West-Indian Species of Madrepora. 21 



by Sloane * in 1707. Sloane used the word in describing 

 the three forms of Madrepora which are now generally known 

 as M. palmata, M. cervicomis, and M. prolifera. Linnseus 

 accepted the term as the name of a species which he called 

 Millepora muricala in 1754 and Madrepora muricata in 1767 t- 

 Linnaeus founded the species to include all the Madreporaz 

 with an arborescent branching corallum. It was adopted in 

 the sense of either Sloane or Linnasus by subsequent zoologists 

 until 1816, when Lamarck J broke up the M. muricata, L. et 

 auct., into five species and abandoned Linnasus's specific name. 

 For the West-Indian Madreporce he founded the species 

 M. palmata j M. cervicomis, and M. prolifera. Lamarck's 

 course of action was adopted by all students of corals until 

 1890; in that year Prof. Heilprin suggested that the West- 

 Indian branched and palmate forms of Madrepora are members 

 of the same species. " I feel doubtful," says Prof. Heilprin §, 

 " if the palmate form of the corallum, as seen in M. palmata, 

 M.fabellum, and M. alces (East Indies), is in itself a character 

 sufficient to distinguish the species from those forms, agreeing 

 with the palmate types in other respects, in which the corallum 

 is strictly digitate. My associate, Mr. J. E. Ives, has called 

 my attention to the tendency in the direction of digitation 

 which many individuals of the palmate species exhibit. This 

 is carried so far in some of the specimens contained in the col- 

 lections of the Academy of Natural Sciences that it becomes 

 difficult, if not really impossible, to class the individuals." 

 By the digitate types Prof. Heilprin presumably means 

 M, cervicomis, for M. prolifera he kept quite distinct. The 

 same conclusion was reached and extended in 1893 by Brook ||, 



who is making a detailed study of the polypes of the West-Indian corals, 

 shows that, like myself, he had been misled by deference to Brook's 

 opinion. It therefore seems to me advisable to publish the paper, and 

 it is issued exactly as -written last June. Mr. Duerden says : — " Relying 

 upon Brook's statement that he had met with intermediate specimens of 

 cervicomis and palmata, I was inclined to regard them all [including alci- 

 formis] as one species. I have examined acres of Madrepora growth with 

 the object of finding such intermediate forms, but without any success, 

 although such would be expected considering that prolifera and palmata 

 grow together."] 



* Hans Sloane, 'A Voyage to the Islands Madera . . . Jamaica,' vol. i. 

 (1707) pp. 51-53, pi. xviii. tigs. 3, 4, pi. xvii. figs. 2, 3. 



f Linmeus, Syst. Nat. ed. x. p. 792, ed. xii. p. 1279. 



% Lamarck, Hist. Nat. Anim. s. Vert. vol. ii. 278, 281. 



§ A. Heilprin, "The Corals and Coral-reefs of the Western Waters of 

 the Gulf of Mexico," Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 1890, p. 304. 



|| Geo. Brook, " The Genus Madrepora,'' 1 Cat. Madrep. Brit. Museum, 

 vol. i. 1893, pp. 23-30. 



