ZOOLOGY OF THE BERMUDAS. 105 



exceedingly slender, and pendulous, giving to the whole 

 organism the decided appearance of a weeping-willow. 



I have not been able to satisfy myself as to the exact 

 affinities of this species. It appears to differ broadly from the 

 common purple sea-feather of the West Indies, and does not 

 have the depressed branches which are assumed for Esper's 

 Pterogorgia acerosa. It is, however, with little doubt one of the 

 forms that are included by Pallas in his Gorgonia acerosa 

 (Quercus marina Tlieophrasti), and may be the one that is 

 referred to by Milne-Edwards as Pterogorgia Sloanei. 



Of the species of gorgonians above enumerated Dana indi- 

 cates Rhipidogorgia flahellum, Qorgonia flexuosa, G. homomalla, 

 and G. crassa as coming from the Bermudas ("Corals and 

 Coral Islands," p. 114). I find no mention in any more recent 

 work of the occurrence there of either Gorgonia pseudo-anii- 

 pathes or G. dichotoma. On the other hand, we failed to obtain 

 the Pterogorgia Americana mentioned by Dana. 



ACTINIARIA. 



For the following contribution to the " Actinology of the Ber- 

 mudas" I am indebted to Prof. J. Playfair McMurrich, who 

 has carefully examined and studied all the specimens contained 

 in our collection. These were not very numerous, but still 

 sufficiently so to present a number of interesting points in 

 special morphology and geographical distribution. The ob- 

 servations here recorded have appeared in advance in the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



THE ACTINOLOGY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



BY 



PKOF. J. PLAYFAIR MCMURRICH. 



I recently received from Professor Heilprin a number of 

 actinians which he had collected in the summer of 1888, dur- 

 ing a visit to the Bermuda Islands. They were entrusted to 

 me for identification and study, and I gladly availed myself of 



