392 THE GORGONIANS OF THE BRAZILIAN COAST. 



The coenenchyma is firm, close-grained, composed of very small nu 1 

 and yellow spicules. p e 



The spicules are very small and vary but little in diameter. The great 

 number are reddish purple, rather slender, strongly warted double-spindles and 

 spindles ; most of them are rather acute, but some are obtuse. With these are som 

 much shorter purple double-cones, double-rosettes, and rosette-cones, and a few 

 more slender spindles with fewer warts. The scaphoid spicules are mostly bright 

 yellow, usually strongly curved on the convex side, much less so on the concave 

 side. The convex side often has a median emargination, or is girdled and is 

 usually smooth; there is frequently a row of lateral warts. The concave side has 

 four to six strong warts or tubercles in each linear row ; some of them are often 

 bifid or lobulate. In some cases there is a naked middle zone, so as to produce 

 a girdled or double scaphoid form. 



With the yellow scaphoids there are also some regular, strongly warted, acute, 

 yellow spindles, among them the largest of the spicules, and also some shorter, 

 blunt, closely warted spindles and double-spindles equal in length to the scaph- 

 oids. Some very small short forms also occur. 



The larger double-spindles measure 0.12 X 0.04; 0.09 X 0.03; 0.08 X 0.03; 

 the stouter ones, 0.07 X 0.03; 0.06 X 0.03; slender ones, 0.06 X 0.02; 0.06 X 

 0.01; double-cones, 0.05X0.04; 0.05X0.03; double-rosettes, 0.08X0.03; 

 0.05 X 0.03; double-heads, 0.03 X 0.03; 0.03 X 0.02; scaphoids, 0.07 X 0.03; 

 0.06 X 0.03 mm. 



The axis is brownish black, hard, and lustrous in the larger branches, becoming 

 brownish yellow in the smaller ones, and translucent pale yellow in the terminal 

 branchlets. It is more or less calcareous. The base is dull yellow, vermiculated 

 at the surface, hard and calcareous, effervescing freely in acids. 



The two types and only specimens seen are from Marannao, Brazil, collected 

 by Derby and Wilmot and received from Mr. Richard Rathbun. Exped. C. F. 

 Hartt, 1876, Nos. 4553 and 4554, Yale Museum. 



Gorgonia braziliensis Verrill, sp. nov. 



Plate XXIX, figures 3, 3a (branchlet and spicules of No. 4508, in natural 

 colors). Plate XXXIII, figure 7 (spicules of the same). Plate XXXV, figures 

 7, 7a (calicles of the same). 



Coral subdichotomously branched from close to the base, with few, long, 

 slender, strongly divergent, terete branches, bright orange-yellow in the types. 

 Total height of type (No. 4508), 260 mm.; breadth as dried, 240 mm.; length of 

 longer branchlets, 150 to 190 mm.; diameter, about 2.5 mm. This specimen 

 has only nine branchlets. 



The calicles are small, scarcely raised, with the aperture small, oblong, or 

 narrow elliptical. They form two alternating rows on each edge of the branch- 

 lets, leaving a narrow, naked median band, which is slightly grooved on the 

 larger branches. The coenenchyma is hard and nearly smooth. 



