160 A. E. Verrill — Bermudian and West Indian Reef Corals. 



Porites astreoides Lam. 



Madrepora porites (pars) Pallas, Elench. Zooph., p. 324, 1766. 



Porites astreoides Lam., Hist. Anim. sans Vert., ed. 1, ii, p. 269, 181(5; ed. 2, 



ii, p. 435, 1836. Lamx., Expos. Meth., p. 651, 1824, («on Ehr., 1834). 

 Porites astroides Lesueur, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, vi, p. 287, pi. xvi. 



fig. 15, 1820. Edw. and Haime, Hist. Corall., iii. p. 178, 1860. 

 Porites astrceoides Dana, Zooph. U. S. Expl. Exp., p. 561, 1846. Verrill, Bull. 



Mus. Comp. Zool., i, p. 42, 1864. Pourtales, Reef Corals, Mem. Mus. Comp. 



Zool., ii, p. 85, 1871 ; Florida Reefs, pi. xvi, figs. 1-12, 1880. Quelch, Voy. 



Chall., xvi, pp. 11, 13, 182, 1886. Rathbun, Catal., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 



x, p. 354, 1887. Gregory, op. cit., p. 284, 1895, (synonymy). 

 Porites superficialis, P. incerta, P. Guadalupensis, and P. agaricus Duch. and 



Mich., Corall. Antilles, pp. [82, 83] 358, 359, 1860 (t. Vaughan from types). 

 Neoporites littoralis, N. superficialis, N. Guadalupensis, N agaricus, V. incerta 



Duch. and Mich., Supl. Corall. Ant., pp. 191-193 [97-99], 1866 (t. Vaughan 



from types). 

 Neoporites Michelini, N. astrceoides, N. subtilis, and Cosmoporites Icevigata 



Duch. and Mich., op. cit., pp. 192, 193 [98, 99], pi. x, figs. 7-10, 12, 16, 



1866 (t. Vaughan, but types not examined). 

 Porites Collegniana, Duncan, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, xix, p. 4o7. 



1863 ; xxiv, p. 25, 1868 (t. Vaughan from types, fossil). 

 Porites astreoides (pars) Vaughan, op. cit., pp. 74-77, 1901. 



Plate XXXI. Figure 4. 



This coral is encrusting when young, but it soon forms thick 

 rounded masses, with more or less raised lumps or low nodules over 

 the surface, but it never becomes branched. It may form masses 2 

 feet or more in diameter. 



When living its color is usually lighter or darker yellowish brown, 

 or dull brownish yellow ; sometimes it is yellowish gray, or even 

 bluish gray. 



The calicles are larger, deeper, and more distinct than in P. 

 clavaria, and their walls are higher, thicker and more distinct at the 

 surface. The 12 septa are also more distinct and less porous. The 

 columella is rather small and porous, often with a small, central, 

 irregular papilla, which may be lacking and is easily broken. The 

 interseptal loculi ai'e rather large and deep for this group. Small 

 paliform papilla? are sometimes present, but more often are absent or 

 rudimentary. The inner tooth or lobe of the septse is often very 

 distinct, erect, and paliform. The upper part of the wall is thin and 

 divided into small, rough, flat denticles at the edge, higher than the 

 septa, but it becomes thicker and rather solid a little farther down. 



Well-formed calicles are from 1.25 to 1.50 mm in diameter ; when 

 in series there may be about 6 to a centimeter. 



