Verrill, N'otes on Radiata. 451 



Heterogorgia verrucosa Verriii, loc. cit, p. 4i4. 



Plate VI, figure 11. Plate VIII, figure 16. 



Corallum grayish or yellowish white, low, dichotomous, with cla- 

 vate branchlets and large, rounded, echinate verruciB. 



Young specimens sometimes grow to the height of two inches be- 

 fore dividing, and are then clavate and obtusely rounded at summit. 

 Other specimens, however, divide dichotomously within half an inch 

 from the base ; the main branches again divide at a distance of 'o to 

 1 '5 inches. In some cases part of the secondary branches are also spar- 

 ingly dichotomous. The branchlets bend outward at base with a broad 

 curve and are mostly irregularly curved and crooked, like the branch- 

 es, and usually clavate and obtuse at the end, though sometimes of 

 uniform size. The verructe are large, rounded, prominent, not crowd- 

 ed, standing at right angles with the surface of the branches, slightly 

 eight-rayed at the summit and armed with numerous long, very sharp, 

 rough, spindle-shaped spicula, which project from the surface in the 

 form of short, divergent spinules. The sides of the verrucse and the 

 ccenenchyma are nearly smooth, showing under a strong lens a finely 

 granulous surface composed of small rough spicula. Cells small, some- 

 times surmounted by a conical cluster of very slender, white polyp-spin- 

 dles. The coenenchyma is rather thin and firm, composed of small rough 

 spicula. Axis dull yellowish brown, wood-like in appearance. Color 

 pale yellowish gray when dry, a little darker in alcohol. In life, " stem 

 dull yellowish brown, polyps gamboge-yellow," — F. H. B. 



Height of largest specimens 3 inches ; breadth 1-5 ; diameter of lar- 

 gest branches "25 ; of branchlets near tips '20 ; length of branchlets 

 1 to 2 ; height of verrucoe '04 to '06 ; diameter -05 to -07. 



The spicula consist chiefly of large, more or less elongated, roughly 

 warted spindles from the verructe ; much smaller, very rough spindles 

 and heads from the sm-face of the verrucse and coenenchyma ; and very 

 slender, small, smoother spindles from the polyps. The largest spin- 

 dles are elongated ; some of them are slender and tapering to one or 

 both ends ; others quite stout but equally long ; all are covei-ed with 

 large, rough, well separated warts, and one side with short, sharp 

 spinules ; they are frequently irregular, often obtuse at one end, and 

 not very acute at either. With these are many shorter and stouter 

 spindles, which show a regular series of forms between the longest 

 spindles and short, thick, oval or oblong spicula, which are not thrice 

 longer than broad, the surface crowdedly covered with rough warts, 

 the inner side with large spinules, the ends often blunt or obtuse, one of 



