56 



Hab. « Coast of Cornwall." Ellis. 



"This Sea Fan is of a reddish brown colour;" " has its 

 branches disposed in a dichotomous order and a flattish form, 

 they bend irregularly towards one another, but rarely unite. 

 Their mouths are conical, project, and are surrounded on the 

 top by little spines. The bone or support is nearly of the 

 substance of wood." Ellis and Solander. 



This species is found abundant in Norway ; but Ellis must 

 have been very fortunate to obtain a specimen on this coast ; 

 for after examining many scores of Gorgonias from the 

 English channel, I have not seen a single specimen ; and Mr. 

 Peach, of Goran, informs me that he has never seen a spe- 

 cimen, so that on the south coast at least it is very rare. 



SEA FERN, OR SEA FAN. G. Verrucosa. " Much and 

 irregularly branched, branches spreadiug laterally, cylin- 

 drical, flexuous, barked when dry with a white warted 

 crust; segments of the cells unequal, obtuse." Cole. 

 PI. 12, fig, 1. 

 Keratophyton flabelliforme, corlice verrucosa obductum, 



Raii, Synop. Slirp., vol. 1, p. 32, no. 1. Warted Sea Fan, 



Borlase's Nat. Hist, of Cornwall, p. 238, pi. 24, fig. 1. 



Gorgonia verrucosa, Ellis and Solander's Zooph., p. 89. Tur- 



ton's Lin., vol. 4, p. 648. Stewart's Elem, vol. 2, p. 430. 



Fleming's Brit. An,, p. 512. Johnston's Brit. Zooph., p. 182, 



pi. xxv., fig. 1. 



Hab. Abundant along the whole of the south coast; 



Pednankern-rock, Mount's bay. Borlase. " In Insula 



St. Georgii prope West-low comitatus Cornub." Raii, Synop. 

 Every where common. 



The general appearance of this species is such, that it 

 cannot fail to be immediately recognized. Yet different 

 specimens differ so much among themselves that some authors 

 have constituted them different species; the G. Verrucosa 

 and Viminalis of Sowerby. Having specimens of both 

 marked by Mr. Sowerby, I have been enabled to examine 

 them under very favourable circumstances. Having compared 

 together upwards of seventy specimens of eacb, of all sizes, 

 I am inclined to agree with FlemiDg and Johnston that they 

 are but variations of the same species. 



Its form is arborescent, stout, and fan-shaped; externally 

 it is fleshy, of a beautiful red flesh tint, tubercular and 

 marked with star-shaped depressions; internally it is densely 

 horny, with a minute central pith traversing the horny axis. 

 It varies in height to twelve inches; in breadth to seventeen. 

 When living, the external fleshy crust is soft, and of a flesh 

 tint; when dead it becomes dry, calcareous, friable and of 

 yellowish or dirty white colour. The prominent tubercular 



