

PREFACE 



THIS liANDBOOK represents an attempt to 

 satisfy the requirements not only of collectors 

 of corals, both casual and experienced, but 

 also of the biologist who chooses to work on 

 these inhabitants of the warm shallow seas 

 of the Western Atlantic shores. 



Corals have always been of interest to scientists but 

 in addition they have a much wider appeal since they 

 are among the most beautiful and spectacular of the 

 tropical sea animals. The shores of Bermuda, South 

 Florida, the Bahamas, and the West Indies and the 

 Western Atlantic coast as far south as Brazil generally 

 abound with a variety of these species, which are sought 

 after by collectors. Not only the collector, but the 

 casual observer, too, is frequently interested in knowing 

 more of the life of the coral animal, the way the coral 

 rock is formed, and how to name the specimens he finds. 

 For these reasons it seemed desirable to prepare an 

 accurate but non- technical account of the corals. Care 

 has been taken to illustrate it with photographs since 

 these are not only helpful in the rapid identification 

 of specimens, but also serve to show the beauty of 

 design inherent in the coral structure. 



Corals interest the scientist for many reasons. They 

 grow in tropical waters which have been much less 

 thoroughly investigated than the colder ones. They 

 also offer many fascinating problems in physiology and 

 structure as well as in their relation to the surroundings. 

 Many of our rocks are composed principally of micro- 

 scopic animals such as the foraminifera whose activities 

 millions of years ago produced the great limestone cliffs 



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