REPORT ON THE ALCYONARIA. 165 



The spicules have been well described by Ridley. The longitudinal canals form a 

 well-marked boundary between the axial portion of the stem and the crenenchj-ma. 

 The colour in spirits is a creamy yellow ; when dry the colony is very brittle. 

 Habitat. — Torres Strait. 



Family II. Sclerogorgiad^e. 

 Sderogorgiacex, KiillLker, Icones Histiologicse, ALth. ii. p. 142. 



Kolliker established the subfamily Selerogorgiacese as a subfamily of Gorgonidse {loc. 

 cit.), to receive the species Gorgonia suberosa, Pallas, Esper, and Gorgonia verriculata, 

 Esper. He characterised it as consisting of " Gorgonids with unjointed axes, composed 

 of a horny substance and agglutinated calcareous spicules. Ccsnenchyma as in 

 Gorgonia." For the genus he proposed the name Sclerogorgia, but Dr. Gray had some 

 years previously made the genus Suherogorgia * for the first mentioned of Esper's species. 

 While retaining KoUiker's expressive name for the larger group, we feel compelled to 

 adopt Gray's generic appellation. 



This subfamily of KoUiker's forms our second family of this section. In it the 

 central axis, even to the very summit of the youngest branches, is found to consist of 

 long spindle-shaped spicules, which are but feebly calcareous and which become inter- 

 calated and agglutinated together, forming an elastic axis, which effervesces, but loses 

 little of its bulk under acids ; the outer layers of the spicules being perhaps more 

 easily affected than the innermost ones, liut a large proportion of horny material 

 remains after prolonged soaking in acid. The nutrient canals are on either side of the 

 axis, forming a mesh with the canals in the coenenchyma. The polyj^s are placed on 

 the sides of the stem and branches, either with or without verrucjB. The coenenchyma 

 is moderately thin, the spicules being either large spindles, warty double spindles or 

 double wheels. The polyp spicules are small warty spindles. The polyps are completely 

 retractile. 



Genus Suherogorgia, Gray, emend. 



Suherogcrrgia, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1857, p. 159. 



Pterogurgia and RUipidogorgia (pans), Milne-Edwards, Hist. Nat. des Coralliaires, t. i. p. 167. 



Pterogorgia, Dana (pars), Zooph., p. 647. 



Sclerogorgia, Kolliker, Icones Histiologicoe, Abth. ii. p. 142. 



„ Studer, Monatsber. d. k. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. Berlin, 187f<, p. 66G. 



Suherogorgia, Ridley, Zool. Coll. H.M.S. "Alert," p. 349. 

 RhipideUa, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., scr. 4, vol. v. p. 407. 



Dr. Gray's description of this genus is as follows : — " Coral furcatcly branched, rather 

 compressed, with a continued sunken groove up the middle of each side. Cell ratlier 



I I'roc. Zool. Soc. Lond.. 1857, p. 159. 



