Keratoisis flabellum (Nutting, 1908)  

Transcribed from Nutting 1906

All of the specimens were secured in a fragmentary condition. The largest piece is almost 275 mm. long. The branches arise from the calcareous joints on opposite sides of the stem: irregularly disposed but all in the same plane. Polyps on front and sides of stem and branches unequally distributed, often denser on one side than on the other, standing at various angles with stem: about 4 mm. high, 2 mm. broad, cylindrical. The tentacles are folded loosely over the oral disk. Spicules very long needles, attaining a length in some instances of 5 mm.: vertical in walls of calyces. on the distal portion of which they project upward as sharp points between the tentacle bases. The proximal part of calyx wall is overlaid with similar long needle-shaped spicules, often more or less obliquely disposed. Similar spicules are sparsely disposed in the cortex, where they are longitudinally disposed, and sometimes branched at one end, the the two or three branches being parallel to the axis of the spicule. The main stem and larger branches appear to be somewhat flattened. The polyps are distributed on all side of smaller terminal branches, but are usually thicker on the edges.