A. E. Verrill—JBermudian and West Indian Reef Corals. 115 



Family Mussidae Ver. 



Fasciculate, glomerate, massive, and sometimes simple corals, 

 increasing by fission, and with strongly dentate or spinose septa, 

 without a paliform lobe. Calicles generally large, sometimes united 

 in short or long series, but always with distinct centers and radial 

 septa. Polyps much exsert in expansion, actiniform, with large 

 tentacles. 



Isophyllia Edw. and Haime (emended*). Rose Corals. " Cactus Corals." 



Mussa (}Jars) Dana, Zooph., p. 178, 1846. 



Symphyllia (pars) Edw. and Haime, Ann. Sci. Nat,, xi, p. 236, 1849 ; Coral!., 



ii, p. 373, 1857; Duch. and Mich., Corall. Antill., p. 69, 1861. 

 Isophyllia Edw. and Haime, Pol. Foss. Paleoz., p. 87, 1849 ; Hist, Corall., ii, 



p. 974, 1857. 

 Mycetophyllia (pars) Edw. and Haime, Compt.-rend., xxvii, p. 491, 1848 ; * 



Hist. Corall., ii, p. 375, 1857 (2d section). 

 Lithophyllia (pars) Duch. and Mich., Corall. Antill., pp. 67, 68, 1860, young, 



(non Edw. and Haime). 

 Ulophyllia (pars) Bruggmann, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Oct., 1877, p. 312. 

 Symphyllia (pars) Duncan, Revision, Journ. Linn. Soc, xviii, p. 91, 1884. 



This genus, as now restricted, includes a group of Mussid<t j in 

 which the calicles, when mature, are large and open, isolated or in 

 scries, with numerous large, strongly serrate septa ; the serrations 

 are either subequal, or else larger toward the columella, which is 



* The genus, as here limited, corresponds with that of Edw. and Haime of the 

 same name, plus certain forms referred by them to Symphyllia and to Myceto- 

 phyllia (M. Danaana E. and H., Hist., p. 377, pi. D4, fig. 2). Most of their 

 species of Symphyllia are simply Mussce with coalescent walls. So Symphyllia 

 and Isophyllia cannot be united in bulk, as was done by Duncan and by Pour- 

 tales, under either name. Symphyllia should be dropped and its species should 

 be distributed to Mussa and Isophyllia, according to their structure. But if 

 retained at all, even as a subgenus, it should be used for the typical East Indian 

 forms, like S. radians E. and H. 



1 cannot distinguish in Mycetophyllia Danaana E. and H. any characters apart 

 from Isophyllia. 



Nor can I find any good reason for separating Ulophyllia, or at least the typi- 

 cal species, widely from Symphyllia and consequently should consider such 

 species as nearly related to the massive Mussa;. The only difference from 

 Symphyllia, as stated by Edw. and Haime, consists in the denticles of the 

 septa being larger toward the columella, while in the latter the distal ones are 

 the larger. But I have studied specimens of crispa, the typical species, (see p. 

 131) and have found the teeth variable in this respect; in some calicles the larger 

 teeth were distal, in others proximal, in one specimen, and these diffei^ences may 

 be observed on the septa of a single calicle. The fossil forms of Edw. and 



