164 ^^6 Philippine Journal of Science i9ib 



a striking resemblance, particularly in sections, to the perisarc of 

 many hydroids, make it certain that this is a new species of this 

 very interesting genus. I am having sections made and shall 

 make a report on the structure of the form in the near future. 



Tubipora, probably belonging to the single species T. chamis- 

 sons Ehrbg. as Hickson ^^ believes, is common on all the reefs of 

 the Philippines which I have visited and has been reported from 

 Zamboanga by Wright and Studer.^^ In the Philippines it is, 

 as Crossland ^° reports from Zanzibar, "abundant wherever coral 

 grows." Philippine specimens show three distinct color varie- 

 ties, in one of which the distal moieties of the polyps are pale 

 blue, in another bright green, and in the third light velvety 

 brown, and many variations as to the length and diameter of the 

 tubes are to be found. 



The xeniid fauna of the Philippine reefs, particularly of the 

 sheltered reefs, such as those in Port Galera Bay, Mindoro, and 

 in the Bantayan Islands, is luxurious and varied. The species 

 of this family and of the Cornulariidse thrive in similar habitats, 

 both being numerous at Port Galera Bay and Bantayan but 

 strikingly scarce on the reefs of the eastern coast of Palawan. 

 Why these reefs are unsuited for the growth of such forms is 

 hard to say, unless it be because of their more exposed position. 

 This hypothesis seems to be supported by the fact that the few 

 colonies which were obtained in Palawan waters were found on 

 the reefs to the landward side of Pabellones Island and of another 

 small island in the bay. This does not seem to hold good, how- 

 ever, in the case of Sabong Cove, near Port Galera, Mindoro, 

 which is exposed, and yet has a rich fauna in the genera Clavula- 

 ria and Xenia and especially in the rarer genus Cespitularia. 



Our collection contains species of each of the three genera of 

 the family of Xeniida: namely, Xenia Savigny, Cespitularia 

 Valenciennes, and Heteroxenia Kolliker. As elsewhere, the 

 species of Xenia are more numerous than those of Heteroxenia 

 and Cespitularia, although the species of the last-named genus 

 are unusually abundant in Philippine waters. 



We have a very large series of specimens of Xenia belonging 

 to a number of species, some of which are no doubt new. The 

 separation of the species of this genus presents great difficulties 



'' Alcyonaria of the Maldives, Fauna and geog. of the Maldive and Lac- 

 cadive Archipelago, 2, pt. 1, 473-500. 



='The voyage of H. M. S. Challenger, Zoology (1889), 31. 



" Thomson and Henderson, Marine Fauna of Zanzibar etc. from collec- 

 tions made by Cyril Crossland, Proc. Zool. Soc. London (1906). 



