NO. 1658. ALCYONARIA OF THE CALIFORNIAN COAST— NUTTING. 70I 



Color. — In alcohol, a light tan brown. The swelling above the end 

 bulb is dull purplish brown. 



Distribution. — ^All in Bay of Monterey. Station 4464, Point Pinos 

 light-house S. 29° W. 7.6 miles, 31-32 fathoms; Station 4492, Santa 

 Cruz light-house N. 54° W. 7 miles, 26 fathoms; Station 4550, Point 

 Pinos light-house S. 6° E. 4.6 miles, 50-57 fathoms; Station 4556, 

 Point Pinos light-house S. 7° E. 3.7 miles, 56-59 fathoms; Station 

 4557, Point Pinos light-house S. 25° W. 3.1 miles, 53-54 fathoms; 

 Station 4558, Point Pinos light-house S. 79° W. 2 miles, 28-40 

 fathoms. 



The original specimens were from the Bay of Monterey, 20 fathoms. 



In his discussion of this species, which he ascribes to the genus 

 Stylatula, Verrill expresses a doubt as to its belonging to this genus 

 at all.'* The specimens collected by the Fisheries steamer Albatross 

 agree quite well with the original description of Virgularia gracilis 

 Gabb, and this, together with the fact that the locality is the same 

 and the species evidently abundant at moderate depths in the Bay 

 of Monterey, makes it quite likely that the species is correctly identi- 

 fied as Virgularia gracilis Gabb, which now goes into the genus 

 A cantJioptilum . 



? ACANTHOPTILUM POURTALESII Kolliker. 



Acanthoptilum pourtalesii Kolliker, Anat. Syst. Bes. Alcyonarien, Pt. 1, Die 

 Pennatuliden, 1872, p. 231. 



A specimen, without label, agrees closely with Kolliker's descrip- 

 tion, except that the spicules of the stem are not '^ biscuit-shaped" 

 but of the usual rod-like type. 



A very young specimen, apparently of this species, from the collec- 

 tion of the University of California from San Diego Bay, shallow 

 water, has the leaves much more widely separated than the other. 



The original specimens described by Kolliker were secured off the 

 Florida reefs at depths of from 12 to 44 fathoms. 



ACANTHOPTILUM ALBUM, new species. 



Plate LXXXVI, figs. 5-8. 



Colony very slender, attaining a height of about 225 mm. Stem to 

 rudimentary leaves about 87 mm. Terminal bulb not well marked, 

 and about an inch above it is a slight swelling. 



Pinnae, including the rudimentary ones, about 75 pairs, 4 mm. 

 long, regularly curving, without any twist. 



Polyps apparently nonretractile, the lobular fringed tentacles 

 being quite well expanded in alcoholic specimens, 4 or 5 to each pinna. 

 The calyces are much reduced in size and quite soft, with an 8-lobed 



« Trans. Connecticut Acad. Arts and Sci., I, Pt. 2, p. 383. 



