14 BULLETIN OF THE 
Acanella Normani VerrRILt. 
Acanella arbuscula Norman, Proc. Royal Soc. London, 1876, p. 210 (? non Johnson, 
1862). 
Acanella Normani VeRRILL, Amer. Jour. Sci., XVI., 1878, p. 212 (descr.) ; XXIII, 
1882, p. 315. 
Plate IV. Figs. 2; 2a, 2b. 
This coral grows in symmetrical, thickly branched, bush-like forms, usually 
6 to 10 inches high, and 6 to 8 inches broad, The base is calcareous, and 
divides into several large, divergent, irregularly palmate and digitate lobes or 
root-like branches, which serve to anchor and support the coral on the soft 
muddy bottoms which it usually inhabits; occasionally, however, the basal 
expansion attaches itself to pebbles, and in that case becomes incrusting, in 
part or wholly, according to the size of the pebble. The main central stem 
usually grows upright, in normal specimens, commonly with a short trunk, 
25 to 50 mm. (1 to 2 inches) long, destitute of branches; above this the 
main branches are given off symmetrically, from the short horny joints, mostly 
in whorls of four at each of the joints, which are usually from 15 to 20 mm. 
apart. The branches are strongly divergent and spreading, and they give off 
from their horny joints similar whorls of branchlets, usually three or four to 
each joiut; these are usually somewhat farther apart than those of the main 
stem, commonly 20 to 25 mm. The smaller branches are slender, with longer 
calcaréous joints, and they give off slender branchlets from their horny joints, 
only one or two usually arising from a joint. The terminal branchlets are 
long, slender, divergent, with longer calcareous joints than the larger branches. 
The main stem and most of the larger branches are destitute of calicles, and 
along the smaller branches they are rather distantly and irregularly scattered, 
becoming more numerous, closer, and larger on the terminal branches, and 
especially toward their tips, where there is often a group of two or three, or 
more. 
The calicles are long and prominent, divergent, and nearly rigid, owing to 
the large and long spines with which they are filled; they vary considerably 
in size and form, those at the tips of the branches (Fig. 2a) being somewhat 
larger and better developed than most of those along their sides. These larger 
calicles are swollen at base, narrowed or subpedunculated just above the base, 
and then gradually enlarged toward the summit, where the margin is sur- 
rounded by eight long, slender spines, formed by the projecting ends of the 
large spicula; within the marginal spines the incurved tentacles are usually to 
be seen in alcoholic specimens. Below the margin the calicles are composed 
of numerous long, slender warted spicula, which vary considerably in size and 
form; those on the swollen basal portion are smaller, crowdedly imbricated, 
but do not project. The spicula are conspicuous in dried specimens, in which 
they are commonly less regular, and take oblique and more or less twisted 
positions. The calicles along the sides of the branches are irregularly ar- 
