78 MADREPOKAEIA. 



The number of species was now reduced to four, while the rearrangement led de 

 Blainville to the conclusion that Astrceopora was closely allied to Gemmipora (Tiorhinaria). 



The new genus was thus removed far from Astrcca, and placed among the Madrepores, 

 but its assumed affinity with Gcmmijjora was not marked by any rearrangement in the 

 order of the genera originally given in the ' Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles.' 



The conclusion thus arrived at by de Blainville, that Astrceopora might, " without in- 

 convenience," be united with Gemmipora (TurUnaria), was adopted with a note of interro- 

 gation by Dana in his 'Zoophytes of the United States Exploring Expedition,' in 1848. 

 The note of interrogation is easUy explained when Dana's method of classification is taken 

 into account. The Gemmiporidoi were the third family of his second tribe Caryophyllacece, 

 which were distinguished from the two other tribes Astrceacece and Madreporacece by inferior 

 budding. While the budding of Turhinaria does at first sight seem to be inferior,* there 

 is no such appearance in Astrmopora. Hence Dana, while accepting Blainville's conclusion 

 that the two genera were closely related, was compelled to doubt its correctness according 

 to his own principles of classification. The chief distinction which Dana draws between 

 Astrceopora and Gemmipora is, that the former has the calicles "obsolete or nearly so," 

 while the latter has " the calicles prominent, cylindrical or conico-cylindrical." As a matter 

 of fact, no such distinction exists, both obsolete and prominent calicles occurring in both 

 genera. Dana also accepted four species which differ from the four adopted by Blainville. 

 He followed Lamarck's suggestion that A. pulvinaria closely resembles A. myriophthalma, 

 and classed them together as A. pulvinaria. In addition, he adopted A. punctifera and 

 A. stellulata of Lamarck, and Astra:opora fungiformis, Blainville, which last appears to 

 have been an error, for Blainville described a Gemmipora fungiformis, but no Astraxpora 

 fungiformis. 



Dana gave Lamarck's specific name A. pulvinaria to specimens collected by the Wilkes 

 Exploring Expedition ; but this identification has been corrected by Verrill,t who recognised 

 them as representatives of a new type, A. profunda. 



In 1849,t and again in 1851,§ Milne-Edwards and Haime adopted Blainville's suggested 

 afi&nity between Turhinaria {Gcm^nipora) and Astrwopora, and united them together with 

 two fossil genera Dendracis and Actinacis to form a new subfamily, Turhinariinw. The 

 genus Astraopora contained one living species, A. myriophthalma, and three fossil. In 1860, 

 Milne-Edwards || added a new fossil genus, Palceacis, to the subfamily, and two more 

 living species to the genus Astrmopora, viz. A. ptdvinaria and A. punctifera, a figure 



* ' Notes, Systematic and Morphological, on the Madreporarian Genus Turhinaria,' Ann. and 

 Mag. Nat. Hist. xv. (1895) p. 499. 



■f Appendix to Dana's Corals and Coral Islands, 1st edition, 1875, p. 333. 



i C.R., xxix. p. 259. 



§ Polypiers fossiles des Terrains palseozoiques, p. 144. 



II Les Coralliaiies, iii. p. 164. 



