NO. 1923. DESCRIPTIONS OF PACIFIC ALCYON ARIA— NUTTING. 93 



tubercles arise. These convex edges are what look like ctenate and 

 often imbricating scales on superficial view. There are also many 

 terete spindles, clubs and other forms. 



The polyps are completely retractile, the collaret well developed. 

 A pseudo-operculum much like that found in the Muriceidse is formed 

 by numerous white, often curved spindles arranged longitudinally on 

 the dorsal surfaces of the tentacles and assuming an en chevron arrange- 

 ment on their basal parts. 



The coenenchyma is thick, encrusted with spicules such as are found 

 on the calyx walls. 



Color: The colony is brick red and the polyps colorless, in alcohol. 

 Some of the fragments from station 4808 are pink, others white, 

 others yellowish The pink ones have the polyp spicules yellow. 



Localities.— St&tion 4808; Cape Tsiuka, S. 61° W., 10.6 miles; 47 

 fathoms. Station 4890; Ose Saki Light, N. 2° W., 10 miles; 135 

 fathoms. Station 4893; Ose Saki Light, N. 29° E., 5.5 miles; 106 

 fathoms. Station 4935 ; Sata Misaki Light, N. 58° E., 4.5 miles ; 103 

 fathoms. Station 5070; Ose Saki, S. 8° W., 1.8 miles; 108 fathoms. 



General distribution. — Type-locality ? (Pallas). Found by the Chal- 

 lenger in Torres Strait, and reported by Ridley from South Africa. 



Possibly an adequate amount of material and complete specimens 

 would enable one to separate this species into definite groups; but 

 with the material at hand this is impracticable. 



Genus PARISIS Verrill (emended by Studer.) 



Colony branched, the branches arising from the calcareous seg- 

 ments; calyces prominent; spicules of irregular forms but consti- 

 tuting a tesselated pavement on the surface of the coenenchyma. 



PARISIS FRUTICOSA Verrill. 



Parisis fruticosa Verrill, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 1, 1864, p. 37. 



The specimens are fragmentary. The largest is a branch, flabellate 

 in form, 6.4 cm. long and 2.8 mm. in diameter; 1.5 cm. from its basal 

 end it gives off a large branch, from a calcareous internode, which 

 forms the main part of the colony. The nodes are 5 to 6 mm. long, 

 fluted and rough on surface. The branchlets are mostly broken off 

 on one side, and on the opposite side there are 4 branches, one of which 

 gives off lateral twigs. One of these twigs is forked distally. The 

 other fragments show some anastomoses. 



The calyces are lateral, sometimes opposite, and often subopposite. 

 They are about 2 mm. apart from summit to summit, conical in shape, 

 a typical one being 1.3 mm. high and 2 mm. broad at base. The 

 calyx walls are covered with a mosaic-like pavement of potygonal or 

 irregular spicules, and similar ones cover the coenenchyma. The speci- 

 mens are covered with erect, minute, needle-like sponge spicules, as 



