^"I'so^y] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 179 



meseuteries of the first cycle, with the exception of the directives, are 

 Lot sterile. Here again we have a feature which places this form out- 

 side the i)aleof Hertwij;'s geuus IS(((/arti<(, }mt it shares this distinction 

 together with Aqdania^p'^: and Aiptasia pallida, whose peculiarities in 

 this respect I ha\e already j)oiiited out (\Sl)a). 



I have considered the form described in the following' pag<'S to be 

 the representative of a new s])ecies. I do so, however, with considera- 

 ble hestiation. Several Sagartids have been described froni tlie west 

 coast of America, by Lesson ('oO), Dana ('•iO), Oay ('o4), Yerrill ('<><S), 

 and Ridley ('81), but unfortunately the descriptions furnish no suflic- 

 ient basis for the identification of alcoholic material. The form which 

 Verrill ('(>8), with some reservations, rel'ers to Lesson's Actinia nivea' 

 seems to be rather closely n-lated and may be identical, though I should 

 l)e inclined to doubt, without good evidence, the identity of a shallow 

 water form with one living at a depth of 450 fathoms. It is doubtful, 

 too, whether Verrill's form is really tSagartia {Act.) nivea, since Lesson 

 expressly states that in this form "l'envelo[)i)e est tres-lisse, tres-douce 

 au touchei' et seulment marquee de (luehpies ondes on i)lissur6s verti- 

 cales," while Verrill's form has the "integument thin but firm," more 

 nearly resembling 8. lactca in this respect. Jt is on aircount of this un- 

 certainty of definition that 1 have i)relerred to consider the xi ///a ^ro&s 

 form a new species. 



23. Sagartia Sancti Matthsei, sp. iiov. 



Plate XXIX, Ki<48. 77 ami 7X. 



N<.. 954r(. Station, 27H1. l.at. .%^ 42' S. ; long. 56' 2.3' W. Depth, lU fathomm. 

 Three specimens. 



The three sjiecimens differ somewhat in external a]>i)earance. One 

 is quite small, while the other two were larger, measuring abont 

 0.5"" in heigiit and O-O*^'" in diameter. One of the si)ecinu'ns was coloi ed, 

 the column being chocolate-brown in color, the tentacles much darker, 

 l)ut of about the same color. The other two s])ecimens showed no 

 traces of this coloration and may i)ossil)ly be different species. The 

 anatomical details given below were derived from the study of one of 

 the colorless spe(;imens. 



The base is adherent and not much larger than the column (IM. xxix. 

 Fig. 77). This is .somewhat wrinkled by contraction, ])ut bears no warts 

 or verructe. Its wall is rather thin, soft, not parchment-like. In one 

 of the specimens an acontium protruded through the wall, but no cin- 

 clides were elsewhere visible. Tin' sphincter (IM. xxix, Fig. 7.S) is nar- 

 row, but well develoi)ed. In its upper part it occupies the greater part 

 of the thickness of the column wall and ta})ers off gradually below. In 

 section the muscle-cavities in the upi)er part are elongated peri)en<licu- 

 larly to the surface of the column, becoming gradually more circular 

 towards the lower edge of the muscle. 



