No. I.] ACTINIARIA OF THE BAHAMAS. 31 
tance to warrant the establishment of a new family, since in the 
Bunodidze which have been examined there is considerable vari- 
ation in the number of mesenteries which reach the oesophagus. 
Thus in Zealia crassicornis, according to the Hertwigs (’79), all 
the mesenteries, of which there are over 100, reach the cesopha- 
gus, while in Lezotealia nymphaa, in which the mesenteries are 
arranged in six cycles, only those of the first three cycles, 2.2. 
twenty-four, are perfect, and in Bunodes teniatus we have seen 
that twelve of the twenty-four perfect mesenteries were not 
attached to the cesophagus throughout its whole length. Avz/ac- 
tinta may be regarded as the one extreme in the number of 
perfect mesenteries, and Zealia crassicornis as the other. 
The verrucal nature of the ectodermal elevations may per- 
haps be of considerable importance from a systematic point of 
view, but this point has been already alluded to. 
Sub-tribe DENDROMELIN. 
Hexactiniz with the tentacles simple and arranged in cycles 
on the margin. The upper part of the column immediately 
below the margin provided with dendritic processes (pseudo- 
tentacles). Base adherent. 
This sub-tribe is established for the reception of two very 
remarkable genera, Ledrunea, occurring in the West Indies in 
shallow water, and Ophiodiscus, obtained by the “ Challenger” 
in deep water (2160 and 1375 fathoms) in the Southern Pacific. 
The specimens of the latter genus were unfortunately in a very 
imperfect condition when examined by R. Hertwig, who de- 
scribed them (’82), and the only evidence of the existence of 
the peculiar processes which form the characteristic feature 
of the group was a single, delicate, short-stemmed, much- 
branched structure, enclosed in the same piece of cloth as the 
four specimens of the genus that were obtained. It was found 
quite unattached to any of the specimens, and presumably had 
been torn away by the rough treatment the specimens appeared 
to have suffered, no doubt from the dredge. The coelenterate 
nature of this structure is almost certain, and that it belonged 
to the specimens with which it was enclosed seems equally so, 
and, though absolute certainty is wanting, yet it seems proper 
to associate the Ophiodisci with Lebrunea. The peculiar form 
