Zoological Society. 409 



been enabled to examine in the Japanese boxes which are sent to the 

 Canton market, and from thence to London, and others brought from 

 Northern China by Mr. Fortune, I have little doubt that the species 

 is very variable. I had come to this conclusion, and arranged all the 

 specimens together in one tray in the British Museum, before Messrs. 

 Milne- Edwards and Haime came to examine the corals in the Museum 

 for description in their papers in the 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles' 

 for 1848 ; and the examination of the characters given by these natu- 

 ralists for their several species has not induced me to change my 

 opinion, which has, on the contrary, been strengthened by a second 

 comparison. 



I may state that we have in the British Museum two very distinct 

 recent species: — 1. Flabellum affine, Edwards and Haime, n. 31. 

 t. 8. f. 10, from Australia, which has very close plates. 2. Flabel- 

 lum Pavoninum, n. 1, from Japan and North China. And Milne- 

 Edwards and M. Haime have described another from the Falkland 

 Islands, brought to France by M. Dupetit Thouars, and hence called 

 Flabellum Thouarsii, n. 10. t. 8. f. 5, which appears to be distinct 

 from the two former. 



From the examination of the numerous specimens of Flabellum Pa- 

 voninum which I have been enabled to compare and collect, I am in- 

 clined to believe that all the specimens which are brought from the 

 Japanese Seas belong to a single species, which I believe will include 

 as varieties the following species described by M. Milne-Edwards and 

 M. Haime, viz. : — 



1. Flabellum distinctum, n. 2. The specimen in the British Mu- 



seum, from which this species is described, came from Japan, 

 and not the Red Sea, as stated in the work cited. 



2. F. debile, n. 23. t. 8. f. 2. 



3. F. Sumatrense, n. 24. 



4. F. spinosum, n. 25. t. 8. f. 4. 



5. F. aculeatum, n. 26. t. 8. f. 3. 



6. F. compressum, n. 20 = Fungia compressa, Lamk. 



7. F. Bairdii, n. 32. From Japan. 



8. F. Cumingii, n. 33. t. 8. f. 11. 



9. F. elongatum, n. 34. t. 8. f. 7. 



10. F. profundum, n. 35. China (Fortune). F. spheniscus, n. 42 1 



11. F. crassum, n. 36. t. 8. f. 8. 



12. F. crenulatum, n. 37. 



13. F. elegans, n. 38. From Japan ; B. M. 



14. F. Candeanum, n. 39. t. 8. f. 13. 



15. F. Stokesii, n. 40. t. 8. f. 12. 



16. F. Owenii,n. 41. t. 8. f. 9. 



I thought at first that these specimens might be separated into two, 

 according to the colour, some being red, with the sides of the coral 

 keeled, and others white, with the sides more or less rounded ; Fla- 

 bellum Pavoninum, Lesson, being the type of one species, and Fungia 

 compressa, of Lamarck, of the other. But there are specimens red on 

 one side and white on the other, and some on the other hand keeled 

 on one edge and rounded on the other ; some with elongated spines 



