158 A. E. Verrill — Bermudian and West Indian Reef Corals. 



Family Poritidae Dana, 1846. 



PoritincB (subfamily) Edw. and Haime, Corall., iii, p. 173, 1860. 

 Poritidce Verrill, these Trans., i, p. 503, 1867. 



Corals very porous, branched, encrusting, lobulate, or massive, 

 increasing chieflj^ by budding. Calicles mostly small, shallow, stel- 

 late, circular, or angular, usually all of one kind, closely united, or 

 not separated by much coenenchyma, sometimes without evident 

 walls. Septa more or less perforated, or fenestrate, often imperfect, 

 mostly rj to ^4. Pali often present. Dissepiments few, sometimes 

 tabulate. The calicles are generally all equal, but in some species 

 of Porites a few larger ones, with more than 12 septa, appear irregu- 

 larly and may divide by fission. The branches do not have a large 

 leading or axial zooid. Polyps much exsert in expansion. Tenta- 

 cles 12-24, rarely more. 



Porites polymorpha Link. 



Madrepora jwrites {pars) Pallas, Elench. Zooph., p. 324, 1766. Linne, ed. 

 xii, p. 1279, 1767. Ellis and Sol., p. 172, pi. xlvii, figs. 1, 2, 1786. 



Porites polymorphus Link, Beseh. Nat. Samml., Eostock, p. 162, 1807. 



Porites clavaria Lam., Hist. Anim. sans Vert., ii, p. 270, 1816. Dana, 

 Zooph., p. 554, 1846. Edw. and Haime, Corall., iii, p. 174, 1860. Pourtales, 

 Florida Eeefs, pi. xii, figs. 4-6, 1880. Eathbnn, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., x, 

 pp. 356-361, pi. xvi, pi. xvii, fig. 2, pi. xix, fig. 1, 1887. Gregory (^Jars), 

 op. cit., p. 282, 1895. 



Porites porites Vaughan, op. cit., p. 73, 1901. 



Plate XXXI. Figures 3, 3a. 



The above synonymy includes only the leading references to the 

 more typical form generally called P. clavaria Lam. Mr. Gregory 

 has given a very full list of references to this and the other 

 branched forms of West Indian Porites, all of which he masses 

 together under the name of P. clavaria. Mr. Vaughan (op. cit., p. 

 73) also gives some additional synonyms and localities.* No doubt 

 too mau}^ " species " have been named, but I very much doubt 

 whether they should all be united into one species. However, I do 

 not propose to discuss that question at this time. 



* Mr. Vaughan states that he has examined the type of P. nodifera Klunz., 

 and found it identical with P. clavaria. He thinks, like Eehberg, that the locality 

 " Eed Sea" is due to a wrong label. He also unites P. valida Duch. and Mich, 

 with this species. 



