THE ALCYONARIA OF THE MALDIVES. 487 



From the same atoll, 31 fathoms. A specimen about 45 mm. in height, having the general 

 form of S. splendens (Kukenthal), with pale yellow stalk, yellow branches, and purplish-red 

 supporting spicules. 



From the same atoll, 39 fathoms. A small very divaricate form with white stalk and 

 stem, but the terminal branches and supporting spicules bright orange in colour. 



From Addu Atoll, 25 fathoms. Near a passage. A small red specimen of very compact 

 habit, like the specimen from S. Nilandu. 



In addition to the numerous specimens of the genus Spongodes in the collection there 

 are two specimens which must be referred to the same family, but as one of them is probably 

 a young colony and the other only a fragment of a colony I have not very carefully studied 

 them. 



Nephtltya inermis Holm. (?) 



Kolumadulu Atoll, 22 fathoms, near W. Passage. This specimen is of a dull brown 

 colour. It is 50 mm. in height, with a stalk 25 mm. in length. It appears to be closely 

 related to Holm's specimens from the Hirudo Straits, Japan, 36 fathoms. Holm's largest 

 specimen was 550 mm. in height. 



Paraspongodes pustulosa (W. and S.) (?) 



Mahlos Atoll, 23 fathoms. Inner part of passage to S.E. This specimen is apparently 

 only a portion of a branch. It is 50 ram. in length, with numerous irregular purplish-red 

 spicules in the superficial parts of the coenenchym and yellow spicules in the crown and tenta- 

 cles. Wright and Studer's specimen (described under the genus Scleronephthya) came from a 

 depth of 18 fathoms off the Philippine Islands. 



Family Siphonogorginae. 



Genus Chironephthya (Figs. 8, 9, 10). 



The genus Chironephthya was constituted by Wright and Studer (22) for three species 

 obtained by the Challenger expedition on the Hyalonema ground, Japan, in 345 fathoms. 

 The genus has somewhat the form of a Nephthya, but undoubtedly apjjroaches most closely 

 to the genus Siphonogorgia (Koll.). According to the authors, however, it differs in that it 

 " is essentially distinguished from Siphonogorgia by the fact that the polyps occur along the 

 entire course of the branches, and are less retractile." As regards the first of these, the 

 distinction breaks down in the fact that in the species Siphonogorgia pustulosa, described by 

 the same authors in the supplement to the Alcyonaria and in Kiikenthal's species S. miniacea 

 and S. cylindrica (15) the polj'ps, i.e. the anthocodiae, occur all along the branches as in 

 Chironephthya. As regards the retractility of the polyps, a point upon which less stress 

 can be laid, as I have previously pointed out, it must be noted that the polyps of Siphono- 

 gorgia pustulosa (W. and S.) do not appear to be much more retractile than those of 

 Chironephthya. The increase of knowledge of these two genera shows that they are very 

 closely related, and should perhaps be merged into one. The three species hitherto known 

 do not appear to me to differ very materially from one another, and it is highly probable 

 that when more specimens are obtained from the same ground intermediate varieties will be 

 found. In 1900 Miss Hiles (12) described two fragments of a Chironephthya with characters 



