TURBINARIA. 7 



from Madrcpora ; tlie former having, according to him, basal, and the other lateral luidding, 

 whereas the budding is in both cases lateral. On the other hand, he was clearly not quite 

 satisfied with the association of Gemmipora and Astrccopora in one family, as is shown by the 

 note of interrogation which is placed after the latter. 



During the years 1848-51, H. Milne-Edwards and J. Haime developed, in a series of 

 classical works, a new system of classification of the Stony Corals, on wliich was founded their 

 great systematic work ' Les Coralliaires ' (vols. i. and ii., 1857 ; vol. iii., by Milne-Edwards 

 alone, 1860). They were unable to follow Ehrenberg and Dana, in laying chief stress upon 

 the method.? of grouping of the individual corallites forming a corallum, or, in other words, 

 upon tlie method of budding. They preferred to base their classification upon the structural 

 characteristics of the individual polyps, as seen in their skeletal remains, wliich alone, in the 

 majority of cases, we have at our disposal for investigation (vol. ii. p. 4). According to this, 

 they divided the Stony Corals into five groups, the two principal being the Jladreporaria 

 imperforata or aporosa, and the Madreporaria perforata, according as the skeletal framework 

 sclerenchyme) is compact or perforated. 



According, then, to the classification of H. Milne-Edwards and Haime, the first division 

 of the perforate Madreporaria is the Madreporidse, which, again, is divided into three sub- 

 families — Eupsamminse, Madreporinje and Turbinariinse, The last-named is distinguished 

 from the MadreporinsB by the absence of the two (directive) septa conspicuously larger than 

 the rest.* The Turbinariinaj fall into five genera, of which Turlinana and Astrcvopora are those 

 alone which can here concern us, the other three being fossil. The Turbinarians are said 

 to be distinguished from the Astreoporans by the presence of a well-developed spongy 

 columella. In the genus Turhinaria, all Dana's species are adopted (but frondcns is called 

 frondcsccns, apparently by a clerical error). In addition, we find Lamarck's vicscntcrina 

 recognised as a distinct species from cincmsccns, and Blaiuville's Aatrcopora stcllulata {Astrcca 

 stelhdata, Lamk.) suggested as a true Turbinarian. 



While, however, Milne-Edwards follows Ehi-enberg in reviving Oken's genus Turhinana, 

 combining with it part of Lamarck's Uxplanaria, he makes no mention either of Oken's 

 " doldenfdrmig " arrangement of the polyps, or of Ehrenberg's description of the growth of 

 the corallum by stolon-formation as apart from ordinary budding. It is true that he mentions 

 the method of growth which can be " very easily " (' Les Coralliaires,' i. p. 85) gathered 

 from a section of a corallum, meaning evidently from the section of a frond. But, in his 

 definition of the genus, he omits all mention of it. 



Verrill, in 18G5,t proposed a classification of the corals in which the genus Turhinaria 

 belongs to the family Gemmiporidre, of the suborder Madreporaceie (Madreporaria perforata 

 of Milne-Edwards), the order being Madreporaria, which, with two other orders — the Actinaria 

 and the Alcyonaria, of equal value — embrace the whole class of the Zoophytes. Beyond 



* This distinction, however, does not hold good, directive septa being found in some species 

 of Turhinaria. 



t 'Proceedings of the Essex Institute,' iv. p. 145. 



