VROF. THOMSCiN AND MH. McQUEEN — REPORT OX THE ALCYONARIANS. 107 



thicker branches they occur practically ail over. They stand out somewhat 

 prominently to a height of about 0-5 nun., anJ appear as widely open crater- 

 like elevations or as rounded hillocks according to the state of contraction. 



The whole surface of the colony is seen under the lens to be rougli with 

 spindle-shaped spicules, all of a red colour. 



The spicules of the coenenchyma are: (1) substantial tuberculate spindles, of 

 which the following meaHirements were taken : — 0-3 x 0-07, 0-27 x 0-09 mm. 

 The tubercles are large and blunt. In some cases the ends of the spindles 

 are irregularly Wfid. There are also some slender curved tuberculate spindles. 

 (2) Short coTiipact fusit'omi types covered with numerous blunt tubercles : 

 3-12-ix00.5 mm. (3) Club-shaped forms or " Stachelkeulen " with irre- 

 gularly shaped tuberculate heads. From these through torch-like forms there 

 are transilio)is to irregular spindles. The clubs are frequently 0'23 mm. in 

 length by 0"1 mm. in breadth across the head. In the polyps there are minute 

 and slender red spindles,, besides a number of minute slightly tuberculate 

 curved rodlets which are practically colourless. For both of these types a 

 common length is 0'04 mm. The aboral surface of the tentacles bears about 

 .5 large red spicules arranged in chevron. The axis shows longitudinal canals. 



Locality. — From the sides of a buoy in Suez Bay, and on the coral-reef of 

 Engineer Island, Khor Dongola. 



Melitodes splen'dexs, n. sp. (Plate 7. figs. 1 & 2.) 



Numerous broken pieces of a bright orange-red Melitodid. They seem to 

 represent several colonies. The nature of the spicules and the presence of 

 longitudinal canals in the axis indicate the genus Melkodes, but we have not 

 been able to refer the specimens to any of the numerous previously described 

 species. 



One of the pieces has a breadth of 6 mm. across an iuternode about 3 cm. 

 above the base, while a node about the same height has a breadth of 9 mm. 

 The length of the internode at this level is 11 mm., and towards the base 

 the colony the internodes have an average length of about 12 mm. Tli 

 branching is profuse, with many anastomoses, but is mainly confined to one 

 plane. An attempted reconstruction of the broken specimens leads one to 

 infer that the colonies may have been about 25 cm. in height. The terminal 

 branches are about 1 mm. in thickness. 



The verrucse are almost confined to one surface of the branches. They ai'c 

 somewhat scattered on the basal parts, but towards the ends their bases are 

 in contact. They are slightly flattened hemispheres. The retracted poly|i 

 is just seen as a whitish spot on the top of the verruca. 



The axis shows numerous longitudinal canals in the nodes and internodes. 

 A thin section through a thick internode showed about ten. On the surface 

 of the axis there is external fluting corresponding to the course of the canals 

 in the coenenchvraa. 



[67j 



