54-0 Brazilian Corals and Coral Reefs. [September, 



however, very meagre, and usually unreliable. Only a very few 

 species of Brazilian corals were known, and these were mostly 

 Gorgonians from the bays of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. 



The sandstone reef and coral reef regions of Brazil are nearly 

 coextensive, but while the stone reefs are always confined to the 

 immediate neighborhood of the shore, coral reefs frequently lie 

 some distance out, at times forty or fifty miles. It was while 

 investigating the stone reef at Porto Seguro, in 1866, that Hartt's 

 attention was first attracted to the coral reefs, one of which stretches 

 across the mouth of the bay of Porto Seguro, in front of the 

 sandstone structure. This reef was carefully studied, and grow- 

 ing upon it were discovered all the commoner Brazilian corals. 

 A year later Prof. Hartt visited the Abrolhos islands, for the pur- 

 pose of examining the many reefs that cluster about that little 

 group of Continental islets. The trip was a very successful one, 

 resulting in the discovery of new and interesting phenomena in 

 connection with the formation of coral reefs. Many corals were 

 obtained, including all the species previously found at Porto Seguro, 

 and these constituted the first large collection of Brazilian corals to 

 be properly studied and described. The work of classifying this 

 material was entrusted to Prof. Verrill, of Yale College, who de- 

 cided that nearly all the forms were new to science. 



Prof. Hartt's studies on the Brazilian coast have proved that 

 Madreporian corals grow abundantly on or near the shore, from 

 Maranhao southward to Cape Frio; south of which only a few 

 Astrangians have been collected. Coral reefs are, however, more 

 restricted in their range, as they do not pass to the southward of 

 the Abrolhos region. Just to the east of the Abrolhos islands, 

 between these islands and the mainland, and thence northward to 

 near the city of Bahia, coral reefs are very numerous, often 

 fringing the shores, but more commonly growing in large and 

 irregular patches in the deeper water. From Bahia to Maranhao 

 coral reefs are much less abundant, being confined to certain 

 localities near the shore. The Roccas, between Fernando de 

 Noronha and the coast, are, however, entirely of coral. The 

 Brazilian coral fauna is very poor in species, but, as far as it goes, 

 closely resembles that of the West Indies, many of its species 

 being representatives ones. A large number of the commoner 

 West Indian genera, such as Madrepora, Maeandrina, Diploria, 

 etc., are wanting to Brazil. 



