NO. 165S. ALCYONARIA OF THE CALIFORNIAN COAST— NUTTING. ggg 



Distribution. — Station 4378, Point Loma light-house bearing N. 

 57° E. 11 miles, 458-594 fathoms; Station 4417, SW. rock, Santa 

 Barbara Island, bearing N. 8° W. 6.3 miles, 29 fathoms; Station 

 4425, E. point San Marcos Island bearing S. 7° E. 218 miles, 1,100 

 fathoms; Station 4432, Brockway's Point, Santa Eosa Island, bear- 

 ing S. 8 miles, 275-270 fathoms; Station 4433, Brockway's Point, 

 Santa Rosa Island, bearing S. 10° E. 7.5 miles, 265-243 fathoms; 

 Station 4436, Harris Point, San Miguel Island, S. 7° E. 9.8 miles, 

 271-264 fathoms. 



This species is abundant and widely distributed on our North 

 Atlantic coast, according to Verrill. It is also a common species on 

 the eastern shores of the Atlantic and in the North Sea. 



Genus PTILOSARCUS. 

 Calyx with two teeth. Polyps without spicules. 



PTILOSARCUS QUADRANGULARIS Moroff. 



Plate LXXXIV, figs. 4-10; Plate LXXXV, figs. 1-11; Plate XCI, figs. 1-2. 



Ptilosarcus quadrangularis Moroff, Zool. Jahrb., Abth. Syst. Geog. und Biol. 

 Thiere, XVII, 1902, p. 385. 



A rather small specimen, in alcohol, measures 200 mm. in length. 

 Stem much swollen and longitudinally wrinkled, 93 mm. long and 

 37 mm. in diameter at widest part, which is about 12 mm. below the 

 rachis. Axis 150 mm. long. 



Pinnae 52 on each side, the largest being 32 mm. dorso-ventrally, 

 and 25 mm. in greatest width from stem to margin. Polyps in 

 transverse rows on edges of pinnae, there being about three rows of 50 

 each on a medium-sized leaf. Calyces immersed to their margins, 

 each with a distinctly bimucronate margin. 



Zooids: The ventral surface of the rachis is covered with a dense 

 mass of zooids divided by a clearly defined median band. The 

 zooids extend around laterally to the bases of the very short peduncles 

 on which the pinnae are borne. 



The spicules are of the regular pennatulid type, being long spindles 

 or needles without verrucse. They occupy a band on the edges of 

 the pinnae about 2 to 3 mm. in width. 



Color of the above-described specimen, a dull, brownish yellow. 

 The color varies greatly, however, there being some specimens of a 

 bright orange red, and others distinctly violet or even purple in color. 



Distribution. — Station 4420, E. point San Nicholas Island S. 77° W. 

 5.7 miles, 33-32 fathoms; Station 4422, E. point San Nicholas Island 

 S. 6° W. 2.5 miles, 31-32 fathoms; Station 4460, Monterey Bay, 

 Point Piiios light S. 12° E. 10.8 miles, 52-67 fathoms. 



Numerous specimens are also in the collection of the Hopkins 

 Laboratory at Pacific Grove. 

 Proc. N. M. vol. XXXV 44 



