346 SYDNEY J. HTCKSON. 



le nom de polype parceque leurs cornes nous parurent analogues 

 aux bras d^animal de mer qui est eu possession de ce nom.'^ 



The term was subsequently adopted by Trembley (36)^ and 

 used by him in his classical work on ^ Hydra.' 



At the commencement of the present century, however, 

 the name Alcyonium was used to include a considerable number 

 of marine fleshy, gelatinous, and spongy zoophytes, which are 

 now known to belong to widely different groups of the animal 

 kingdom. 



The description given by Ellis (8) of the genus is as follows : 



" Animal, plantse forma crescens. 



" Stirps fixa, carnosa, gelatinosa, spongiosa, vel coriacea ; 

 epidermide cellulosa poris stellatis s. osculis pertusa, hydras 

 tentaculatas oviparas exserentibus." 



Baster (1) describes the genus quite briefly as follows : 



'' Die Alcyonia zyn zagte dog vaste zeegewassen die als een 

 middelsoort tussen de Kruidige (Herbacea) en Hoornagtige 

 (Keratophyta) entmaken." 



Included in the genus, as defined by Ellis, were a large 

 number of Ascidians, sponges, and probably also some Bryozoa 

 and Hydroids. In the systems of Miiller (177G) (31), Fabricius 

 (1780) (10), Berkenhout (1795) (2), Turton (1809), Bosc 

 (1807) (3), and others, we find the same conglomeration 

 of animals included under the name Alcyonium. 



It must not be supposed, however, that because these natu- 

 ralists included all these diff'erent forms of animals under the 

 one generic name they were necessarily ignorant of more easily 

 discerned characters of Al cy onium digitatum ; it was rather 

 their want of knowledge of the anatomy of the Ascidians, 

 Bryozoa, &c., which led to the confusion. 



Ellis's (7) description of his figure runs as follows : — " A 

 piece of Alcyonium manus marina cut perpendicularly 

 through the middle to show that it is formed of tubes, which 

 branch out into others, each ending on the surface in a starry 

 opening of eight rays ; in each of these openings is a polype- 

 like figure or sucker with eight claws, fastened to the inside of 

 the tube at its lower part by eight fine, tender filaments, by 



