A. E. Verrill — Bermudian and West Indian Beef Corals. 99 



usually separated at the surface by a slight intermediate groove, form- 

 ing polygonal areas around the calicles. The exotheea is nearly level 

 with the edges of the walls and costa?, flat or slightly concave, 

 minutely granulated or nearly smooth, sometimes slightly vesicular at 

 the surface, but usually almost solid and blended with the costa? and 

 walls ; near the tips costs? unite and exotheea is cellular. 



In a transverse section, near the surface, the entire partition 

 between the calicles may be perfectly solid, whether thick or thin, 

 but in many cases one or two rows of small rounded or crescent- 

 shaped vesicles can be seen, and sometimes, close to the surface, vesi- 

 cular dissepiments are visible between the small costa?, while close to 

 the basal margin of the coral the exotheea may be decidedly vesicu- 

 lar, appearing almost like miniature honey-comb in transverse sec- 

 tions. But this basal portion is formed by the thin, down-growing 

 margin, where the new calicles are very short, oblique, and far apart, 

 as in many other corals that have a thin, proliferous margin. 



The septa are generally 24, subequal, in three regular cycles ; 

 those of the first two cycles are nearly equal in height and thickness; 

 those of the third cycle are thinner and narroAver, and generally bend 

 to the right and left in pairs to join the straight septa of the second 

 cycle, usually at a point more than half-way to the columella, and 

 often very near it. The summits of all the septa are narrow and 

 only slightly raised above the walls. The edges are irregularly ser- 

 rulate, two to four of the basal teeth being the larger. The sides are 

 distinctly granulated. The septa are all thin, but slightly thickened 

 toward the wall, and all are narrowed above the base, so as to leave a 

 cup-like calicular cavity. The columella is small, trabecular, papil- 

 lose, and often nearly wanting. In transverse sections of some 

 calicles it is solid, and formed by the union of the inner edges of the 

 septa, but in most it is small, porous, trabecular. 



Diameter of the calicles 2*5 to 3 mm ; breadth of intercalicinal 

 spaces, usually 1 to 2 mm , sometimes 3 to 4 mm or more, near the base. 



Origin uncertain, supposed to be West Indies. Several irregular 

 gibbous masses of this species, 3 to 5 inches in thickness, in the 

 Amer. Mus., New York, were found near Osprey, West Florida, 

 cast on the beach after a storm, by R. P. Whitfield (No. 485). I 

 have also seen specimens from Key West. 



This species, in the form and structure of its calicles and septa, 

 resembles Solenastrma hyades, but the latter has cellular exotheea 

 and rudimentary costa?, characteristic of Solenastrma, while this has 

 the costa? and exotheea of Orblcella, though the exotheea and walls 



