MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 243 
Lafoéa robusta sp. nov. 
Plate IV. Fig. 24. 
Trophosome. — Hydrotheceo large, tubular, tapering at the base, expanding 
slightly at the terminal orifice, borne on short, stout peduncles which arise at 
short intervals from the creeping hydrorhiza. 
Gonosome. — Unknown. 
Locality. — Long. 84° 21! W. Depth, 101 fathoms. 
This is a stout creeping form. The hydrothece are similar to those of 
L. fruticosa except in. the characters of the peduncle. Occasionally there is an 
attempt at annulation seen in the peduncle, and there is considerable variation 
in the form of the hydrothecw, 
Lafoéa convallaria ALLMAN. 
Plate IV. Fig. 23. 
One of the half-dozen fine specimens of this form in the collection bears a 
number of gonangia. The colony on which they occur is about two inches in 
height, and the gonangia are attached in a dense cluster to the main stem and 
to the bases of two or three of the branches ; they are sessile and anchor-shaped, 
with the orifices, of which there are two in each gonangium, at the extremities 
of the obtusely pointed flukes. 
Localities. — Off Havana, Cuba, 160-177 fathoms. Lat. 25° 33! N., Long. 
84° 21 W. Depth, 101 fathoms. 
This style of gonangium is of unusual interest, as it is, I believe, the only 
one known with two external orifices, and any addition to our knowledge of 
the gonosomes of the Lafodide is so seldom obtained that any new facts in this 
direction are very acceptable. It is somewhat remarkable that so little should 
be known in regard to the reproductive processes, and the structures in which 
they are developed, of a family in which there are such long-known and wide- 
spread species as occur in the Lafodide. I have examined large quantities of 
L. dumosa from different parts of the world, taken at different depths, from 
waters of different temperatures, and at different seasons of the year, and yet, 
with all the examinations which have been made by various zoólogists, I 
believe we know nothing as yet of the gonosome. And the same is true of 
all other species of the genus, I think, with the exceptions of L. calcarata 
A. Agassiz, and L. convallaria Allman, These two forms are so different in style 
as to make it seem probable that when our knowledge of their life-histories 
becomes complete it may be necessary to separate them generically. 
Lafoéa venusta ALLMAN. 
A few of the graceful hydrotheceo of this species were found creeping over 
the stem of Obelia marginata, collected ten miles north of Zoblos Island. 
Lafoéa gracillima ۰ 
A number of fine specimens of this delicate form were taken in Lat. 25° 33 
N., and Long. 84? 21! W., at a depth of 101 fathoms. No gonangia present. 
