518 MR. E, W. SHANN ON 



Genus Dendkonephthya Kiikenthal. 



1791-97. Alcyonium Esper, Pflanzenthiere, pp. 49, 50, tab. 16. 

 1834. Nee Sj^ongodes Lesson, Illustrations de Zoologie, vol. ii. 



part 2, p. 89. 

 1834. Nephthya (pars) Elirenberg. 

 1846. Spoggodia (pars) Dana, p. 625. 

 1857. SjMggodes (pars) Milne-Edwards, p. 127. 

 1862. Spoggodes (pars), Morchellcma Gray, in Proc. Zool. Soe. 



London, p. 27. 

 1877. Spongodes (pars) Klunzinger, pp. 34, 35. 

 1889. Spongodes (pars) Wright & Studer. 



1895. Spongodes (pars) Holm, p. 16. 



1896. Spongodes (pars) Kiikenthal, p. 97. 

 1899. Spongodes (pars) May. 



1905. Dendronephthya Kiikenthal, Zool. Jahrb. xxi. p. 526. 



The genus Spongodes was founded by Lesson (1834) on the 

 type Sp. celosia, and for many years workers in the field of the 

 Nephthyidpe found no difficulty in discriminating between 

 SjJongodes Lesson and Neplitliya Savigny. I have endeavoured 

 to show in my section on the genus Neplitliya that as the number 

 of species of the above-mentioned genera increased it became 

 more and more difficult to draw a hard-and-fast line between 

 them ; further, that this fact became manifest when, in 1889, 

 "Wright and Studer described a specimen as Spongodes nepliihycB- 

 formis, which was subsequently relegated to the genus Neplitliya^ 

 and, indeed, shown to be identical with N, chahrolii, the type of 

 that genus. A new distinctive feature was required : such a 

 feature was discovered by Holm and applied in a practical form 

 by Kiikenthal. The feature in question is the arrangement of 

 the polyps upon the stem, and its application has already been 

 mentioned above. Kiikenthal 's (1896) definition of the emended 

 genus Spongodes is as follows : — '* Polypenstock baumartig veras- 

 telt, unterer Stammteil nackt. Die Polypen sind in Biindeln 

 vereinigt oder stehen vereinzelt." Under the genus Sj^ongodes 

 thus defined, Kiikenthal included as subgenera Spongodia and 

 Spongodes ; he further subdivided the latter into three grouj^s, 

 namely, Glomeratee, Umbellatse, and Divaricatse. May (1899) 

 and others adopted this classification ; and so the matter stood 

 until the year 1905, when Kiikenthal published the second 

 part of his " Revision of the Neph thy idee." In this paper Avas 

 introduced the division of the time-honoured genus Sj^ongodes 

 Less, into the two new geiiersi, Dendronephthya and Stereonephthya, 

 which has provoked such a stonn of criticism. It must be 

 remembered, however, that the group Spooigodes " Spicatse," and 

 with it the original type /Sjo. celosia, had already been relegated 

 to the genus Nej^lithya ; so that the genus Spongodes, as then 

 accepted, no longer retained its ancient prestige ; moreover, since 

 the genera Neplitliya and Spongodes were shown to be synony- 

 mous, Kiikenthal Avas justified by the International Rules of 

 Zoological Komenclatiu-e (Art. 28) in retaining the older name — ■ 



