38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.43. 



Although the presence of spicules would seem to indicate that 

 this species should be. placed in the genus Pennatula, the general 

 appearance, and absence of spicules from nearly the entire colony 

 seems to justify assignmg it to Halisceptrum. 



Family VIRGULARIDiE. 



Colony slender; pinnae short, often reduced to a band and without 

 a plate of spine-like spicules at their bases. 



VIRGULARIA, species? 



A specimen belonging apparently to this genus, but in too poor 



condition, and too fragmentary to admit of satisfactory description, 



was secured at station 4947; Okiko Jima, N. 17° E., 4.4 miles; 51 



fathoms. 



Genus BALTICINA Gray. 



Stem thick; rachis very long in proportion to stem; pinnae reduced 

 to band-hke rows of calyces; spicules in the tentacles of the polyps. 



BALTICINA FINMARCHICA (Sars). 



Virgularia finmarchica Sars, Fauna Lit. Norvegias, vol. 2, 1856, p. 68. 



Colony 152 cm. in length; stem 53 cm.; end bulb and swelling 

 confluent and 15 cm. long and with a greatest diameter of 2.8 cm. 

 and least diameter of 8 mm. Stem and rachis dorso-ventrally flat- 

 tened. Greatest diameter of rachis, with leaf bands, 1.7 cm.; lesser 

 diameter, at same point, 1.2 cm. There are 237 polyp bands, with 

 11 or 12 polyps to each band. Exposed portion of bands 5 mm. 

 broad. The bands are oblique and closely appressed, meeting on 

 dorsal surface of rachis. The ventral surface of the rachis is entirely 

 bare. 



The calyces of a given row are adherent to each other at their 

 margins. Each has two spine-hke or horn-like processes projecting 

 from the two sides of the exposed surface. These, as well as the 

 calyx walls, are leathery, without any external evidence of spicules. 

 The calyces decrease in size from the dorsal to the ventral surface of 

 the rachis, and are packed full of ova. 



Zooids: There is a row of rounded verruciform zooids between 

 adjacent leaves. Each row spreads into a patch of scattered zooids 

 on the ventro-lateral surface between the leaf endings. The row 

 and patch combined contain about 15 zooids. 



Spicules: There are no spicules in calyces or polyps; neither have 

 I found them in other parts of the colony, except a few amorphous 

 calcareous particles. 



Localities. Stsition 4983; Benkei Mizaki Light, S. 2° E., 12 miles; 

 428 fathoms. Station 4998; lat. 47° 39' 10" N.; long. 141° 31' 40" 

 E. ; 66 fathoms. Station 5047; Kinka San Light, N. 69.5°, 11.6 miles; 

 107 fathoms. 



