104 A. E. Verrill — Bermndian and West Indian Reef Corals. 



Solenastraea hyades (Dana) D. and Mich. 



Astrea (Orbicella) hyades Dana, Zooph. U. States Expl. Exp., p. 212, pi. x, 



fig. 15, 1846. 

 Heliastrcea f hyades Eclw. and Hainie, Hist. Nat. Corall., ii, p. 478, 1857. 

 Solenastraia Bournoni Eclw. and Haime, Ann. Sci. Nat., xii, p. 121, 1850; 



Hist. Corall., ii, p. 497, 1857. 

 Solenastrea hyades + f S. micans + ? Heliastrcea abdita Duch. and Mich., Corall. 



Antill., pp. 76, 77, pi. ix, figs. 9, 10 (not 10 and 11, as in text), 1860. (On 



pi. ix there are two figures numbered 9, one by error for 10.) 

 Solenastrcea hyades Verrill, in Dana, Coral Islands, ed. 1, p. 280; ed. 3, p. 421, 



1890. 

 Solenastrcea excelsa (pars) Pourt., Deep Sea Corals, p. 77, 1871. 

 f? Solenastraea stelhdata (pars) Gregory, Quart. J. Linn. Soc, li, p. 273, pi. x, 



figs, 4«, 4b, 1895 (non Ellis and Sol.). 



Plate XV. Figures 5. 5a. 



The types of Orbicella hyades Dana and 0. excelsa Dana are in 

 the Boston Society of Natural History, where I carefully studied 

 them several years ago. 



Very similar specimens of hyades, from St. Thomas, attached to 

 stones, are in the Yale Museum. These form convex masses, encrust- 

 ing and thin at the margins, where the newly formed calicles are 

 very oblique. (PI. xv, fig. 5.) No. 1586&. 



Calicles circular, or nearly so, mostly 3 to 3.5""" in diameter ; bor- 

 ders generally distinctly elevated above the exotheca, often to the 

 height of .5 to l mm . Younger and smaller calicles, 1.5 to 2.5 mm in 

 diameter, are scattered between the full grown ones. In the middle 

 of the convex summit the calicles are so crowded that the walls are 

 in contact, and here they often become angular by crowding, and 

 when not in contact their edges may not be elevated. On other 

 parts they may be separated by intervals of 2 to 3 mm or more. The 

 walls are very thin. The cost;e are thickened and roughly minutely 

 serrulate ; they are very narrow and mostly confined to the wall, 

 never extending across the exothecal spaces, when these occur. 

 The surface of the exotheca is smooth or vesicular ; in sections the 

 exotheca is openly vesicular. 



Septa 20 to 24, mostly 24 in mature calicles; 12 extend to the 

 columella ; those of the third cycle are also wide, but thinner, and 

 most of them bend toward and join the larger ones about midway 

 between the wall and columella. The septa all become thin and 

 curved toward the columella, but thickened at the wall; the sum- 

 mits are narrowed and rather prominent above the walls ; inner 

 edge irregularly and roughly serrulate, especially distally ; sides 



