670 



ZOOPHYTES. 



64. GORGONIA CRASSA. (Ellis.) Sparingly ramose, dichotornous, 

 branches five to six lines thick, and often five inches long, nearly 

 cylindrical ; surface nearly smooth, oscules scattered, large and round, 

 under margin sometimes prominent; axis corneous, pale fuscous. 



West Indies. Ellis. 



Gorgonia crassa, Ellis and Solander, 91. Ellis describes his specimen as of a purplish 

 colour, and mentions that the polyps have eight fringed tentacles. He refers to no figure, 

 but it seems quite probable that his figure 3, tab. 18, which is represented with the ex- 

 panded polyps, and of which he has given no description, was drawn for this species. 

 Very similar specimens from the West Indies have been seen by the author ; one of a 

 purplish colour, with the oscules wholly immersed, and another with the under margin 

 slightly prominent. The cortex is about as thick as the diameter of the axis, and the 

 whole from one-third to one-half an inch in diameter. 



Gorgonia multicauda, Lamk., ii. 503, No. 38. 



Plexaura crassa, Lamour., Pol. flex., 429 ; Deslongchamps, Encyc., 628. 



The Plexaura friabilis of Lamouroux (Pol. flex., 430, and Deslongchamps, Encyc., 

 608), is stated by him to come from the East Indies, and to have a dull fulvous colour : 

 but he refers to Ellis's tab. 18, fig. 3, as a representation of it. Lamouroux adds, as 

 probable synonyms, Lamarck's vermiculata, and Esper's porosa, tab. 10. 



The Gorgonia hcteropora of Lamarck, is made identical with the multicauda by Milne 

 Edwards (Lamarck, 2d ed., 503, No. 39) ; the oblong form of the oscules, and the smooth 

 surface, being attributed to the more complete retraction of the polyps. It is characterized 

 as follows by Lamarck : G. ramosa, dichotoma, crassa ; ramis cylindricis, raris ; cortice 

 crasso, poris oblongis, varie sitis, pertuso. A specimen seen by the author in the collec- 

 tions of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, consisted of a few stout 

 finger-like branches, four to five lines thick, and two and a half inches long, with the 

 surface smooth and the oscules three-fourths of a line long, lying in every position. 



Eunicea turgida, Ehrenb., G. Ixxxii., sp. 22. 



II. Verruca, prominent (Eumcece). 



65. GORGONIA PAPILLOSA. (Esper.} Whitish or yellowish ; flabel- 

 late, branches flexuous or incurved, upper branchlets mostly two to 

 two and three-fourths lines thick ; surface crowdedly verrucose, ver- 

 rucse three-fourths of a line long and half a line broad. 



West Indies? 



Gorgonia papillosa, Esper., Fortsetz., tab. 

 50; also, possibly, G. papillosa, ii. 105, 

 tab. 30 (on the plate it is named, by mis- 

 take, as Esper says, G. suberosa). Esper 

 compares the surface in the last species to 

 that of the " Madrepora muricata," which 

 agrees well with a specimen examined by 

 the author, in which the crowded verruca? 



open upward and are subnarilbrm, and 

 the branchlets terminate in a large polyp; 

 the verrucas are unequal. 

 Eunicea papillosa, Ehrenberg, op. cit., Gen. 

 Ixxxii., sp. 3. " Esperi icon (tab. 50)bona; 

 ramis ultimis cum polypis 2-2j."' crassis, 

 verrucis ?"' longis, 5'" latis, papilla ter- 

 minal! superstructis." 



