OF THE MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO. 



239 



lower part, to about 50° near outside of colony. Stem and 

 brandies very slender ; the stem and the branches immediately 

 succeeding subcylindrical, the rest gradually clavate, strongly 

 flattened, of undulating outline owing to the slight uniserial mar- 

 ginal projections which carry the verrucas ; terminal pinnae sharply 

 pointed; greatest diameter ranging from 1*5 millim. in the stem 

 and chief branches to about 1 millim. in the terminal pinna?. 

 Cortex firm, harsh to touch, minutely rough, dull crimson in 

 spirit, of about tissue-paper thickness in stem and base, but 

 rapidly acquiring a thickness (on the margins of the branches) of 

 about 3 to o millim. Verruca? apparently very minute, uni- 

 serially arranged along margins of branches, flush with surface. 

 Axis very tough and wiry, flexible, near base almost black, but 

 throughout most of the colony brown to amber-yellow. 



Spicules (measurements including tubercles): — Fusiform, 

 of two sizes, tapering gracefully from the centre to fairly 

 sharp points, and with the ends commonly gently bent to oppo- 

 site sides, and, as usual with the " bracket" spicule, moderately 

 curved from front to back, with two very distinct median whorls 

 of tubercles, and generally one whorl besides at each end beyond 

 these, indicated by aggregation of low tubercles, the termi- 

 nations of the spicule being clothed with similar tubercles 

 not distinctly grouped. The median tubercles exfoliating elabo- 

 rately into bushes of secondary tubercles, which are, however, 

 absent at the " back " of the spicule ; the remaining tubercles 

 low, broken up into bead-like secondary tubercles. Spicules 

 respectively about -18 by "052 to '06 and '14 by '048 to '052 

 millim. Colour bright crimson-scarlet. 



Sab. King Island Bay. sublittoral. 



Eepresented by a single spirit-specimen about 7 inches high 

 by about 6 inches in greatest lateral extent. Owing to luxu- 

 riant branching at shoi t intervals, it appears to consist of several 

 parallel fronds ; but these are really only the several branches 

 with their offshoots, lying in front of one another, probably 

 from want of lateral space and ow r ing to the angles at which 

 they are given off. 



There are several known species closely allied to this form, 

 especially the species above referred to (footnote, p. 238). Gor- 

 gonia (Leptogorgia) australunsis, Ridley, from Torres Straits, 

 is chiefly distinguished from this species by its stout stem and 

 its more acute angle of branching — the pinna? are, however, 



LI NX. JO URN. — ZOOLOGY, VOL. XXI. 20 



