THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Science 



D. General Biology, Ethnology, 

 AND Anthropology 



Vol. X JANUARY, 1915 No. 1 



NOTES ON PHILIPPINE ALCYONARIA 



PART III: TWO NEW SPECIES OF I.ITHOPHYTUM FORSKAL 

 FROM THE PHILIPPINES ^ 



By S. F. Light 



(From the Zoological Laboratory, College of Liberal Arts, 



University of the Philippines) 



TWO PLATES AND 3 TEXT FIGURES 



The history of the genus Lithophytum Forskal, formerly Am- 

 mothea Savigny, has been well treated by Kiikenthal (1903) 

 in his revision of the Nephthyidse, and by Shann (1912). In 

 his revision Kiikenthal included in the genus several species 

 which in his latest work (1913) he has transferred to the genera 

 Lemnalia and Paralemnalia. He there defines the genus Litho- 

 phytum as follows : 



Die weichen und biegsamen Kolonien sind strauchartig oder baumartig 

 aufgebaut. Stets findet eine Verzweigung der Hauptstamme statt. Die 

 Polypen stehen stets in "Katzchen" oder "Lappchen." Ein Stiitzbiindel 

 fehlt, die Polypen sind nicht retraktil. Die diinnen Kanalwande enthalten 

 sparlich spindelformige Spicula, die auch fehlen konnen. Die Polypen- 

 spicula, die ebenfalls fehlen konnen, sind bedornte Spindeln, deren Dornen 

 aber nicht zu Kranzen zusammentreten. Verbreitung: Indopazifischer 

 Ozean, in flachem Wasser, auf Korallenriffen. 



He recognizes 12 species belonging to the genus as thus diag- 

 nosed. One of these, Lithophytum acutifolium, is a new species 

 from the Red Sea related to L. stuhlmanni (May). Two other 

 species have been proposed by Thomson and Henderson (1906 

 and 1909). Their L. macrospiculatum is a species of Nephthya, 

 for as Kiikenthal (1913) has noted the descriptions and figures 

 of the authors show, very plainly, the presence of a "Stutz- 



* For the preceding articles of this series see This Journal, Sec. D (1913), 

 8, 435, and (1914), 9, 233. 

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