West-Indian Species of Madrepora. 27 



The Species " muricata." 



Hence, in the absence of corals intermediate between 

 M. palmata and M. cervicomis, and in view of the fact that 

 the differences in form between them are not due to growth 

 under different conditions, it appears advisable to return to 

 Lamarck's arrangement of the species. That decision raises 

 the question whether Linnaeus's name ought not to be retained. 

 But if we follow Brook, and unite the three species, M. pal- 

 mata, M. cervicomis, and M. prolifera, and take the first as 

 the typical form — for Brook accepts it as forma A — then the 

 name muricata is both inappropriate and inapplicable. It is 

 inappropriate, since the name muricata was probably suggested 

 by Linnaeus from the resemblance of the branchlets of many 

 species to the varices of Murex *. And M. palmata is not 

 a muricated species in this sense. 



But the name is inapplicable, since, although Linnaeus 

 used it to cover all the ramose Mudreporce that he knew, he 

 carefully excluded the palmate variety from M. muricata. 

 He excluded it in three ways. In the first place, both in his 

 own diagnosis and in his additional remarks, he describes the 

 species as a ramose form — fl Madrepora ramosa composita " ; 

 " rami albi " ; " corallium saepe format pulcherrime ramis suis 

 corymbum rosaceum." Linnaeus makes no reference to 

 palmate or alciform varieties. He also quotes from earlier 

 authors a series of descriptive phrases in which references 

 to the ramose condition continually recur. In the second 

 place, Linnaeus carefully excluded the palmate form by 

 omitting reference to the figures of that coral in the list of 

 literature on his muricata. Thus Sloane figured an excellent 

 example of the alciform variety f ; Linnaeus accepts Sloane's 

 figures of the cervicomis and prolifera types, but not of the 

 palmata J. Seba § also figured all three forms, the prolifera 

 on pi. cviii. fig. 6, the cervicomis on pi. cxiv. fig. 1, and a 

 typical palmata on pi. cxiii. Linnaeus again accepted the two 

 first, but excluded the last. In the third place, the inclusion 

 of M. palmata in M. muricata is rendered unsatisfactory by 

 the geographical evidence. When Linnaeus founded the 

 latter species in 1754 he gave as its habitat "Pelago Asiatico." 



* Muricata, as Prof. Bell has remarked to rue, means spiny, with sharp 

 points. 



f Sloane, ' Voyage .... Jamaica/ vol. i. pi. xvii. fig. 3. 



J I. e., he accepts Sloane, ibid. vol. i. pi. xviii. fig. 3, pi. xvii. fig. 4; 

 but not pi. xvii. fig. 3. 



§ Seba, ' Loc. Keruin Natur. Thesauri,' vol. iii. 1758. 



