MADREPORARIAN CORALS loi 



septa. The shape of the coral is that of a sHghtly bent 

 cone with an inflation at the apex. The apex of the cone 

 is, of course, the base of the coral, and is the part which 

 is formed first in development. 



This inflated end of the Pyrophyllia is of some special 

 interest, because it is obviously not adapted for attach- 

 ment to a support — and indeed never shows any signs of 

 attachment. This lea^s to the conclusion that the living 

 Pyrophyllia is a free coral, but if it is free where does 

 it live ? It is inconceivable that it lives upright among 

 the loose rubble of shells with which it was found. It must 

 have come therefore with the currents from some other 

 localit}^ or have fallen from the 

 surface waters. ^^ f ^Ts. 



Unfortunately we have no /^^ \ Av 



information concerning the / v ^\ ^'^ 



habitat or anatomy of the T"*""^^ I -. .^^ — h c 



polyp that forms this coral, ^' V" ^ \ I 

 and every one of the many \/ , \ ^X^ 



hundreds of specimens that ^^—4—-'^^^'^ 



were obtained were more or 



, u 1 ¥iQ. 43. — Diagram of the septa 



less water - worn or broken. oi Pyrophyllia inflata. c, columella; 



Until the hving polvp is dis- :^.s., primary septa ; m.s., secondary 



1111 • septa. From Manchester Memoirs. ^ 



covered we shall have no satis- 54, 1910. 



factory answer to the many 



questions that arise concerning Pyroph3'llia, but it is possible 



that the dilated base enclosed a bubble of gas which kept it 



suspended in the water, and that the habit of this coral is 



pelagic. 



It is very diificult at present to determine the zoological 

 position of this interesting genus. 



The only recent coral that appears to be related to 

 it is Guynia annnlata ^ from 92 fathoms of water on the 

 Adventure Bank, in the Mediterranean Sea, which Duncan 

 considered to be related to a family of corals belonging to 

 the extinct Order Rugosa. There are, however, some im- 

 portant differences between Guynia and Pyrophyllia which 



1 P. M. Duncan, " The Structure and Affinities of Guynia auuiilata,'''' 

 Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc, 1872, p. 29. 



