SYRINGOPORID.^. 207 



to be a member of the Favositidce, and that Vermipora, Hall, 

 if not an actual synonym, is most nearly allied to it. The 

 calicinal gemmation of F. hibifcra is, however, an almost 

 unique feature. 



Lastly, the genus Atdopora, Goldf., has been by various 

 palaeontologists associated with Syi'ingopoi'a, or even merged 

 with the latter. This view, for reasons which have been pre- 

 viously stated in brief, and which I shall subsequently discuss 

 at greater length, appears to me to be untenable ; and Aulopora 

 must, with our present knowledge, be regarded as the type of 

 a special group. 



From the above remarks it will be seen that no other forms 

 can in the meanwhile, with any definiteness, be placed in the 

 Syringoporidcs , except only Syringopoi^a and Caunapora. It is 

 only in the case of the former of these that I have had the 

 opportunity of making myself thoroughly acquainted with the 

 minute characters of the corallum, and I shall therefore not 

 only take this genus as the type of the group, but I shall defer 

 any remarks as to the affinities of the family till I have given a 

 brief description of the peculiarities in its structure. Both the 

 above genera are strictly Palaeozoic, Caunapora being exclu- 

 sively an Upper Silurian form, and Syringopora being confined 

 to the Upper Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous periods. 



Genus Syringopora, Goldfuss. 



(Petref. Germ., t. i. p. 75, 1826.) 



Harmodites, Fischer, Notice sur les Tubipores fossiles, p. 19, 1828. 



Gen. Char. — Corallum commencing as a prostrate network of 

 tubes, which in process of growth sends up numerous vertical 

 corallites. The corallites are cylindrical, arranged with varying 

 degrees of closeness, and each enclosed in a distinct wall. The 

 visceral cavities of contiguous polypes communicate directly 

 by means of a greater or smaller number of hollow horizontal 

 connecting-processes, which in some cases may be nearly or 



