10 



tend to be lateral and alternate in position. They each have a short broad tubular basal part 

 and each of these tubular parts bears a long projection from its distal end. These projections 

 are sometimes lobular, sometimes narrow and flattened, and sometimes round in section. They 

 are exceedingly irregular in disposition and are usually simple, but may bear short irregular 

 branchlets. The calyces are born almost exclusively on these processes and are always lateral 

 in position,, where they are in one broken row, or two rows, on each side of twigs. 



The individual calyces are almost entirely included, appearing as very low swellings 

 with hardly appreciable height and a diameter of about 2 mm. Their apertures are surrounded 

 by eight not very pronounced lobes filled with longitudinally disposed tuberculate spindles. The 

 polyps are entirely retractile and in this specimen are withdrawn well below the margins, which 

 close over them. They have their walls armed with curved transverse spindles below and spindles 

 arranged en chevron towards the upper part and on the tentacle bases. Above this the 

 tentacles are armed with longitudinal spindles, and their distal parts are bent abruptly inward 

 and bear two rows of small spindles arranged en chevron and reaching to the bases of 

 the pinnules. 



A cross section of the stem shows the ccenenchyma filled with discs and rounded, heavily 

 tuberculate spindles. The water-vascular canals are large and conspicuous, a number of them 

 traversing the axis. The latter consists of a felted mass of slender rods and needles longitudinally 

 disposed and bearing thorny points. 



S p i c u 1 e s. These have alreadly been partly described. Besides the slender forms in the 

 axis there are oval and round, heavily warted spicules in the general ccenenchyma and the 

 outer layer of calyx walls ; and heavy, coarse tuberculate clubs and spindles of the inner wall 

 of the calyces. Curved, moderately heavy spindles are abundant in the polyps, and much more 

 slender and smaller ones in the tentacles. There are no Y-shaped forms. 



Color. The colony is a rather light brown. Other specimens are darker brown. 



This species seems distinct from the others, particularly in the spiculation of the calyx 

 walls. It bears considerable resemblance to Solenocaulon tortuosum, but lacks the peculiar 

 Y-shaped spicules which THOMSON and SIMPSON regard as characteristic of this species \ Some 

 of the specimens bear symbiotic brachyuran crabs, instead of the Macroura found in 

 other species. 



Genus Semperina Kolliker. 



Semperina Kolliker. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Polypen, 1870, p. 9. 

 Semperina Studer. Versuch eines Systemes der Alcyonaria, 1887, p. 28. 

 Semperina Wright and Studer. Challenger Reports, the Alcyonaria, 1889, p. XXXII. 



In the original description of the genus Semperina Kolliker gives a detailed account of 

 the species, Semperina rubra in which specific and generic characters are in no wise differentiated. 

 A diagnosis can, however, be gathered from his analysis of the genera of his " Paragorgiacese" 

 (pp. [ i and 1 2) as follows : 



1 Aleyonarians of the Indian Ocean, II, 1909, p. 155. 



