POLYPS AND CORALS. 81 



Yerrucpe promiueiit and covered witb rougli, thorny, cliib- 

 sliapsd or branched spicnla, with the ends projecting from 

 the surfece. 



JSTephthya has the verrncaB covered with long, regular, 

 or curved, warty spindles, appressed to the surface. 



EuN'EPHTHY'A THrRSOiDES Verrill, 1. c, p. 284, = 

 Nephthya thyrsoidea V. (Vol. IV, p. 192, PI. 6, figs. 8, 

 8a, 8b). 



Spicula mostly long, thorny, club-shaped, .600 of a 

 millimetre to 1.00 long, by .100 to .200 thick; and 

 stouter very thorny clubs, .300 to .500 long, by .125 to 

 .250 broad; and rough, sharp, three-pronged spicula, 

 .275 to .325 long, by .150 to .250 broad. The thorny 

 ends of these spicula project from the surface of the ver- 

 rucse, especially towards their summits, giving it a very 

 rough appearance. 



Dr. Gray, in the work cited above, erroneously places 

 this species as a synonym of Verrilliana thyrsoides Gray 

 (^Ainmothea thyrsoides Ehr.), from which it differs widely. 



Spongodes capitata Verrill (Vol. IV, p. 193),:= 

 Spoggodes capitata Gray, op. cit., p. 128. 



Spongodes gracilis Verrill (1. c), = Spoggodia gra- 

 cilis Gray, op. cit., p. 128. 



The genus Spoggodia Gray (non Dana), has been sep- 

 arated from the typical species, owing to the more scat- 

 tered arrangement of the polyps, "prominent from the 

 sides or forming the tips of the branchlets." These char- 

 acters seem to me insufficient for the establishment of a 

 genus. Moreover 8. giganteaY . (Vol. IV, p. 192) com- 

 bines the characters of the two groups, having both single 

 polyps scattered on the sides of the branchlets and others 

 clustered at the ends and surrounded by large, spine- 

 like spicula. 



According to the generally accepted rules of orthog- 



COMMUNICATIONS OF ESSEX INSTITUTE, VOL. VI. 11 SEPTEMBER, 18G9. 



