157 



Solenocaulon sterroklonium, (Jermanos. 



A. A beautiful colony, 125 mm. in height and 45 mm. in breadth, presents 

 certain very distinctive features. The trunk is 65 mm. in length. It is cylind- 

 rical and has been embedded in a bottom com2:)Osed of coarse sand and shell. 

 At its upper extremity it divides into two main tubular branches so that on 

 the ventral surface a bifurcating tunnel-like opening is presented. Other 

 tubular branches arise from these ; their average length is about 8'5 mm. 

 They give origin to small elongated secondary branches which have a gutter- 

 like structure on the dorsal surface. 



The trunk is soft and leathery, but the stalk has a central pseudo-axis com- 

 posed of a hard white, fused mass of spicules. The ccenenchyma is brittle rather 

 than leathery. 



The polyps are clustered on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the short 

 tubular branches and also on the ventral, not lateral as in most other specimens, 

 surface of the small elongated branches. A few also occur on the lateral sur- 

 faces of the two main branches in a single row, thus connecting the groups on 

 the main stem and secondary branche.s. 



The verruciB are small and dome-like ; they are but little differentiated 

 from the general cortex. The spicules are not arranged longitudinally except 

 at the top where there is a hint of eight " points ". 



The anthocodiaj are small and completely retractile. The anthocodial 

 armature is well defined. There is a collar of six to eight transverse rows 

 from which arise eight triangles each composed of two to three pairs of spicules. 

 There is a band of two or three spicules up the aboral surface of the tentacles, 

 and from these arise smaller spindles on the pinnules lying longitudinally, and 

 very definitely developed for each pinnule. 



The verrucie are not so prominent as those figured and described by 

 Germanos, but the spicules exactly correspond to his detailed description. 

 The colour of the general crenenchyma is white but the verruca^ are pink. 

 Locality : Ye, Burma. 



B. The stalk-portion of a large colony, 125 mm. in length, from which the 

 trunk has been broken. The maximum breadth is 65 mm. Near the base the 

 main stalk gives rise to a branch which is 65 mm. long ; it is tubular for 20 

 mm. after which it forms a gutter-like extension. Numerous small tubular 

 branches also arise from the main stalk ; these are very short but from them 

 spring elongated secondary branches which have a distinct gutter on the inter- 

 nal surface. Some of these are over 30 mm. in length. The spicules are fused 

 into a solid axis in the upper part of the stalk, not in the lower. 



The polyps are confined to a single row on the margins of the tubular 

 branches and the elongated flattened ones ; they also occur on the lateral sur- 



