Proceedings of 
the United States 
National Museum 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION +- WASHINGTON, D.C. 
Volume 113 1962 Number 3463 
GORGONOLAUREUS, A NEW GENUS OF ASCOTHORACID 
BARNACLE ENDOPARASITIC IN OCTOCORALLIA 
By Huzio Utinomi' 
Dr. Frederick M. Bayer of the United States National Museum 
sent me for study two specimens of ascothoracids which he dis- 
covered within the bark of a Holaxonian gorgonid coral, Paracis 
squamata (Nutting), collected from Bikini Atoll by the Bikini Scientific 
Resurvey in 1947, during the second expedition to the Marshall Group 
(Bayer, 1949). When I first examined these specimens, I thought 
that they looked remarkably like Baccalaureus, a well-known asco- 
thoracid endoparasitic in the Zoantharia (Hexacorallia). This dis- 
covery is very interesting, because Ascothoracida from an Octocorallia 
habitat are so far unknown. 
Only two specimens were available for examination, and one had 
been cut off into halves before coming to me; I examined this one in situ, 
because it cannot be replaced. The other complete specimen wholly 
buried in the bark of the gorgonid was retained undissected so as to 
preserve the paratype. 
Owing to the scantiness of the material, I could not observe the 
minor structures of the internal body in detail; however, there seems 
1 Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Sirahama, Wakayama-Ken, Japan. This paper 
is Contribution 367 from the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. 
457 
