Aster ospicularia laurae — Utinomi 191 
Fig, 1. Asterospicularia laurae n. gen. et n. sp.: a, holotype; b, five polyps, enlarged, showing the crown of 
contracted tentacles; c, lateral view of polyp, showing the arrangement of spicules; d, section of tentacle with 
spicules on aboral side only; e, stellate spicules and derivatives. 
to be merely the branch of the coelenteron 
and not the contracted pinnules. 
The spicules (Fig. le) are stellate, excep- 
tionally roughened spherules without any 
distinct process. They are distributed uni- 
formly in the mesogloea of the coenenchyma, 
polyp wall, oral disc, and the aboral side of 
the tentacles. They measure about 0.03-0.05 
mm. in average diameter and, as in most 
alcyonarians, are composed of calcium car- 
bonate with a sparse organic matrix. This 
stellate spicule, which reminds one of the 
sphaeraster of the tetraxonid sponges or the 
stellate spicule of the didemnid ascidians, is 
unique in the group Alcyonaria, and it is 
quite different from the spicules found in 
other forms. 
INTERNAL ANATOMY 
For histological examinations, parts of the 
specimen were sectioned after decalcification 
in dilute acids. Because of poor staining, 
examination of the minor histological details 
was not possible. 
The cross section of the main branch of the 
colony shows numerous lacunae of various 
sizes. The large lacunae are the direct con- 
tinuations of the coelenteron of the principal 
polyps, while the smaller ones are the meso- 
gloeal lacunae in the coenenchyma. The 
majority of the coenenchyma between the 
polyp bodies is strongly honeycombed by 
mesogloeal lacunae, which harbor spicules. 
These honeycombed lacunae formed in the 
mesogloea are distinctly circumscribed and 
