102 A. E. Verrill — Bennudian and West Indian Reef Corals. 



Orbicella cavernosa (Linne) Ver. 



Madrepora cavernosa Linne, Syst., ed. xii, p. 1276, 1766. Esper, Fortsetz. i, 



p. 18, pi. xxxvii, 1797. 

 Madrepora radiata Ellis and Sol., Zooph., p. 169, pi. xlvii, fig. 8, 1786. 

 Favia cavernosa Oken, Lehr. Naturg., p. 67, 1815. 



Astrea radiata and .4. argus Lam., Hist. Anim. sans Vert,, ii, pp. 258, 259, 

 1816 ; ed. 2, p. 404. Lamouroux, Encyl. Meth., pp. 57, 131, pi. xlvii, fig. 8, 

 1824. (Eeprint of plate of Ellis and Sol.) 

 Astrea cavernosa Schweig., Naturg., p. 419, 1820. Edw. and Hairne, Brit. 



Fossil Corals, p. xxxix, 1850. 

 Astrea {Orbicella) argus and .1. (0.) radiata Dana, Zooph.. pp 206, 207. pi. x. 



figs. In, lb, 1846. 

 Astrea cavernosa, A. radiata, and .4. conferta Edw. and Haime, Ann. Sci. 



Nat., vol. x, pl. ix, figs. 1, lo, vol. xii. pp. 97, 101, 102, 1850. 

 Heliastrcea conferta, H. cavernosa, and H. radiata Edw. and Haime, Hist. 



Corall., ii, pp. 460, 463, 470, 1857. 

 Orbicella cavernosa Verrill, Bull. Mns. Comp. Zool., i, p. 47, 1864. Proc. 

 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., x, p. 323, 1865. These Trans., x, p. 553, 1900. 

 Pourtales, Florida Beefs, p. 76, 1871. Quelch, Reef Corals, Chall. Exp., 

 xvi, pp. 12, 106, 1886. 

 Orbicella radiata (pars), Gregory, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., Ii, p. 270, 1895. 

 Orbicella cavernosa Van ghan, op. eit., p. 27, 1901 (Syn. and description). 

 Vaughan adds to the synonyms the following fossil forms described by Duncan: 

 A. endothecata, A. cylindrica, A. antiguensis f, A. intermedia, A. antil- 

 larwinf, A. brevis. 

 Much of the confusion in regard to the name of this species is 

 due to the fact that it was generally described and figured from 

 badly beach-worn specimens by the earlier writers. Such specimens 

 have the septa and calicles worn away and the hard exotheca thus 

 becomes prominent around the excavate calicles, so as to greatly 

 change the appearance of the coral. Another cause is the rather 

 wide variations in the size of the calicles. 



The normal or average specimens have the calicles about 6 to *- 

 in diameter, but occasionally a specimen occurs in which part or all 

 of them may be 9-1 mm , or rarely, even ll mm in diameter. Some- 

 times, on crowded parts of large specimens, the diameter may he 

 only 4 to 5 mm . The degree of elevation of the calicles is also more 

 or less variable on a single specimen. 



The calicles may be pretty close together, where crowded, but in 

 other cases they are separated by spaces of 4 to 6 m,n or more. The 

 costffi are usually well developed as denticulated, rounded, radial 

 ribs, usually 48 in number. 



The septa are generally about 48, arranged in four regular cycle-. 

 but several of those of the last cycle are often rudimentary or lack- 

 ing, reducing the number to 40-44. They differ in breadth and 



s 



