wrniiN Tin: ok.nmjs dkndronepjithya. 



45 



small, quaint, flattened forms ; colour : general cortex and sterile 

 stalk yellow, collar vivid red, juitliocodial ;u'm!i,ture whitish, 

 twigs and polyp stalks with red spicules. 



* ANTHocomAL Grade and Formula: — 

 I. = a P + Cr + weak S.B. 



Descriptive Notes :— 



1 . Colony as a ivhole. Ten specimens of a peculiar form, the 

 smallest 15 mm. in height, the largest 17 cm. Tliey are remark- 

 able in showing, especially in the larger forms, a great bare gap 

 between the collar and the loosely glomerate polyp-bearing area. 

 In the largest specimen this interval extends for about 6 cm. 

 Here and elsewhere it is extremely limp, and it looks as if the 

 polyp-bearing area had rested on the mud: in the upper part of 

 the colony there are numerous galls due to and containing small 

 Balanidfe, and the polyps are very muddy. It should be noted as 

 a feature that the upper part of the polyparium is distinctly top- 

 heavy; in the largest specimen it has a breadth of 10 cm., 

 whereas the stalk bearing it is only 1 cm. across. The colony 

 broadens again at the very foliaceous collar and measures 6 cm. 

 from side to side. Below that the sterile stalk, which is markedly 

 flattened, measures 3'5 cm. in breadth. There are numerous 

 stolons. 



2. Branching. The three largest spe- 

 cimens show two lateral short branches Text-fio* 7 

 arising immediately above the collar, 

 but not affecting the bareness of the gap 

 alluded to. 



3. Colouring. The twigs and polyp 

 stalks bear red spicules ; the anthocodial 

 armature is whitish or transparent ; the 

 general cortex is yellowish ; the collar is 



" of a very conspicuous red ; the sterile 

 stalk has the same colour as the general 

 cortex. 



4. Polyp stalks and their spicules. 

 The length of the polyp stalks is very 

 great — often reaching 3 mm. in the 

 collar and about 1*5 mm. in the upper 

 polyparium. The spicules are red and B. clavata Kiik. 

 very thorny. 



5. Polyps. 

 branches. 



6. Polyp spicules. The anthocodial architecture is primitive, 

 having 7 or 8 pairs of very uniform short rod-like spindles in 

 each point and no distinct crown. The supporting bundle is 



* In the anthocodial fonnulne the point spicules are denoted by " P " if big and 

 strong, and by " p " if small and weak; the crown spicules b}^ " Cr," and the supporting 

 bundle by " S.B." preceded hy a qualifying adjective (c/. page 43). 



Found in dense groups at the tips of the end 



