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Show 1899.] ANTIPATHARIAN CORALS OF MADEIRA. 815 (' Ueber die Gattung Gerardia,' 1865), and Pourtales in 1871 took the same view. In the coenosarc of Mediterranean examples of this species Lacaze-Duthiers found a peculiar cirripede which he named Laura gerardice. This has not been observed in Madeiran specimens. Hab. Madeira; Mediterranean. Gen. STICHOPATHES Brook. Axis forming a long, slender, flexible rod without branches. Polyps arranged in a longitudinal series on one side of the stem, not distributed on all sides as in Cirripathes; tentacles six. STICHOPATHES GRACILIS (Gray). Antipathes (Cirripathes) gracilis, Gray, P. Z. S. 1857, p. 291. Stichopathes gracilis, Brook, Antipatharia of the ' Challenger,' p. 90. Jet-black ; the stem throughout armed with short conical spines at right angles to it, arranged irregularly iu spirals (fig. III. 1, p. 823). On the lower part of tbe stem there are about nine series. The base spreads thinly over the object to which it adheres, and is from 10 to 15 millim. in diameter. The lower part of the stem is usually from 3 to 4 millim. in diameter. This species is not of very rare occurrence. The individuals are commonly attached to a well-rounded stone or to masses of calcareous sand cemented by shells, worm-cases, &c. One small specimen had seated itself on the spineless test of a dead sea-urchin (Arbacia). Two or more may sometimes be seen adhering to the same stone, and, indeed, I had once observed as many as twelve individuals on the same block. But great was my astonishment when a stony mass, 10 in. by 5, was shown to me upon which were seated more than 120 specimens, in two groups, some 20 being separated from the rest, which formed a grove so thickly planted that it was difficult to count them correctly. Unfortunately the majority were broken, leaving stems only a few inches long; the length of the perfect ones was about three feet. Two and even three distinct stems may spring from the same basal expansion. It may have been that the bases were at first separate and afterwards coalesced as they extended, but there was no evidence to show that this had been so. The largest specimen that has been met with at Madeira had a length of 9 ft. 3 in. (2820 millim.). This has been placed in the Seminario Museum, Funchal. In contrast with specimens of this size, young ones 6 millim. long have been found, and two of these have been mounted in balsam on a slip of glass. Brook says that the stem is sinuous but not spiral. Two specimens, however, are in my possession which in their upper part form a few very loose irregular spirals. They are on the same mass of indurated sand, shells, worm-cases, &c. Normally the individuals of this species are destitute of branches 53* |