408 Zoological Society. 



late visit to this country, they stated that it was quite unknown to 

 them, and most nearly allied to an Australasian species. It belongs 

 to the genus Flabellum, established by the late M. Lesson in his 

 * Illustrations of Zoology ' in 1831 for a coral from the Japanese Seas. 

 And more lately (in 1841) Dr. A. Philippi established a genus under 

 the name of Phyllodes for some fossil allies. Dana, in his work on 

 Zoophytes in 1846, has applied the name of Euphyllia to this genus. 

 Quoy and Gaimard referred one of the species to the genus Turbi- 

 nolia. 



The only specimen of the coral found by Mr. MacAndrew is un- 

 fortunately in an imperfect state, having been broken by the dredge, 

 and I have some doubts if it absolutely belongs to the genus Fla- 

 bellum, as it appears rather to form a more or less circular expanded 

 disk, than a compressed wedge-shaped body. But Messrs. Milne- 

 Edwards and Haime appeared to have no doubt of its belonging to 

 that genus when it was shown to them, and I have therefore adopted 

 their opinion until more perfect specimens are found to verify or cor- 

 rect our knowledge. It may be described as follows : — 



Flabellum MacAndrewi. 



Coral expanded, subcircular ? ; outline irregular, torn, with acute 

 marginal processes ; outer surface smooth, polished, as if varnished ; 

 septa thin, far apart, very finely crenulated on the edge in three 

 series ; the primary plates large, the secondary nearly as large, but 

 much more narrow near the centre ; the tertiary plates small, very 

 narrow. 



Hob. North Sea. 



The single imperfect specimen here described was found about 

 twenty-five miles from East Shetland, in ninety fathoms water. 



Mr. MacAndrew has kindly presented the specimen to the British 

 Museum collection. 



M. Milne-Edwards and M. Haime, in their monograph of the genus 

 Flabellum, published in the 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' ix. 

 p. 256 (in 1848), describe forty-three species, and divide them into 

 three sections, thus : — 



a. Coral becoming free by the progress of age. 



* Coral becoming free by the cessation of the adherence of the 



pedicel — Fla bellines pedicel les. 

 ** Coral becoming free by the rupture of its base — F. tronquees. 



b. Coral always fixed by its enlarged base — F.fixees. 



The last section is very distinct from the two former, and might 

 almost form a separate genus, for which I should be inclined to retain 

 Dana's name of Euphyllia. 



The other two sections are separated from one another by very 

 slight characters, which I believe are not even sufficient to separate 

 the specimens of the same species, for some specimens from the same 

 localities retain their narrow base, while in others this part is more or 

 less truncated. 



Indeed from the numerous specimens of this genus which I have 



