56 



Colon The colony is a deep crimson red, sometimes bright scarlet. The spicules are 

 of the same color. The axis is a greenish brown. 



Echinomurica Verrill, (modified). 



Echinomnricea Verrill. American Journal of Science and Arts, XLVII, i860, p. 2S5. 

 Echinomiiricea Wright and Studer. Challenger Reports, the Alcyonaria, 1889, p. 112. 

 Eclilnoimiricea Hedlund. Einige Muriceiden der Gattungen Acanthogorgia, Paramuricea und 

 Echinomuricea im Zoologischen Museum der Universität Upsala, 1890, pp. 12 — 15. 



\^ERRiLL was the first author to recognize this genus which he based on a new t)pe of 

 spicules found in Acanthogorgia coccinca (Stimpson), which he made the t)'pe of the new 

 genus Echinoiiniricea. He describes the spicules as follows : — 



"The cells are surrounded by numerous deep, red, prominent, imbricated spines, their 

 outer ends long and sharja, but irregularly branched at their bases, forming thus a cluster of 

 short, secondary spines". 



Wright and Studer accept the genus as defined by Verrill, and without modification. 

 Hedlund adds to the description a further character, asserting that the polyps are without the 

 collaret so characteristic of the muriceids. To this the present writer can not agree, as he has 

 found a well marked collaret in several species of this genus in the Siboga collection. 



The definition for the genus Echi7ioni7iricca adopted in this work is as follows : — 



Muriceids with wart-like or cylindrical calyces the margins of which are surrounded by 

 a more or less prominent row of points, each point consisting of the exposed portion of a 

 spicule which has a di.stal, strong, straight, spine-like portion which is often smooth; and a 

 proximal, profusely exfoliated portion the processes of which radiate outward and downward 

 from the base of the spine. 



The type of this genus is EcJiinoimiricea coccinca (Stimpson). The other known species 

 are Echinoiiniricea brttnnca Nutting, E. coronalis Germanos, E. indomalaccensis Ridley, E. 

 ceylonensis Thomson and Henderson, E. pliilippinensis Hedlund, and the new species about to 

 be described from the Siboga collection. 



I . Echinomnricea coronalis Germanos. 



Echinovmrica coronalis Germanos. Gorgonaceen von Ternate, Abhandl. der Senckenbcrgi- 

 schen naturforschenden Gesellschaft, Band XXIII, Heft I, 1896, p. 165. 



Stat. 71. Near Makassar. Up to 32 meters. Sand. 



Stat. 117. 1° o'.5 N., 122° 56' E. North Celebes. 80 meters. Sand and coral. 



Stat. 164. i°42'.5 S., i3o°47'.5 E. New Guinea. 32 meters. Sand and stones. 



Stat. 166. 2°28'.5S., I3I°3'.3E. near New Guinea. 118 meters. Hard sand. 



Stat. 2S5. 8°39'.iS., I27°4'.4E. Timor Sea. 34 meters. Mud and coral. 



Colony of straggling habit, 30 cm. in height and 31 cm. in spread. The general form 

 is flabellate. A small branch has its origin 2.3 cm. from the base of the stem, and above 

 this there are five branches variously spaced and on the same side. From about the middle 

 of the main stem, and upward, all of the branches arise from the opposite side. Three of the 



