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  ALCYONARIA. 
  

  

  BY 
  

  

  STUART 
  0. 
  RIDLEY. 
  

  

  Considerable 
  light 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  thrown 
  from 
  four 
  sources 
  upon 
  

   the 
  zoology 
  of 
  the 
  Alcyonaria 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  and 
  eastern 
  parts 
  of 
  

   Australia 
  — 
  the 
  districts 
  which 
  receive 
  illustration 
  from 
  the 
  present 
  

   fine 
  collection. 
  I 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  collection 
  mad6 
  hy 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  M. 
  Rayner 
  

   in 
  the 
  ' 
  Herald,' 
  that 
  made 
  by 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  B. 
  Jukes 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Fly, 
  ' 
  in 
  those 
  

   of 
  the 
  Antarctic 
  Expedition 
  under 
  Sir 
  James 
  Ross 
  and 
  the 
  present 
  

   Sir 
  J. 
  Hooker, 
  and 
  that 
  by 
  the 
  German 
  circumnavigatory 
  expedi- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Gazelle.' 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  British 
  expeditions, 
  

   the 
  Alcyonaria 
  of 
  chief 
  interest 
  were 
  described 
  by 
  Dr. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Gray 
  

   in 
  the 
  ' 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Zoological 
  Society 
  of 
  London 
  '*, 
  in 
  the 
  

   'Annals 
  and 
  Magazine 
  of 
  Natural 
  History 
  't, 
  and 
  in 
  his 
  'Catalogue 
  

   of 
  the 
  Lithophytes 
  or 
  Stony 
  Corals 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  

   Museum 
  ' 
  (Loudon, 
  8vo, 
  1870). 
  The 
  specimens 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  

   ' 
  Gazelle 
  ' 
  were 
  described 
  by 
  Prof. 
  T. 
  Studer 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Monatsbcricht 
  

   der 
  Akademie 
  der 
  Wisscnschaften 
  zu 
  Berlin 
  ' 
  J. 
  Studer's 
  is 
  the 
  

   largest 
  single 
  contribution 
  to 
  the 
  subject, 
  and 
  describes 
  twenty-four 
  

   species 
  from 
  Australia, 
  but 
  only 
  from 
  western 
  and 
  north-western 
  

   localities. 
  The 
  information 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  older 
  writers 
  Lamarck, 
  

   Lamouroux, 
  Milne-Edwards 
  and 
  Haime 
  is 
  almost 
  all 
  open 
  to 
  the 
  

   great 
  objection 
  of 
  indefiniteness 
  as 
  to 
  locality 
  ; 
  the 
  single 
  species 
  

   definitely 
  described 
  by 
  MM. 
  Quoy 
  and 
  Gaimard 
  as 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  

   ' 
  Astrolabe 
  ' 
  in 
  Australia 
  is 
  from 
  the 
  south. 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  collection 
  contains 
  thirty-eight 
  species, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  

   regarded 
  as 
  giving 
  a 
  good 
  general 
  insight 
  into 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  tho 
  

   Alcyonarian 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  shallow 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  north-east 
  coast 
  of 
  

   Australia 
  (coast 
  of 
  Queensland, 
  up 
  to 
  and 
  including 
  Torres 
  Straits), 
  

   and 
  as 
  adding 
  in 
  a 
  most 
  important 
  manner 
  to 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  

   same 
  fauna 
  in 
  the 
  north-western 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  continent. 
  I 
  have 
  

   inserted 
  notes 
  on 
  specimens 
  already 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  where 
  the 
  

   localities 
  were 
  known 
  with 
  certainty; 
  in 
  particxilar 
  a 
  series 
  recently 
  

   obtained 
  by 
  exchange 
  from 
  the 
  Australian 
  Museum, 
  Sydney, 
  and 
  

   collected 
  near 
  Port 
  Jackson 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  Queensland 
  coast, 
  has 
  been 
  

   of 
  service. 
  

  

  Distribution. 
  — 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  localities 
  investigated, 
  and 
  the 
  

  

  * 
  1862, 
  pp. 
  27, 
  31, 
  34 
  ; 
  1872, 
  p. 
  744. 
  

  

  t 
  Ser. 
  3, 
  vol. 
  v. 
  p. 
  20; 
  ser. 
  4, 
  vol. 
  ii. 
  p. 
  441, 
  iii. 
  p. 
  21. 
  

  

  t 
  1878, 
  p. 
  633. 
  

  

  