2 2 THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. 



may be aptly compared with pentagonal pin-cushions ot various hues, thickly bedight with 

 jewel-headed pins. In the example figured, the ground colour of the cushion was the much- 

 admired old-gold, and the thickly studded ])inheads were of that deep ultramarine-blue found, 

 among precious stones, onl}- in the lapis-lazuli. 



It was on this reef-area, also, that that remarkable Holothurian, Synapta Bcselii, was observed 

 most abundantly, and of the largest dimensions. Many specimens as they lay outstretched in the 

 pools measured over six feet long, and were usually variegated with mottled tints of pink and 

 brown. A closely coiled-up example of this Synapta is represented b}' Fig. 8 of the Chromo 

 plate No. XII. 



Among the few corals, other than Madreporae, distinguishable in this Warrior reef-view, refer- 

 ence may be made to the fine, somewhat cauliflower-like, corallum oi Pocillopora dainicoriiis immedi- 

 ately to the rear of the foreground specimen of Madirpora hebcs that occupies the left-hand corner. 

 A little to the right of the centre of the picture, one normally growing, and a second overturned, 

 foliaceous corallum of Montipora foliosa, or a nearly allied species, constitute conspicuous objects. 

 The life colours of the erect example were a deep violet, with creamy-white growing edges. An 

 interesting coral, that requires a little more trouble for its detection, is situated to the left 

 of the centre of the farther margin of the broad water space in the immediate foreground. The 

 variety indicated is a species of Euphyllia, E. nigosa, which forms simply bifurcating tufts, a few 

 inches only in diameter. The polyps in this genus are remarkable for their relatively large size 

 and brilliant coloration, and are limited in their distribution to the most torrid, equatorial region, 

 of the Great Barrier district. Plate IV. of the chromo-lithographic series is devoted more 

 especially to the delineation of this generic group and its near allies. Among these illustra- 

 tions, that example in which the polyp-tentacles are coloured lilac, with apple-green terminations, 

 represents the variety visible in the reef-view. Should the reader possess the requisite patience, a 

 small colony-stock of the Organ-pipe coral, Tubipora miisicn, will be discovered so growing that it 

 forms the head of the small promontory that projects into the foreground water-space, near its 

 centre, on the left-hand side. This interesting type, as demonstrated by a subsequent illustration, 

 may fulfil an important role in the function of reef construction. 



Another not very prominent, but at the same time interesting, coral-growth enters into the 

 composition of this reef-scape. This is the variety represented by the small isolated cluster of 

 digitiform terminations of a corallum that are exposed to view in the water-space on the extreme 

 right-hand in the middle distance. This coral represents a species of Stylopora, agreeing in all 

 essential details with the Stylopora pahuafa of Milne Edwards and Haime, and is remarkable in 

 life for its usually brilliant coloration. In this example, the tint of the exposed branches was a 

 bright magenta-pink, rendering it, as may be anticipated, a conspicuously attractive object, more 

 especially when, as in this instance, the species was observed growing /;/ sitit for the first time. 

 A coloured representation of this handsome species, including magnified figures of the minute 

 rose-coloured polyps, is contained in Plate VII. of the chromo-lithographic series. 



