of pore, 

 or less in the case of unusually slender styles. Normally the gastro- 

 stome is on a level with the general surface rather than in the bottom 

 of a concavity. 



The characteristic feature of the dactylopore is that it projects 

 much less prominently than in the other three species, even when the 

 slit is tilted at a broad angle with the surface. Frequently the slit 

 lies at a sharp angle, when its marginal projection or lip is slight. 

 The dactylostyle is a long narrow cheval-de-frise of delicate spicules, 

 about 0.1 mm long. 



The female ampullae are very prominent, 1 to 1.6 mm in diameter 

 and about one-half as deep. Many, but apparently not all, have the 

 floor crowded with upright irregularly pronged spicules about 0.17 mm 

 long. The larger ampullae have the roof, which is thin, somewhat 

 flattened and without prominent protuberances. Male ampullae 

 smaller, less prominent. 



The coenosteum is hard, but the surface is rough, irregularly 

 fenestrated, and spongy in texture, the dactylopore lip having a 

 crystalline, sugary appearance. Here and there small roundish 

 pores, apparently secondarj^ dactvlopores, penetrate the coenosteum. 



Color of coenosteum pale pink, which is slightly intensified by 

 immersion in sodium hypoclilorite ; ampullae yellowish. 



Type locality.— Okhotsk Sea, lat. 56° 10' N., long. 143° 15' E., 182 

 meters; temperature at 165 meters, 0.51° C. 



Specimens examined. — Station 5016, 2 fragments; station 5017, 

 3 fragments. 



Remarks. — The second fragment from station 5016 has very few 

 ampullae, which cause only a slight swelling of the surface, the main 



