2 3 
Parantipathes (Brook) em. Polyps elongated in the direction of the colony-axis ; 
tentacles in three pairs. Colony branched in bottle-brush-form. 
Hillopathes g. n. Polyps distributed, as in Eucirripathes , non-uniserially. Colony very 
sparingly branched. 
Cirripathes (Br.) em. Colony unbranched or at the utmost bearing insignificant branches. 
Polyps in one or more longitudinal rows; rounded, with tentacles in a group. 
Sub-genus Eucirripathes (Br.) em. Polyps on the older parts of the colony or on the 
whole colony in several rows, placed round the axis or leaving one side of the axis free. 
Sub-genus Stichopathes Br. Polyps always placed in one single row. 
METHOD OF DESCRIPTION AND THE MATERIAL. 
The characteristics, used for the distinguishing of the species, are in the main the same 
as those Brook and other authors made use of, save that the nature of the material made it 
possible in this case to reckon in the first place with the polyps by preference. The place and 
form of the tentacles, the existence of an oral cone and its form, the interpolypar distance are 
characteristics which can easily be described with words and numbers; also the length of the 
tentacles is of importance, although this character becomes unreliable through the difference in 
contraction, in consequence of the preservation. Within not too narrow boundaries, and as a 
minor characteristic, the length of the tentacles is efficient. As to the hard parts of the colony, 
viz. the axis and its spines, the mode of branching of the axis is of importance, especially 
when various specimen are under observation ; by the unbranched species not only the 
whether or not spiral form but also the differences in diameter of the axis come under con¬ 
sideration. The spines can be an easy means of recognition, but only if one attaches not too 
much importance to them; one should pay attention to the form and the distribution of the 
spines. The form can vary with the length of the spines on different sides of the axis, whereby 
usually the longest and roughest spines stand on the polyp-bearing side of the axis, but it 
appears that this variation is dependent on the form of the colony, for the different length of 
the spines is especially observed on spiral colonies, so that Roule’s (14) opinion that the spines 
in the first place serve to give a good hold for the polyps, is not wholly unassailable, although 
there is some probability in it. The distribution of the spines is of minor importance since 
not only the number of longitudinal rows can increase very much on older parts of the colony, 
but also since the rows are often shifted. Hence the so-called spiral distribution of the spines 
is especially of no importance; it is ofterf used by former authors and rightly condemned by 
Roule (14). The most natural distribution is that the spines are placed at the same distance one 
from another and this is best acquired when they form a quincunx. This quincunx also exists 
by almost all the observed species, sometimes made less clear by shifting of rows but in most 
cases easily to be seen. The consequence of this quincunxial arrangement is that always there 
are a sinistrorsal and a dextrorsal spiral to be observed, ascending under the same angle by 
a straight quincunx, and under a different angle by a slanting quincunx. So it is not possible 
