240 



ME. S. O. RIDLEY ON ALCYONARIA. 



subopposite, as here, and should have been so described (the 

 figure of the corallurn brings out this point) — perhaps by the 

 double series of verrucae at the margins of the older axes, by 

 the colour (yellow, orange, or dull red) ; but especially by the 

 very different and less graceful form of the smaller spicule, which 

 is commonly only about "12 milliin. long, and, haviog a large sub- 

 terminal whorl of tubercles, looks almost blunt (fig. c, loc. cit.). 



Gorgon ella umbella, Esper. 



Gorgonia umbella, Esper, Pflanzenth. Fortsetz. ii. p. 30, pi. liii. 

 — Gorgonia umbella (probably), Dana, U.S. Expl. Exped., Zooph. 

 p. 657. — Rhipidigorgia umbella, Milne-Edwards 8[ Haime, Hist. 

 Nat. Coralliaires, i. p. 175. — ? Gorgonia umbella, Kolliker, Icon. 

 Histiol. 



From Esper's description and figure I refer to his species a 

 form which has stood under the above name for some time 

 in the Collection at the Museum. It presents both " double- 

 head" and fusiform spicules. Kolliker, however, places Earner's 

 species in that section of the genus Gorgonia which is charac- 

 terized by spindles only, and not in his genus Gorgonella, into 

 which our species (by virtue of its spiculation at any rate) 

 naturally falls. Unfortunately neither Kolliker, Verrill, Studer, 

 nor Klunzinger appear to have described the spicules of Esper's 

 species, although Verrill (Amer. Journ. Sci. xlviii. p. 422), pro- 

 bably fellow ing Kolliker's initiative, thinks it may probably belong 

 to his genus Leptogorgia as remodelled, loc. cit. However, the 

 spicules of this species coincide well with those described and 

 figured by Kolliker for Goryonella (see especially Gorgortella 

 granulata, I. c. p. 140, pi. xviii. fig. 43). 



I lab. King Island Bay. 



Distribution. Probably Bengal Seas {Esper). 

 A small dry specimen, and one in spirit probably belonging 

 to the same species, were the material to be examined. 



.1 CTNCELLA, Valenciennes. 



This is a most difficult genus. Looking at the variations in 

 the external form and in the spicules of the specimens here 

 referred to this genus, and comparing them with facts previously 

 kno^n about it, one is struck by the extremely slight nature of the 

 points eeparating some of the species. Had not J. juncea and 

 J.fragilis been simple, while the present specimens of J. gem- 



