286 Royal Society : — 



rROCEEBINGS OF LEAllXED SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 



March 24, 1870.— Lieut.-Gencral Sir Edward Sabine, K.C.B., 

 President, in the Chair. 



On the Madrepomria dredged up in the Expedition of H.M.S. 



* Torcupine.' By P. Martix Drxc.vx, [M.B. Lond., F.R.S., Sec. 



Gcol. Soc., Professor of Gcolog}- in King's College, London. 



Professor Wj-ville Thomson, Dr. Carpenter, and 3Ir. Gwjn Jef- 

 freys have placed the coUectiou of stony corals dredged up by them 

 in the ' Porcupine ' Expedition in ray hands for determination. 

 They have kindly afforded me all the information I required con- 

 cerning the localities, depths, and temperatures in which the speci- 

 mens -were found. 



My report has been rendered rather more elaborate than I had 

 intended, in consequence of the great consideration of Professor A. 

 Agassiz and Count de Pourtales in forwarding me their reports * 

 and specimens relating to the deep-sea dredging off Florida and tho 

 Havana. 



They have enabled me to offer a comparison between the British 

 and American species, which I had not hoped to do before tho 

 publication of this communication. 



Contexts. 

 I. List of the species, localities, depths, temperatures. 

 II. Critical notice of the species. 

 III. Special and general conclusions. 

 I. Twelve species of Madrcporaria were dredged up, and the ma- 

 jority came from midway between Cape AVratli and the Faroe Islands. 

 Others were also found off the west coast of Ireland. !Many varieties 

 of the species were also obtained, and some forms Avhich hitherto 

 have been considered specificallj- distinct from others, but which 

 now cease to be sot. [See Table, p. 287.] 



List of species known only on the area dredged, or in tho 

 neighbouring seas. 



1. Amphihelia atlantica, nobis. 



2. ornata, nobis. 



3. Allopora oculina, Ehrcnben/. 



List of species common to the area and to tho Florida and Havana 

 deep-sea faunas only. 



1. Balanoph3-Uia socialis, Pourtales, sp. 



2. Amphihelia profunda, Pourtales, sp. 



3. Pliobothrus sj-mmetricus, Pourtales, sp. 



• Contributions to the Fauna of the Gulf-stream at great depths, bv 

 L. F. de Pourtales, 1st & 2nd series, 18G8. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 

 Il.irvard Cullego, Cambridge, ^lass., Nos. & 7. 



t One sjiecimen came from the 'Lightning' Expedition. It must be 

 remembered that all the deep-sea corals known to British naturalists 

 were not dredged up. The Stylaster rosea, for instance, was not amongst 

 the collection. 



