436 Verrill, JSFotes on Radiata. 



of the coenenchyma, wliicli are nlose together and have a slightly 

 raised border. Fi-om one of the holes the tentacles are protruded ; 

 from the other, the posterior end of the body. The lower part of the 

 tube, bent into a U-sliaped form, is more or less deeply excavated in 

 the substance of the axis. 



2. — Verruca scarcely prominent. Cells opening outwa/rd, with the lower lip little de- 

 veloped. 



Muricea robusta VerriJi. 



Muricea rolusta, Verrill, Bulletin Museum of Comp. Zool., p. 36, 1864; {pars) Proc. 

 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 329, 1866. 



Plate VII, figure 3. Plate VIII, figure 9. 



Corallum brown, irregularly dichotomous, with few, stout, mostly 

 crooked branches, pretty closely covered by the rather large, unequal 

 cells, which have the border but little elevated. 



When young it rises as a simple, clavate, often crooked stem to the 

 height of 2 or 3 inches, attaining a diameter of "35 to "40 near the 

 summit, which is bluntly rounded. Larger specimens usually divide 

 within 1 "5 inches from the base, the main branches again forking with- 

 in an inch of their origin, and the resulting branches are irregularly 

 once or twice dichotomous. Tlie branchlets are irregular, crooked, 

 arising from "5 to 2 inches apart, spreading at their origin in a broad 

 curve, stout and rigid, of nearly uniform size throughout, the ends 

 obtusely rounded. Verrucse upon the branches and trunk inconspicu- 

 ous, consisting of a slightly elevated margin around the rather large 

 and conspicuous cells, which are crowded over the whole surface and 

 open outward. Toward the ends of the branchlets the verrucse be- 

 come more prominent by reason of the greater development of the low- 

 er border of the cells, which forms a concave, semi-circular, or crescent- 

 shaj)ed lower lip, with a somewhat thickened and obtuse edge, the 

 surface scabrous and granulous with small rough spicula.. Coenenchy- 

 ma thick, and granulous with small spicula. Axis in the branches 

 black and scarcely compressed at the axils, brown and rigid in the 

 branchlets. Color dull yellowish brown. 



Height of largest specimen 8*5 inches ; breadth 4 ; diameter of 

 trunk '40; of branchlets '35 ; of largest verrucse "06; length of lower 

 lip, when longest, '04, 



Spicula orange-brown and light yellow, quite small for the genus, 

 but very rough, the larger ones consisting in great part of stout, irreg- 

 ular, thorny clubs. The longer spindles are rather slender, irregular, 

 the sides closely covered with very rough unequal warts, one end often 



