vm, D. 6 Light: Philippine Alcyonana 441 



branches which in turn bear the short, thick, conical, polyp- 

 bearing lobes. The polyps, usually somewhat smaller than in 

 the colonies of C. Philippine nsis forma typica, are crowded on 

 the lobes. The spiculation is the same as that of the other 

 varieties of the species. The canal walls are very thin, and 

 there is no hint of a central axis. 



The color in formalin is greenish gray in contracted specimens 

 and light yellow with a brownish tinge in expanded specimens. 



Locality: Sabong Cove and Port Galera Bay, Mindoro. 



Type specimen No. C. 317 in the zoological museum of the 

 University of the Philippines. 



There are 3 specimens from Sabong Cove collected by Griffin, 

 and 11 expanded colonies which I collected at Port Galera, Min- 

 doro. The great difference in appearance and consistency be- 

 tween colonies allowed to expand in an aquarium and anaesthe- 

 tized by slowly adding magnesium sulphate to the water and colo- 

 nies thrown directly into the preserving fluid whether it be alcohol 

 or formalin is worthy of notice. The worker in such contractile 

 forms as the Alcyonacea must use characters of general form 

 and consistency with great caution, and it would seem that only 

 rarely, if at all, are they of sufficient diagnostic value, when 

 taken alone, to warrant the naming of new species. These 

 specimens were, like all the others in the collection, found grow- 

 ing on the shallow coral reefs in water from 0.5 to 2 meters 

 deep at low tide. 



The 3 from Sabong Cove measure, respectively, 47 mm., 53 

 mm., and 57 mm. in height; 20 mm., 25 mm., and 12 mm. in 

 breadth of polpary ; and 11 mm., 12 mm., and 8 mm. in diameter 

 of stem. Two of these colonies have a common, irregular, en- 

 crusting base. The 11 from Port Galera were killed expanded, 

 and so have a different general appearance. The largest of 

 these colonies measures 75 mm. in height, 25 mm. in breadth of 

 polypary, and 20 mm. in diameter of stem. The smallest meas- 

 ures 30 mm. by 10 mm. by 8 mm., the others varying between 

 these limits. Owing to the relaxation of these colonies, they 

 have a swollen, fleshy appearance. The lines which mark the 

 insertion of the canal walls can be seen as fine longitudinal stria- 

 tions. The canal walls are very thin and delicate, the spicules 

 being much thicker than the walls in which they cause distinct 

 swellings. 



Capnella pMlippinesis var. arborea var. nov. Plate I, fig. 7. 



The large colony is distinctly tree-like, the moderately thick 

 stem giving off along its distal portion irregularly placed, stout 



