ON THE SOLITARY CORALS, COLLECTED BY DR A. WILLEY. 



By J. STANLEY GARDINER, M.A., 

 Fellow of Gonville and Gains College, Cambridge. 



With Plates XIX. and XX. 1 



The solitary corals, classified and in part described in this communication, are 



irkable for the large number of new species. Dr Willey, however, was the first 



to undertake systematic dredging in the seas of the South-West Pacific. Probably 



some may ultimately be found to !>'■ young forms, but I do not think any of the 



new species can possibly be stages of growth (or instars) of previously described forms. 



The collection in the British Museum, with which the specimens were compared 

 in August, 1897, and subsequently, includes the Challenger specimens and a large 

 number presented by Count de Pourtales from the West Indies. A comparison with 

 the Porcupine collection would have been of the greatest possible value, but un- 

 fortunately these specimens were, 1 am informed, sold in America. I must here 

 express my great indebtedness to Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell for his very kind assistance 

 and valuable advice. 



FAMILY. TCRBINOLIDAE, Milne-Edwards and Haime. 

 Genus. Desmophyllwm, Ehrenberg. 



1. Desmophyllum tenuescens, n. sp. (Fig. 1.) 



The corallum is inversely conical and light with a smooth, very finely granulated 

 -talk, which may be slightly enlarged at the attached base. The costae are very 

 small and do not extend for more than 1"5 mm. down the outside of the corallum. 



The calice'- is circular or slightly elongate and deep. The septa are thin, very 

 finely granulated on the sides and with entire edges. They are arranged in six 

 systems with three complete cycles. The primaries are 11 — 1*4 mm. exsert and 



1 For explanation of Plates XIX. and XX. see p. 176, et seq. 



■ The term calice was first used by Duncan (" Eevision of the Families and Genera of the Madreporaria," 

 Jour. Linn. Soc, xvni. p. 200), for the upper opening of the corallite or coraUum. The corallite is an 

 individual member of a colony and the corallum an entire solitary or compound coral. 



W. 2 ^ 



