[From the San Francisco " Mining and Scieutiflc Press," August 9, 1873.] 



Description of a New Species of Aleyonoid Polyp. 



BY ROBERT E. C. STEARNS. 



At a meeting of the California Academy of Sciences, held on the third day of 

 February, 1873, a paper was read by me, entitled " Remarks on a Xew Aleyo- 

 noid Eolyp, from Bnrrard's Inlet;"* in which T gave a remme of the discus- 

 siohs, notices, etc.. in this country and in England, arising from the examination 

 by several naturalists, of certain " switch "-like forms, which had been received 

 by different parties from the Gulf of Georgia (more particularly from Burrard's 

 rln'et, in said gulf) ; several specimens of said " switches " being in the Museum 

 of the California Academy. 



These «'switches," or rods, were referred by Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, 

 to his genus " Osteocella," and by Mr. Sclater's correspondent stated to belong to 

 " a sort of fish ; " but by the majority of scientific gentlemen who had seen these 

 "switches" they were regarded as belonging to a species of Aleyonoid Polyp. 

 I expressed the belief that they belonged to a species of Umbellularia. 



At a meeting of the Calilornia Academy, held on the evening of August 4, 

 1873, Dr. James Blake presented a specimen of the polyp of which these so- 

 called switches are the axes, which had been sent to him from the Gulf of 

 Georgia by his friend, Capt. Doane. This specimen was one of six or seven 

 sent at the same time, all of which were in a tolerable state of preservation, 

 though, as might have been anticipated, the more delicate tissues of the polyps 

 are somewhat decomposed, and some of the specimens are in some places lacer- 

 ated. They all are, however, sufficiently perfect to determine the true position, 

 and show that the " switches " are, as was supposed, the supporting stalks or 

 axes of an Aleyonoid Polyp " related or pertaining to the group Pennatu/ida:." 



On the day after the meeting of the Academy (August 5), through the court- 

 esy of Dr. Blake, I was invited to inspect the other specimens, and from said 

 examination have written the following description : 



Genus Pavonaria, Cuvier. 



Pavonaria Blakei ; n. s. 



Polyp-mass or polypidom, of a flesh or pink color, linear, elongate, attenuate; 



polypiferous portion about three fourths of the entire length, rounded oval to 



ovate elliptic in cross section, and from three fourths to one inch in greatest di- 



* Vide Proceed. Cal. Acad. Sciences, Vol. V., Part I., pp. 7-12. 



