ALDER, ON NEW BRITISH POLYZOA. 99 
is finely granulated, with the cells sunk and almost oblite- 
rated, very different from the heaped and prominent cells of 
our British species. M. Milne Edwards’s specimens were 
from the Mediterranean. On turning to Pallas’s ‘Elenchus’ 
for the original description of his Millepora cervieornis, we 
find it to agree more nearly with the species described by 
Milne Edwards than our own, while the locality, “ Mare 
Mediterraneum solum,’ shows that he had not the British 
Species in view at the time. Indeed, I am inclined to think 
that his E. fascialis, a, from the Isle of Wight, was really 
a variety of our C. cervicornis, some of the forms of which 
approach very closely in general appearance to that species ; 
and, as far as I am aware, Pallas’s statement here alluded to 
is the only authority for including E. fascialis in the British 
Fauna. The “Italian coral” figured by Ellis was most likely 
from the Mediterranean. 
With regard to the third point. Through the kindness of 
my friends, I have had the opportunity of examining nume- 
rous specimens of this species, both from Shetland and the 
coast of Cornwall; and I am led to the conclusion that, 
though considerable difference exists in the external form of 
examples from the two localities, their minute structure does 
not warrant the separation of them into two distinct species. 
Those from the south coast are generally more massive, espe- © 
cially in their basal portions, than specimens from the Shet- 
land seas. On referring to the descriptions of British 
authors, I find most of them agree pretty well in the essential 
characters of the species; and though Mr. Busk considers his 
E. cervicornis (‘ Catal. Mar. Polyzoa’) to be identical with 
that of Milne Edwards, it is evident, from the latter part of 
- his remarks upon it, that it has the characters of a Cellepora, 
aud a specimen he has kindly presented to me shows it to 
belong to our well-known British species. Mr. Richard 
Couch was of opinion that the figure given in Johnston’s 
‘ British Zoophytes’ represented a different species from that 
described in the ‘ Cornish Fauna,’ and Professor Busk was 
inclined to agree in this opinion. Professor Sars has also 
suggested that Dr. Johnston’s figure was probably taken 
from a specimen of the EH. rosea of Busk. Dr. Johnston’s 
own opinion, however, was in favour of the specific identity 
of the British forms. I have taken some pains to ascertain 
if the specimen figured in ‘ British Zoophytes’ was still pre- 
served and could be referred to, and have at length been able 
to make out pretty satisfactorily, through the kind assistance 
of Mr. Norman and Dr. Baird, that this specimen is in the 
VOL. IV.— NEW SER. H 
