The Alcyonaria of Bikini and Other Atolls in the Marshall 
Group. Part I: The Gorgonacea 1 
Frederick M. Bayer 2 
This report COVERS the aicyonarian corals 
collected during two expeditions to the Mar- 
shall Islands conducted by the United States 
Navy and other agencies. The Gorgonacea are 
considered in the present part, and the lesser 
groups (Stolonifera and Alcyonacea) will be 
taken up in Part II. 
I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to 
the Project Officer of the Bikini Scientific Re- 
survey Expedition (1947), Captain Christian 
L. Engleman, U. S. N.; to Dr. John W. Wells, 
United States Geological Survey, with whom I 
worked often in the field; to Dr. L. P. Schultz 
and Dr. J. P. E. Morrison, my colleagues of the 
U. S. National Museum, who extended every 
assistance possible; and last, but certainly not 
least, to Fred C. Zimmerman, Seaman 2/c, of 
the Chilton's crew, whose services were assigned 
me during a part of the expedition. 
THE ALCYONARIA 
The Alcyonaria inhabiting the coral reefs of 
the- Pacific Ocean are a much less conspicuous 
element of the fauna than those of the tropical 
Atlantic. The reef-dwelling forms of the Pacific 
are the inconspicuous Alcyonacea and the sto- 
loniferan, Tubipora musica. The only aicyonar- 
ian of real importance to reef formation is the 
blue coral, Heliopora. The holaxonian Gor- 
gonacea occur only in the deeper waters of the 
lagoons and surrounding ocean and must be 
taken by dredge. 
During "Operation Crossroads,” the first ex- 
pedition to the Marshalls, collecting was con- 
1 Published with the permission of the Secretary of 
the Smithsonian Institution. Manuscript received No- 
vember 17, 1948. 
2 Assistant Curator, Division of Marine Inverte- 
brates, U. S. National Museum. 
centrated upon the reefs, and therefore few 
Alcyonaria, none of which were Gorgonacea, 
were obtained. However, on the second trip 
the LCI 615 was fitted for deep-water dredging, 
and under the direction of Dr. R. Dana Russell 
many hauls, which accounted for all but one 
of the gorgonacean species collected during the 
entire operation, were made in the waters sur- 
rounding Bikini Atoll. The alcyonaceans taken 
in the dredge, along with the littoral forms 
collected on the reefs of Bikini and Rongerik 
by the author and Fred Zimmerman, will be 
discussed in Part II of this report. 
The classification of the Alcyonaria is not, in 
certain respects, entirely satisfactory. A case in 
point is the questionable scope of the family 
Muriceidae, whose species constitute the major 
portion of this paper. However, since the pres- 
ent report is in no sense revisionary, this aspect 
of the problem must await treatment in more 
comprehensive studies. 
Since the literature concerning these animals 
has in the past been typified by inadequate and 
imperfect illustration of the species, it has 
been of primary concern to figure adequately, 
both microscopically and macroscopically, all 
the species herein discussed. 
Gorgonacea were taken at four stations: 
Station 9. Off Bikini Atoll, 11° 29' 16" N., 165° 
20' 45" E.; depth 50-96 fathoms. August 6, 1947. 
STATION 12. Off the seaward shore of Bikini Island, 
Bikini Atoll, 11° 28' 23"(?) N., 165° 31' 35"(?) 
E.; depth 58-90 fathoms. August 7, 1947. 
STATION 23. Bikini Lagoon, east end, Bikini Atoll, 
11° 31' 51" N., 165° 32' 53" E.; depth 5-12 
fathoms. August 15, 1947. 
STATION 30. Off Enyu Pass, Bikini Atoll, 11° 29' 
28" N., 165° 31' 40" E.; depth 116-120 fathoms. 
August 22, 1947. 
[ 195 ] 
