158 Natural History Bulletin. 



Among the Alcyonid^ it would seem that the nemato- 

 cysts are very generally wanting. 



In the magnificent monographs of the Ahyonarians of the 

 North Atlantic, by Danielssen, in which the details of structure 

 are worked out and figured with great minuteness, not a single 

 nematocyst is mentioned or figured. The same is true of the 

 companion work on "Alcyonider, Gorgonider og Pennatuli- 

 der" of the Norwegian fauna by Koren and Danielssen. 



Mosely failed to find nematocysts in the species of Sarcofhy- 

 ton described in the Challenger Report,' but found them in 

 Heliopora cceridea.^ 



Milne Edwards ^ mentions the occurrence of nematocysts 

 among Actinians and Madreporians, and figures them as found 

 in Adamsia effeeta and Cladocora cespitosa. He neither men- 

 tions nor figures them in connection with any of the Alcyo- 

 narians. 



Verrill in his "Report on the Anthozoa,"* collected by the 

 Blake Expeditions, neither mentions nor figures any nem- 

 atocysts although some of the Alcyonarians are worked out 

 in detail. 



Pouchet and Myevre, however, speak of nematocysts being 

 found in x\lcyonid^, at least in some species, e. g., Alcyo- 

 nmm digitaimn. 



In regard to the Fennatulid.-e, I have little information, 

 but can not find any mention of nematocysts in any of the 

 works at my command. 



In the GoRGONiD^ they do not exist in the six species 

 which form the subject of the present work, neither were 

 they found in several other species examined, nor can I find 

 any mention of their presence by others who have worked on 

 this group. 



In Sidney J. Hickson's work on "The Structure and Rela- 



1 Vol. II, p. 119. 



2 Idem, p. III. 



3 "Histoire Naturelle des CoralHaires, Vol. I, p. 20, Plates A 3 and A 4. 



4 Bulletin Mus. Comp. Zool. Vol. XI, No. i. 



