PORITES FROM NO RECORDED LOCALITY. 115 



though absolutely nothing is known about it, except what can be gathered from Esper's figure, 

 it has been regarded as the type of a " species," and many have been tlie Pontes from almost 

 all parts of the world which have l)oen claimed as representatives of it. 



We may note that Briiggemann* mentioned that tlie name " congkjmerata " rightly 

 belonged to the specimen figured by Esper on pi. Ux. That controversy may now surely be 

 considered dead. 



108. Porites ;/:. 6. (Poritcs incertw sedis sexta.) (PI. XVI. fig. 2.) 

 [Coll. Lamarck ; Paris Museum.] 

 Syn. Pmites conglomerata var. 2 Lamarck, Anira. sans Vert. ii. (1816) p. 269. 



Description. — The corallum appears to be a small brandling tuft. Tlie branches stand 

 out in all directions from a thickened central stem, and divide, at angles of about 90°, into 

 short, thick, flat-topped terminals. The living layer is about 3 cm. deep. 



The calicles are small, ■ 8 mm. in diameter, and depressed. The walls appear thick, the 

 wall-thread being coarse and further enlarged by the septa, which are coarse, short, thick, 

 truncated, close together, and irregular. The five principal pali are mostly large, angular and 

 smooth, and sometimes joined by fine threads to the septa. 



The sections of the branches are very dense, showing only a few very thick thi-eads free. 



This is a very old specimen (No. Z 187/ in the Paris Museum) and with the next, is of 

 considerable historical interest, for they are the " var. 2 " and " var. 3 " respectively of Lamarck's 

 Porites conglomerata, as can be seen by old labels still found attached to them. 



Lamarck's line of thought can fortunately still be made out. He followed Esper, who 

 put together as Madrcpora congloincrata, two specimens which lie figured (Fortsetzung i. 

 pi. lix. and pi. Uxa). The former is a branching Poritid, here placed among the Gonioporcc, 

 see p. 157, and the latter a distorted glomerate mass which was doubtless a Porites. Lamarck 

 accepted the existence of a species called Porites conglomerata, of which this latter coral of 

 Esper's was the type. Encouraged by Esper having classed a branching form with it as 

 a variety, Lamarck did the same, but gave two varieties showing a series, for his var. 2 

 " nana ; ramulis brevissimis lobatis suhcapitatis " leads on to his var. 3 " ramosa subdicJiotoma." 

 The latter he believed to be synonymous with Esper's branching form figui'ed on pi. lix. 

 above referred to. From this time on, the confusion caused by this quite imaginary " species " 

 became more and more bewildering. It may for the future be buried : the only kernels of fact 

 worth preserving are the details we can get from the figures and the specimens. 



With regard, then, to the specimen we are here discussing, we have the few facts above 

 detailed : we know where the type is to be seen, and as for its locality, we know nothing for 

 certain but that its method of growth suggests its possibly being a West Indian form. 



* Abh. Bremen, v. (1878) p. 516. 



Q 2 



