83 
of the Sertularia Gelatinosa of Pallas. 
Histoire des Polypiers coralligenes flexibles,” p. 184. ap- 
pears to entertain doubts of its animal nature, and to consider 
it as belonging to the tribe of sea-weeds. The imperfect de- 
scription, and the indistinct figures which are given in illustra- 
tion of its characters, justify such suspicions, and point out the 
necessity of a new examination of the species, before its sta- 
tion can be assigned with any degree of confidence. 
The Sertularia pennatula of Ellis, (Zooph. p. 56. Tab. vii. 
f. 1, 2.), supposed to be an oriental species, is a native of the 
shores of Devonshire. This discovery we owe to the late 
George Montagu, Esq. well known as the author of Testacea 
Britannica, and the Ornithological Dictionary, who, in a letter 
dated S7th December 1808, informed me of the circumstance, 
and subsequently transmitted a very fine native specimen. This 
celebrated zoologist had paid great attention to the zoophytes of 
the English shores ; so that his death, which took place while 
arranging the information which he had collected during a long 
period of active research, may be regarded as a national loss. 
In consequence of my entreaties, he composed the paper on 
British Sponges, which appeared in the Memoirs of the Wer- 
nerian Society, Vol. ii. Part 1. and which exhibits the fruits of 
much industry and acuteness. Had life been spared, it was his 
intention to have methodised his observations on the Linneart 
genus Alcyonium, of which, from his letter, dated 2d Novem- 
ber 181 Ij it appears that he had determined nearly forty British 
species ! Fortunately for the interests of science, his valuable 
collection was purchased by the public, and now forms a part of 
the British Museum ; so that we may look with confidence to 
Dr Leach, the zealous and intelligent zoologist to that esta- 
blishment, for an account of the numerous rare and undescribed , 
species which it contains, the monuments of the merits of his 
deceased countryman. 
In the month of November 1808, I observed a new species 
of Sertularia among the refuse of the oyster-boats at Newhaven, 
and, in the following year, I found the same species, both at 
Aberbrothick and in Zetland. It approaches, in its structure, 
the S. verticillata of Ellis’s Corallines, p. 2. No. 20. Tab. xiii. 
fig. a A, but differs from that species, besides other characters, 
in its irregularly disposed, and nearly sessile cups. Having 
F 2 > 
