NO. 1624. DESCRIPTIONS OF HAWAIIAN ALCYONARIA— NUTTING. 555 



. This species is smaller in size than any other of the genus except 

 G. australiensis and C. frigida. It differs from either of these in the 

 character of the spicules and in the rugosity of the polyps. 



Tijpe.—C2it No. 22594, U.S.N.M., Albatross station 4065, between 

 Hawaii and Maui islands, 491-500 fathoms. 



Family ALCYONID^ Verrill (emended). 



Colonial forms with the proximal portion of the stem usually 

 devoid of polyps. Ccenenchyma thick. Spicules abundant. Polyps 

 retractile. 



Genus ANTHOMASTUS Verrill. 



Colony forming a rounded mass supported on a short peduncle. 

 Polyps retractile. Siphonozoids numerous. Ccenenchyma fleshy. 



ANTHOMASTUS STEENSTRUPI Wright and Studer. 



Anthomastus steenstrupi Weight and Studer, Report on the Alcyonaria 

 collected by H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1S73-1876, 1889, p. 

 243. 



A colony of this species was taken from a depth of 122-143 fathoms 

 off the north coast of the island of Maui, Station 4101. The speci- 

 men agrees well with the description of the original which was 

 secured off the coast of Japan from a depth of 565 fathoms. 



Family NEPHTHYIDJE Verrill. 



Branched colonial forms, much like the Alcyonidse except that the 

 tentacles do not retract within the body cavity of their polyps, but 

 simply fold over the oral disk in retraction. 



Genus SPONGODES Verrill. 



Walls between the canals of the stem with few or no spicules. 

 Polyp-heads with large conspicuous fusiform spicules, bundles of 

 which overarch the heads themselves. Cortex with large and abun- 

 dant spicules. 



SPONGODES ALEXANDERI, new species. 



Plate XLI, fig. 3; plate XLYII, fig. 2. 



Colony attaining a height of about 64 mm. Stem without polyps 

 for about 25 mm. above the constricted base. A large branch (broken) 

 arises about 30 mm. above the base, and near the top the colony is 

 broken up into five rather slender, finger-like branches. The polyps 

 are single, and scattered over the upper part of the stem and branches, 

 but tend to form small terminal clusters of closely aggregated but 

 fairly distinct polyps. 



