﻿GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGl OF THE CANAL ZONE. 485 



Genus SIDERASTREA de Blainville. 



1801. Astrea (part) Lamarck, Anim. sans Vert., p. 371 (not Astraea Bolten, 



Mu3. Boltenianum, p. 79, 1798). 

 1815. Astraea Oken, Lab'-b. der Naturg., Th. 3, Abth. 1, p. 75. 

 1830. Siderastrea De Blainville, Diet. Sci. nat., vol. 60, p. 335. 

 1846. Siderim Dana, U. S. Expl. Exp. Zoophytes, p. 218. 

 1848. Siderastrea Milne Edwards and Haime, Comptes Rend., vol. 27, p. 495. 

 1857. Astraea Milne Edwards and Faime, Hist. nat. Corall., vol. 2, p. 505. 

 1861. Astrea De Fromentel, Introa. k I'Etude des Polyp, foss., p. 235. 

 1886. Siderastraea Quelch, Challenger Exp. Reef Corals, p. 133. 

 1890. Siderastraea Verrill, In Dana's Corals and Coral Islands, ed. 3, p. 424. 

 1895. A^itraea Gregory, Geol. Soc. Lond. Quart. Journ., vol. 51. p. 278. 

 1900. Siderastrea Vaughn, U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 39, p. 154. 

 1907. Siderastrea Vaughan, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 59. p. 136. 



Type-species. — Madrepora radians Pallas. 



In the last publication cited in the synonymy given above I said 

 in discussing the genus Pavona: Two of these species [of Pavona], P. 

 davus Dana and Siderastrea maldivensis Gardiner, have been referred 

 to the genus Siderastrea, type species Madrepora radians Pallas; and 

 they superficially resemble that genus. Upon closer scrutiny an 

 additional resemblance is found in the distinct, continuous corallite 

 walls, but there are important differences. The septal margins of 

 the species [of Pavona] discussed in the foregoing remarks are entire 

 or microscopically dentate, and the septal lamellae are absolutely 

 solid. In the 5 or 6 species, specimens of which I have studied, there 

 is persistently a lamellate columella or a compressed styliform colu- 

 mella. The septal margins of Siderastrea are pronouncedly dentate, 

 the dentations rounded, one dentation corresponding to each septal 

 trabecida. The younger septa are distinctly perforate, the perforations 

 not being confliied to the inner edges." 



It would seem that this clear statement of certain characters of 

 Siderastrea should have stopped the erroneous reference to it of such 

 species of Pavona as P. clavus Dana and P. maldivensis (Gardiner) 

 Vaughan,^ yet Felix in his Die fossilen Anthozoen aus der Umgegend 

 von Trinil (Java)^ persists in the erroneous reference to it of species 

 belonging to another genus or other genera. He places in Siderastraea 

 (misspelling the generic name) S. hlancTcenhorni, new species, which 

 from his figures^ and his descripition,^ is certainly not Siderastrea, 

 S. columnaris, new species, *S'. maldivensis Gardiner, and -8'. microm- 

 mata, new species, no one of which belongs to Siderastrea. 



This is not the only misuse or misunderstanding of the generic 

 names of corals by Felix in the paper cited. In others of his publi- 



1 For a discussion of the known living species of Pavona, see Vaughan, Some shoal-water corals from 

 Murray Island (Australia), Coeos-Keeling Islands, and Fanning Island, Carnegie Inst. V/ashington Pub- 

 213, pp. 132-139, 1918. Notes on P. maldivensis (Gardiner) Vaughan are given on page 138, and it is ilhis- 

 trated by plate 56, figs. 3, 3a, 36. 



2 Palaeontographica, vol. 60, pp. 311-36.5, pis. 24-27, 1913. 

 ' Idem, plate 27, figs. 6, 6a. 



* Idem, p. 333. 



