264 R. HARTMEYER. 



tion " Sea-Fig." A second colony is considerably smaller. The length 

 is only 34 cm., the breadth 27 cm. The posterior end is less strongly 

 tapered, the remaining characters are on the other hand the same. 

 Finally the third colony forms only a small cushion on a sponge. 



So much as to the material in hand and the identity of Ellis' form 

 with the Macroclinum pomum of recent literature. In order to establish 

 the synonomy and the correct specific name I will now proceed to the 

 history of the species, which is specially complicated by the fact that 

 in the old literature for many decades the species was confused with a 

 sponge, which to-day in sponge-nomenclature bears the name Ficulma 

 Jicus (Pall.). Ellis and Solander (1786) first pointed out this error, 

 and Esper (1806) also recognised it, but Lamarck (1815) was the 

 first and after him Lamouroux (1816) to distinguish the two species 

 by special binomial names. 



Ellis' " Alcyonium pulmonis instar lohatum" reappeared for the first 

 time in the literature in Pallas, in his "Elenchus Zoophytorum" 

 of the year 1766, and indeed as a synonym of Alcyonium ficus. 

 The specific name ficus was here for the first time used in a binomial 

 combination with the generic name Alcyonium, so that Pallas must 

 be regarded as the author of that species which must bear the name 

 ficus. The following extracts from the literature relating to the 

 synonymy of Alcyonium ficus are quoted verbally : — 



(1) Alcyonium tuberosum forma ficus. Imper. ital. p. 599 lat. p. 839. 

 Only the Italian edition of the "Historia naturale" of 

 Francesco Imperato dated 1599 has been available to me. 

 A form is there described and figured on p. 734, under the 

 name " Alcyonio tuheroso in forma di fico frutto : Alcyonio 

 quinto cli Dioscoridc," which is without doubt a sponge and 

 has been identified by the spongiologists as Ficulina ficus. I 

 do not know whether the page reference given in the Italian 

 edition, namely page 599 in Pallas, is due to an error, or 

 whether it refers to some other edition. A date of publica- 

 tion for Pallas is not given. Moreover the same page 

 reference is found in Esper. In the latter's work the 

 quotation from Imperato (Esper writes Imperati) reads: 

 " Alcyonium tiiberosum forma Ficus : Halcyoneum quinium 

 Dioscoridis." I will take this opportunity of mentioning that 

 the " Alcyonio quinto di Dioscoridc " quoted from Imperato is 

 mentioned in his Materia medica of the year 1478 as 

 " Alcyonii quinta species." A determination of this form is 

 h ardly possible. 



