THE GORGONIANS OF THE BRAZILIAN COAST. m 



much in diameter and the main stem is no larger. The branclilete and branch,- 

 are somewhat quadrangular, owing to the calicles being arranged mostly in four 

 close rows. ' hey are usually from 2.5 to 3 mm. in diameter. Tin naked band 

 on the sides is narrow and rather indefinite and seldom shows mon than a trace 

 of a median furrow. The terminal branchlets are mostly 15 to 25 mm. long 

 sometimes 40 mm. 



The calicles are rather large for the genus, rounded or dome-like, monh 

 completely closed, closely arranged, mostly in two rows on each edge of the 

 branchlets, and usually nearly or quite in contact at their swollen bases. Tlnir 

 apertures, when visible, usually appear as very narrow oblong slits. The 

 calicles are mostly about 1 to 1.2 mm. in diameter and 0.6 to 0.8 mm. high. The 

 axis is hard, brittle when dry, brownish yellow and translucent in the >m; 

 pale amber-color, slender and brittle in the branchlets. 



The coenenchyma is deep reddish-purple, nearly smooth, hard and compact, 

 filled with minute, bright purplish-red spicules. The spicules ire mostly in the 

 form of short strongly warted or tubercled spindles and double-spindles, some 

 acute and some obtuse, and with many small, much shorter and somctiim 

 equally thick, darker colored double-rosettes and double-heads and heads. 

 There are also many much more slender, acute, red tentacle-spindles with few 

 small microspinules. Some small red crosses and other minute forms from the 

 tentacles also occur. No scaphoid forms were found. 



The larger double-spindles of No. 4523 measure 0.07 X 0.04; 0.08 X 0.03; 

 0.07 X 0.03; 0.06 X 0.03; the stouter ones, 0.06 X 0.04; more slender out*, 

 0.07 X 0.02; double-rosettes, 0.04 X 0.04; 0.04 X 0.04; 0.04 X 0.03; double- 

 clubs, 0.05 X 0.03; ellipsoidal ones, 0.04 X 0.03; rosettes endwise, 0.04 X 0.04; 



0.03 X 0.03; 0.02 X 0.02; tentacle-spindles, 0.08 X 0.02; 0.08 X 0.03; 0.05 X 

 0.02 mm. 



The specimen described above was collected at Rio de Janeiro. Expedition 

 of C. F. Hartt. No. 4523, Yale Museum. 



Leptogorgia pumicea (Val.) Verrill. 



Gorgonia pumicea Val., Compt.-rend., XLI, p. 12. M.-Edw.. Coral!., vol. I, p. 160, 1857. 

 Leptogorgia pumicea Verrill, Amer. Journ. Sci., XLVIII, p. 422, 1869. 



Plate XXXIII, figure 10 (spicules of type); figure 9 (spicules of No. 892). 

 Plate XXXV, figure 11 (branchlet of No. 892). 



The spicules from the type in the Paris Museum (slide 27, Koll.) are very 



small, bright red double-spindles and relatively large garnet-red spheroids. The 



double-spindles are partly rather short, thick, blunt, with two close whorls of 



rough warts on each end, and partly rather longer, slender, acute double-spindles, 



with three whorls of small graded warts on each end; many of intermediate forms 

 occur. 



The short spicules are often as thick as the larger spindles, and are conspicuous 

 on account of their dark red color. They are partly warted spheroidal heads, 



