362 Prof. A. E. Verrill on the Affinities of Palceozoic 



make no allusion whatever to such septa in their descriptions 

 of the genus and its species. In all the species which I have 

 examined, however, these septa are to be found ; but they are 

 usually more remote and less evident than in A. spongiosa, 

 while the walls in most of the other species are thicker and 

 perforated by fewer and smaller openings, thus producing 

 firmer corals. In A. dcedalea^ Dana*, the walls are much 

 thicker and perforated by smaller rounded orifices, of which 

 there are two or three vertical series on each side of a cell. 

 The cells are very deep ; and the transverse septa are complete 

 though distant, and coincident in adjacent cells. The radiating 

 septa are represented by twelve vertical rows of stouter spines, 

 which often meet at the centre. Mr. W. S. Kentf has 

 described and figured a recent coral, under the name of 

 Favositipora DeshayesH^ which has well-developed transverse 

 septa, and agrees in all other respects, according to Mr. Kent, 

 with Alveopora. But as the presence of such septa appears to 

 be characteristic of Alveopora^ the Deshayesii should be 

 regarded as a species of Alveopora in which the transverse 

 septa are, perhaps, unusually numerous. Mr. Kent also men- 

 tions a palaeozoic fossil coral, supposed to be from North 

 America, which he refers to the same genus [F. paloeozoica). 

 This may prove to be an ancient species of the genus Alveopora^ 

 and in any case cannot be more than generically separated, 

 either from Alveopora or Favosites, as remarked by Mr. Kent. 

 The genus Koninchia of the Cretaceous is, perhaps, not 

 generically distinct from Alveopora^ approaching A. dcedalea 

 very closely, and differing from A. Verrilliana, D., chiefly in 

 having but six vertical rows of septal spines, instead of twelve. 

 The genus Ooniopora is closely related to Alveopora^ differing 

 chiefly in having about 24 radiating septa, which are more 

 fully developed, but perforated by large irregular openings, 

 and a distinct columella. The walls are usually rather firm 

 and rough, as if composed of coarse irregular granules so 

 united together as to leave many openings through the wall. 

 The lateral and younger cells are often very shallow, with a 

 large rough columella, and with six small paliform lobes arising 

 from the inner part of the septa ; while in some cases the 

 walls are much thickened and roughly granulous at the surface, 

 in these characters closely resembling Porites^ to which it is 

 also allied in the internal structure of the coral. In fact 

 Goniopora combines many of the characters of Alveopora and 



* This species, which proves to be distinct from the dtvdalea of 

 Forskal &c., has been named A. Verrilliana by Prof. Dana in his recent 

 work on Corals and Coral Islands. 



t Ann. k Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. vi. p. .-184, Nov. 1870. 



