NO. 1923. DESCRIPTIONS OF PACIFIC ALCYON ARIA— NUTTING. 53 



Genus LEPIDOGORGIA Verrill. 



Lepidogorgia Veerill, Amer. Journ. Sci. and Arts, ser. 5, vol. 28, 1884, p. 220. 

 Strophogorgia Weight and Studer, Challenger Reports, The Alcyonaria, 1889, 

 p. 2. 



Colony unbranched, slender; polyps growing on one side only. 



LEPIDOGORGIA PETERSI (Wright and Studer). 



Strophogorgia petersi Weight and Studer, Challenger Reports, the Alcyonaria, 



1889, p. 2. 

 Lepidogorgia petersi Versluys, Chrysogorgiidge of the Siboga Expedition, 1902, 



p. 7. 



Specimens fragmentary, the largest being .45 cm. long with both 

 extremities lacking. 



The stem is 2 mm. in diameter; axis hard and stony, with a golden 

 iridescence. 



The polyps are uniserial, evenly spaced, about 4 mm. apart, 5 to 

 6 mm. in height and 2 mm. in diameter. The polyp walls contain 

 long bar-hke spicules, often somewhat flattened, sometimes bent, 

 with rounded ends, sometimes as much as 3.5 mm. long. These are 

 vertical in position. At the bases of the polyps are small groups of 

 transverse spicules, often 3 or 4 to the group. The retracted tentacles 

 are very irregularly disposed, being curled up and tucked together 

 haphazard. Their dorsal surfaces are armed with bar-like spicules 

 much shorter than those in the calyx walls. The tentacles are very 

 unequal in size, the adcauline one being rudimentary, as pointed out 

 by Versluys. 



The stem is covered with a thin ccenenchyma the surface of which 

 is filled with thin, flattened, scale-like spicules of various forms but 

 not greatly branched, and with closely fitted edges. They are 

 usually smaller than the spicules of the polyps. 



Localities. — Station 4976; Shio Misald Light, N. 59° E., 6.4 miles; 

 545-544 fathoms. Station 4977 ; Shio Misaki Light, N. 65° E,, 7 miles ; 

 544 fathoms. Station 5080; Omai Saki Light, N. 23.5° E., 28 miles; 

 505 fathoms. 



General distribution. — Type-locality, Yeddo, Japan, 345 fathoms. 

 East Indies, 621-1,301 meters (Sihoga Expedition). 



A specimen from station 5080 was 45 cm. long. 



Genus CHRYSOGORGIA Verrill. 



Colony branched; branches spirally arranged, giving off geniculate 

 branchlets all from the same side of the branch; stem sympodial; 

 tentacles never retractile.^ 



1 This definition is condensed from that given by Doctor Versluys in his excellent work on the Chryso- 

 gorgiidse of the Siboga Expedition, 1902, p. IS. 



