Simpson— .1 Revision of the Gorgonellidae. 1 19 



20 cm. in heiglit by 8 cm. in maximum breadLli, and consists of a main stem, 

 with lateral branches, which are again repeatedly branched. For the most 

 part the branching is in one plane ; but this is not rigorously adhered to. 

 On the main stem of one of the larger specimens there is a curious gall-like 

 swelling from which branches arise on all sides. 



The stem is 4 mm. in thickness at its base, and gradually tapers to 2 mm. 

 at the ends of the branches. The axis is light brown in colour, and verj' 

 calcareous. On the surface of the general coenenchyma, and on the verrucae 

 there are irregular wavy longitudinal ridges, producing a characteristic bark- 

 like appearance. Under the low-power microscope the textui'e seems finely 

 arenaceous. 



The verrucae are very prominent, rising more or less perpendicularly to 

 a height of 2 mm. They occur on all sides of the stem; l>ut in tlie upper 

 parts of the branches a bilateral arrangement is well dotiued. At Ihe apex 

 of the verrucae there is an indication of eight lobes, from which the tentacles 

 here and there project. 



Another specimen, the basal part of a large colony, branches in a some- 

 what irregular fashion, and not rigidly in one plane. The verrucae are much 

 less bilateral, especially near the base of the colony. Examination of the 

 spicules shows that this may be referred to N. dkhotoma. 



Locality. — Salomon A, 65 fathoms ; Salomon B, 60-120 fathoms. 



XXXIII. Nicella flabeUata (Whitelegge). Fig. 115. 

 Verrucella flabdlata Whitelegge, xlix., p. 319, Plate xvil., figs. 34-37. 

 Nicdla flabcllata Thomson and Henderson, xl., p. 80. 



This species was established by Whitelegge for a specimen from Funafuti, 

 but was tlien included in the genus Verrucella. Thomson and Hendersun, 

 in identifying a specimen from the Indian Ocean with this species, concluded 

 that it should really be referred to the genus Nicella : and in this we 

 thoroughly agree. The spiculation is quite distinctively Nicellid in 

 character ; and, as these authors point out, the actual shape of the verrucae 

 matters little in a generic diagnosis. As a matter of fact, the natuie of 

 the verrucae, as .shown in the figure given by Whitelegge, is intermediate 

 between that in N. dichotoma and the Indian Ocean specuuon. 



The notes following may serve to indicate the chief specific characteristic. 



The colony is branched in one plane ; the branches show a tendency to 

 arise from one side. The axis is densely calcareous and is striated. A 

 noteworthy feature is the presence of two distinct grooves corresponding in 

 position to the two main canals. 



