90 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XIV, April I960 
gorgonian and along with Epizoanthus indura- 
tum furnishes the first cases of bioluminescence 
in the order. The new species Epizoanthus 
leptoderma and E. induratum are the seventh 
and eighth of the genus to be reported from 
the eastern Pacific and the fourth and fifth from 
the area of Lower California and California. 
The specimens of Parazoanthus lucificum , 
Epizoanthus leptoderma, and E. induratum 
herein described are from material collected in 
conjunction with an ecological survey, being 
conducted by the junior author, of several shal- 
low water shale reefs off the coast of Corona 
del Mar, California. 
The finding of three new zoantharians in 
subtidal water in the same area attests to the 
scantiness of our knowledge of the subtidal 
fauna of the comparatively intensely studied 
coast of California. More specifically, the col- 
lection of these new zoanthids by SCUBA div- 
ing at depths of 25 to 100 feet points to a 
possible existence at these depths of a fauna, at 
least in part, unlike that of either the littoral 
or deep water. 
Family PARAZOANTHIDAE 
Parazoanthus Haddon and Shackleton, 1891 
Parazoanthus Haddon and Shackleton, 1891, 
p. 653. Type species by original designation: 
Palythoa axinellae Schmidt, 1862, pp. 61, 62, pi. 
6, figs. 2, 3. Gender: neuter. 
Parazoanthidae with a diffuse marginal sphinc- 
ter muscle in the entoderm. Scapus and coe- 
nenchyme incrusted with foreign material. 
Ectoderm continuous. Mesogloea with an en- 
circling sinus as well as ectodermal canals, 
lacunae, and cell islets. Polyps usually colonial 
and connected by bandlike or incrusting coe- 
nenchyme. Dioecious. 
The diagnosis of the genus as it is given here 
is essentially that of Haddon and Shackleton. 
Parazoanthus lucificum n. sp. 
Figs. 1-3 
TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype, U.S. Nat. Mus. 
Cat. No. 50975, one colony of 200 to 300 
polyps. From off Corona del Mar, California, 
at a depth of 75 feet. Collected by Willis E. 
Pequegnat, May 5, 1957. Colony incrusting a 
dead gorgonian which was attached to a shale 
reef. 
Paratype, U.S. Nat. Mus. Cat. No. 50976, one 
colony of 300 to 400 polyps. From 1 mile south 
of Corona del Mar, California, at a depth of 85 
feet. Collected by Willis E. Pequegnat, April 25, 
1958. Colony incrusting a dead gorgonian which 
was attached to a shale reef. 
DIAGNOSIS: Colony large, consisting of nu- 
merous moderately crowded polyps. Coenen- 
chyme thin and incrusting. Scapus thin-walled. 
Surface of the ectoderm sparsely incrusted with 
fine sand and shell. Ridges of the scapulus to 
17 in number, indistinct in contracted polyps 
but distinct in expanded ones. Tentacles and 
mesenteries to 30 in number. Marginal sphincter 
muscle in the entoderm weak. Mesogloea with 
an extensive encircling sinus and few cell islets. 
Holotrichs absent. The species grows upon the 
gorgonian Muricea calif ornica, is brilliantly bio- 
luminescent and secretes copious quantities of 
FIG. 1. Parazoanthus lucificum. A portion of the 
paratype. X 1-5. 
