﻿ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES. 
  147 
  

  

  Description 
  of 
  a 
  New 
  Genus 
  and 
  Species 
  of 
  Alcyonoid 
  Polyp.* 
  

  

  BY 
  ROBERT 
  E. 
  C. 
  STEARNS. 
  

  

  At 
  a. 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  California 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences, 
  held 
  on 
  the 
  third 
  day 
  of 
  

   February, 
  1873, 
  a 
  paper 
  was 
  read 
  by 
  me, 
  entitled 
  " 
  Remarks 
  on 
  a 
  New 
  Alcyo- 
  

   noid 
  Polyp, 
  from 
  Burrard's 
  Inlet 
  ; 
  " 
  f 
  in 
  which 
  I 
  gave 
  a 
  resume 
  of 
  the 
  discus- 
  

   sions, 
  notices, 
  etc., 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  in 
  England, 
  arising 
  from 
  the 
  examination 
  

   by 
  several 
  naturalists, 
  of 
  certain 
  " 
  switch 
  "-like 
  forms, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  received 
  

   by 
  different 
  parties 
  from 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Georgia 
  (more 
  particularly 
  from 
  Burrard's 
  

   Inlet, 
  in 
  said 
  gulf) 
  ; 
  several 
  specimens 
  of 
  said 
  " 
  switches 
  " 
  being 
  in 
  the 
  Museum 
  

   of 
  the 
  California 
  Academy. 
  

  

  These 
  " 
  switches," 
  or 
  rods, 
  were 
  referred 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Gray, 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Museum, 
  

   to 
  his 
  genus 
  " 
  Osteocella," 
  and 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Sclater's 
  correspondent 
  stated 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  

   " 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  fish 
  "; 
  but 
  by 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  scientific 
  gentlemen 
  who 
  had 
  seen 
  these 
  

   " 
  switches 
  " 
  they 
  were 
  regarded 
  as 
  belonging 
  to 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Alcyonoid 
  Polyp. 
  

   I 
  expressed 
  the 
  belief 
  that 
  they 
  belonged 
  to 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Umbellularia. 
  

  

  At 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  California 
  Academy, 
  held 
  on 
  the 
  evening 
  of 
  August 
  4, 
  

   1873, 
  Dr. 
  James 
  Blake 
  presented 
  a 
  specimen 
  of 
  the 
  polyp 
  of 
  which 
  these 
  so- 
  

   called 
  switches 
  are 
  the 
  axes, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  sent 
  to 
  him 
  from 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  

   Georgia 
  by 
  his 
  friend, 
  Capt. 
  Doane. 
  This 
  specimen 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  

   sent 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  in 
  a 
  tolerable 
  state 
  of 
  preservation, 
  

   though, 
  as 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  anticipated, 
  the 
  more 
  delicate 
  tissues 
  of 
  the 
  polyps 
  

   are 
  somewhat 
  decomposed, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  are 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  lacer- 
  

   ated. 
  They 
  all 
  are, 
  however, 
  suCBciently 
  perfect 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  true 
  position, 
  

   and 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  " 
  switches 
  " 
  are, 
  as 
  was 
  supposed, 
  the 
  supporting 
  stalks 
  or 
  

   axes 
  of 
  an 
  Alcyonoid 
  Polyp 
  " 
  related 
  or 
  pertaining 
  to 
  the 
  group 
  Peimatulidce." 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  last 
  meeting 
  I 
  referred 
  the 
  specimen 
  before 
  the 
  Academy 
  to 
  that 
  divis- 
  

   ion 
  of 
  the 
  PennatuIidcE 
  known 
  as 
  Virgularia, 
  but 
  upon 
  a 
  subsequent 
  examina- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  authorities, 
  I 
  find 
  that 
  those 
  forms 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  axis 
  is 
  unilateral, 
  

   or 
  on 
  one 
  side, 
  come 
  within 
  the 
  Genus 
  Pavonaria 
  of 
  Cuvier. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  species 
  heretofore 
  described 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  can 
  learn, 
  and 
  on 
  which 
  

   this 
  genus 
  is 
  based, 
  is 
  P. 
  quadrangular 
  is, 
  of 
  which 
  a 
  lengthy 
  and 
  interesting 
  

   description 
  from 
  Prof. 
  Forbes, 
  is 
  given 
  in 
  Johnston's 
  British 
  Zoophytes 
  (Vol. 
  

   I, 
  pp. 
  164-166). 
  In 
  that 
  species, 
  however, 
  the 
  axis 
  is 
  " 
  acutely 
  quadrangular," 
  

   and 
  the 
  polyps 
  are 
  arranged 
  in 
  three 
  longitudinal 
  series, 
  corresponding 
  to 
  three 
  

   of 
  the 
  " 
  angles 
  of 
  the 
  stem." 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  specimen 
  presented 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Blake 
  the 
  style 
  or 
  axis 
  is 
  round, 
  and 
  the 
  

   polyps 
  are 
  arranged 
  in 
  two 
  longitudinal 
  unilateral 
  series, 
  which 
  conform 
  to 
  the 
  

   convexity 
  of 
  the 
  external 
  fleshy 
  covering. 
  With 
  these 
  differences, 
  I 
  think 
  I 
  am 
  

   justified 
  in 
  placing 
  it 
  in 
  a 
  new 
  sub-genus 
  for 
  which 
  I 
  propose 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Ver- 
  

   rillia, 
  in 
  honor 
  of 
  Prof. 
  Verrill 
  of 
  Yale 
  College. 
  

  

  * 
  Printed 
  in 
  advance 
  August 
  20th, 
  1873. 
  

  

  t 
  Vide 
  Pioc. 
  Cal. 
  Acad. 
  Sciences, 
  vol. 
  V, 
  part 
  I, 
  pp. 
  7-12. 
  

  

  