3 
The difficulty of separating the species of Coralliide into generic groups has been already 
pointed out by Kısmmmouve. Neither the occurrence of “opera-glass’”’ shaped spicules, nor the 
position of the autozooids on one surface of the colony only are satisfactory characters for 
generic distinetion and I agree with the Japanese author that it is better, for the present, to 
recognise only one genus in the family. Corallium nobile appears to stand alone as regards 
the character that the autozooids bear the gonads but it would be premature to suggest that 
this affords sufficient grounds for separating it from the other species. It would be extremely 
interesting to determine whether the specimens of this species taken at the Cape Verde islands 
are similar as regards the disposition of their gonads to those of the Mediterranean. 
The geographical distribution of the species of Corallium may be mentioned here. 
Corallium nobile is found in the Mediterranean Sea and off the Cape Verde islands (7). Three 
species occur oft Madeira, C. maderense, C. johnsoni! and C. tricolor Johnson (1). C. johnsoni 
has also been found off the W. coast of Ireland (Hıcksoxn, Nature LXXIII, 1905, p. 5) and 
quite recently a specimen of C. maderense has been obtained in the Bay of Biscay. 
Nine species occur off the coast of Japan (Kısmmmovve and MororrF). Corallium secundum 
is said to occur off the Sandwich islands (Dana) but there may be some doubt that this is the 
correct locality of the specimen. Corallium stylasteroides is found off Mauritius island (Rıprer). 
Specimens of dead coral probably belonging to this genus were found by the Challenger at 
depths of 1525 fathoms in the Atlantic and 310 fathoms off Prince Edward's island. 
As I have already pointed out (1905) there is some historical reason for believing that 
the supply of red coral to the japanese market came from the South seas but there is no 
evidence as to the exact locality of this fishery. 
According to Ruwrntus the coral was well-known to the Malays of his time by the name 
Maradjian but it was not found either in the Indian or Red sea. I cannot find any reference to 
the Coral in Rumenivs’ Amboynsche Rariteitskamer and I quote the statement given from the 
German edition by C. F. Wırkens (1787) of Parras’ Elenchus Zoophytorum, Vol. I, p. 291'). 
The Challenger expedition found dead fragments of a Corallium attributed to C. secundum 
off Banda 310 fathoms and Ki islands 140 fathoms but, so far as I can ascertain, the Siboga- 
expedition may claim to be the first to discover living Corallid& in the Malay archipelago and 
therefore the description of the two new species recorded in this memoir is, from the point of 
view of geographical distribution, of some general interest. 
I think it is very probable that Corallium occurs in the Indian ocean. ALcock states 
(A naturalist in Indian seas 1902, p. 291) that “M’Arprr found abundance of a beautiful pink 
coral, which appears to be identical with the precious coral of the Mediterranean, not far from 
Trincomalee” ?) and Herpman found a specimen off the coast of Ceylon, which was unfortunately 
lost, that may be a Corallium, but no Coralliide occurred in the extensive collections of 
Mr. Stantey GARDINER from the Maldive and Laccadive archipelagoes and I have not found a 
scientific description of any specimens from other localities in the Indian ocean or the Red sea. 
ı) Dr. J. VERSLUYS Jr. has kindly discovered for me the following reference in Rumpitus, Herbarii Amboinensis, Liber 12, Cap. 2 
“genuinum rubrum Corallium in India orientali non crescit, sed nigri et albi quaedam Species, quas sub prima comprehendimus classe”. 
2) Since this was written THOMSON and HENDERSON (8) have described a new species Pleurocorallium variabile from NESSUN. 
and 81°47’E. off Trincomalee 506 fathoms. 
(07) 
