148 VERRILL, CLASSIFICATION 



four, simple, conical. 



Families, — Antipathidce, Gerardidce. 



Suborder III. Actinacea. 



Polyps free, capable of locomotion, with a highly spec- 

 ialized, muscular base or abactinal area. Tentacles well 

 organized, either simple or branched', varying from ten to 

 many hundreds, often with accessory organs arising from 

 the same spheromeres, such as inner tentacles, verrucas, 

 complicated or simple branchial lobes, cinclidge, eye- 

 spherules, suckers, etc. Mouth with special lobes or folds. 

 Most of the species are simple, a few are compound by 

 fissiparity, many abnormally bud from the wall near the 

 base, a few secrete from the base a horn-like deposit 

 similar to the axis of Antipathes. 



Families, — Acti)iidce, Thalassianthidce, Minyidce, Ilyan- 

 thidce, Cerianthidce. 



ORDER III. ALCYONARXA. 



Polyps with well developed actinal, mural and abactinal 

 regions, compound by budding. Tentacles eight, pin- 

 nately lobed, long, encircling a narrow disk. No inter- 

 ambulacral spaces. Ambulacral ones open and wide. 



Suborder I. Alcyostacea. 



Polyps turbinate at base, budding in various ways, 



encrusting, adherent to foreign bodies by the ccenenchyma. 



Families, — Alcyonidce, Xenidce, Cormdaridce, Tubiporidce. 



Suborder II. Gorgoxacea. 



Polyps cylindrical, short, connected by a ccenenchyma, 

 secreting a central supporting axis. 



Families, — Goirjonidce, Plexauridce, Primnoidm, Gorgon- 

 ettidce, Isidce, Corallidce, Briaridce. 



