1922] MADRAS PEARL FISHERIES 75 



dead coral much tunnelled by boring molluscs and sponges 

 From the absence of live coral on these pars, I am of opinion that 

 in common with the loose broken coral branches (" chullai or 

 challai " as the Tamil divers term the latter) these coral fragments 

 are derived from inshore reefs, of which a long one stretches north- 

 wards, parallel with the coast, from Tiruchendur to Pinnakayal. 



May 7th was spent in making traverses over the two groups of 

 pars lying south-west of the Tolayiram Par — an inner, which we 

 may term the Puli Punclu group, and an outer, or Nenjurichchan 

 group. The ground between and around was also examined. 



PULI PUNDU GROUP. — This collection of small pars, comprising 

 the Kanna Puli Pundu Par, Puli Pundu Par, Saith Onbadu Par and 

 Vada Onbadu Par lie close together and agree in all essential 

 characteristics, in the depth of water, which ranges from 7% to 8% 

 fathoms, in the identity shown by the organisms found there 

 and in the physical nature of the rock forming the bottom 

 For the practical purposes of inspection and fishery they may be 

 considered as a single unit. They agree exactly in all particulars 

 with the pars forming the Uti Par group, except that at the present 

 examination no pearl oysters were found. 



NENJURICHCHAN GROUP.— Very different are the banks which 

 I propose to unite under the term Nenjurichchan group. The 

 constituent banks are the Par Kundanjan, Nenjurichchan and Mela 

 Onbadu Pars with a depth ranging from 7% to 8% fathoms. 

 These pars, although in almost the same depth of water as those of 

 the Puli Pundu group, bear a fauna more characteristic of deeper 

 water conditions, Gorgonia miniacea, Suberogorgia suberosa, with 

 numerous examples of Juncella juncea being characteristic. As 

 usual, on these banks massive sponges are numerous, mostly dark 

 coloured, and the rock, instead of being covered with ordinary 

 sand, is sprinkled freely with large foraminifera {Orbitolites and 

 Heterostegina) ; the rock is fiat in surface and both in appearance 

 and in fauna bears much resemblance to the seaward side of the 

 Ceylon Muttuvaratu Par. 



Both to the west, the east, and the south-east of this group 

 we have a great extent of sandy ground extremely rich in life, 

 characterized by the presence of varied forms of Alcyonarians. 

 Conspicuous among these last are the rosy tinted aborescent Sole no 

 caulon (see page 87), a grey and drab Pennatula sp. and a slender 

 Virgularia (V. juncea), the first named anchored by a branching root- 

 like base, the two latter by a long and deeply embedded axis. 



