﻿GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE CANAL, ZONE. 469 



Cyathoniorpha tenuis in some of its characters is very similar to 

 Oulastrea. In fact I liave vacillated between referring it to Cyatho- 

 morpha or to Oulastrea, particularly as there is in the New York 

 Academy Porto Rican collection a species that resembles C. tenuis, 

 but is more appropriately referable to Oulastrea than to Oyatlio- 

 morpha, and a specimen, poorly preserved but apparently the same 

 species, was obtained by Mr. Meinzer at Mogote Peak, east of the 

 U. S. Naval Reservation, near Guantanamo, Cuba, in beds of the 

 same age as those in which the Porto Rican specimen was collected. 

 As the Cuban material is not good enough for an accurate descrip- 

 tion, the discussion of this interesting species must be deferred. 



Genus DIPLOASTREA Matthai. 



1914. Diplonshm ILvithai, Linn. Soc. London Trans., .ser. 2, Zool.. vol. J 7. j). 72. 

 1917. DIphasliro Vaighan, Carnoi^ie Jnsl. ^Vashin^;ton Pub. 213, )). 142. 



Type-species. — Astrea heliopora Lamarck. 



In my paper cnted in the synonymy I wrote '' IJiploastrea is one of 

 the most important genera of Oligocene corals in the southeastern 

 United States and in the West Indies. Astraea crassolamellata 

 Duncan, from Antigua belongs to it. It is also found in the lowest 

 horizon at Crocus Bay, Anguilla; in Cuba at numerous localities; 

 along Flint River near Bainbridge, Georgia; and in eastern Mexico." 



I also remarked that Diploastrea might ultimately become a 

 synonym of Oyathoinorpha. I am referring the Crocus Bay specimen 

 to Cyathomorpha roxhoroughi Vaughan, new species (see page 461 of 

 this paper), and am referring the Mexican specimen to Oyathouiorpha 

 anttguensis (Duncan) Vaughan (p. 466 of this paper). Diploastrea, 

 CyathomorpTui, and Oulastrea are closely related genera. All are 

 fungid corals that resemble in habit the genus Orhicella, and all have 

 been confused with it. Diploastrea has more coarsel}" dentate and 

 more perforate septa than CyafJiomorpJia, and it lacks the prominent, 

 wide pali of Cyathomorpha : but the inner septal teeth of Diploastrea 

 in many instances simulate pali. For the present at least it is desirable 

 to treat each as a valid genus. According to Reuss (see p. 455 of this 

 paper), Ayathiphyllia differs from Cyathomorpha in not having pali; 

 therefore, Diploastrea may be a synonym of Ayathiphyllia. 



Before discussing the species here referred to Diploastrea, mention 

 will be made of two species — BracJiyphylHa eckeli * and BracJiy- 

 phyllia irreguhtris - described by Duncan from St. Croix, Trinidad. 

 These, according to the figures, are fungid corals, and probably are 

 referable to Diploastrea. The costae of the type-species of Diploastrea 

 are either confluent or notched in the intercorallite areas. Bracliy- 

 lia, until the type-species, B. dormitzeri, has been studied and 



1 Oeol. Soe. London Quart. .Tourn., vol. 24, p. 13, pi. 2, fig. 4, 1867 



2 Idem, p. 1.3, pi. 2, fig. . 5. 



