268 
the anthocaulus. Now we sometimes observe a specimen with stemmed 
buds by the side of this coniform part. I found one of 43 mm. in 
diameter; which bore laterally to the platform, at the underside, two 
buds respectively 3,5 and 3 mm. in diameter; the peripheral portion 
of the stem had not yet broadened into a disc. From the basis to the 
septa these buds measured respectivily 6 and 5 mm. These buds com- 
pletely resemble young Fungiae of an anthocormus; they usually occur 
at the stem of an older bud as lateral branches. In normal cases they 
are seen below the spot where afterwards the young Fungia will drop 
from the stem, so that they can develop further, when this takes 
place. The instance described goes to show that sometimes the tissue 
above the preformed cicatrix also engenders buds, which however, 
stick to the underside of the young Fungia, when the final bud 
drops from the anthocaulus and which are hereby impeded in their 
further development. The above interpretation seems to me more 
plausible than the hypothesis which represents the problem as a 
lateral budding, arisen after the young Fungia has detached itself 
from the anthocormis. The size of this coral points to its having 
only just dropped from the stem. 
In F. actiniformis the scar has a sharp edge, the boundary between 
the scar and rest of the underside remains sharp also with older 
specimens of this species. In F. acitiniformis this facilitates the 
decision whether an apparently coalesced specimen has originated 
from two buds or through abnormal growth of one specimen. The 
scar of LI. fungites becomes obscured in older specimens, in little 
ones it is mostly easy to distinguish. In the specimens of Fig. 7 
the scars could easily be noted, so that this is an indubitable case 
of coalescence on the anthocormus. Fixed, stemmed coalescent antho- 
eyathi of F. fungites I have not been able to discover. 
From the Treub Laboratory Buitenzorg, Aug. 1921. 
