92 



MADEEPOEARIA. 



corallites are longer, quite unequal in length, and more spreading, so as to give the branchlets 

 an apparent greater diameter. They difEer from Dana's description in one or two points. 

 The prominent radial corallites are all compressed, 3 to 5 mm. long and 1'5 mm. thick, but 

 a few are longer, thicker, and bear a few small buds ; the form is usually narrow boat-shaped 

 or tubo-labellate ; the outer part of the wall is always thicker than the inner, and in the 

 stouter ones is considerably thickened, the aperture being oblique and slit-like. Between the 

 prominent corallites short or subimmersed ones occur to near the apex of the branchlets ; 

 in the basal parts all become short, appressed, tubular, with a moderately thick wall and 

 rounded margin, with immersed cells interspersed . Corallum porous, finely reticulate in section ; 

 surface striato-reticulate or spongy in parts ; wall firm, with the appearance of porcelain, very 

 finely striato-reticulate. Axial corallites cylindrical, 2 mm. diameter, 1 to 2 mm. exsert, wall 

 a little thickened ; the star consists of 6 subequal septa, with sometimes indications of a 

 second cycle. In the prominent radial corallites usually only the two directive septa are 

 prominent, but nearer the base the star is better developed and sometimes a rudimentary 

 second cycle of septa may be distinguished. 



Indo-Pacific Ocean : Mauritius, Seychelles, East Indies, Sulu Sea, Singapore, Amboina, 

 Temate, Ponape, Samoa, Great-Barrier Reef, Fiji, Tongatabu. 



a. Wreck Bay, Great-Barrier Reef. 



b. Wreck Bay, Great-Barrier Reef. 



c. Port Denison. 



d. Low Woody Island, 



e. Rocky Island. 

 f,g. Mauritius. 



h. Ternate. 



i. Amboina. 



j. Seychelles. 



k. Tongatabu. 



/. Singapore. 



J. B. Jukes, Esq. [P.]. 46. 7. 30. 1. 



J. B. Jukes, Esq. [P.]. 46.7.30.6. (Young in- 

 crusting colony.) 



Saville-Kent Coll. 92. 6. 8. 197. 



Saville-Kent Coll. 92. 6. 8. 198. 



Saville-Kent Coll. 92. 6. 8. 302. 



Purchased. 78. 2. 4. 1 & 4. 



H.M.S. 'Challenger.' 85.2.1.3. {=M. secale, 

 Quclch.) 



H.M.S. 'Challenger.' 85. 2. 1. 1. ( = M. cerealis, 

 Quelch.) 



H.M.S. 'Alert.' 82. 10. 17. 158. 



J. J. Lister, Esq. [P.]. 91. 3. 6. 9. 



G. B. Sowerby, Esq. [P.]. 39. 6. 28. 1. 



Purchased. 44. 6. 10. 4. 



C. Corallum vasiform or plate-like, with very numerous short branchlets on the upper surface. 



Under surface without branchlets or with a few which are short and oblique. 



a. Radial corallites chiefly labellate and thin-walled. 



84. Madrepora spicifera. 



Heteropora mieroeladog, Ehrenberg, Corallenth. d. roth. Meeres, p. 109 (part.). 



Madrepora spidfera, Dana, Zoophytes, p. 442, pi. xxxiii. figs. 4 & 5, pi. xxxi. fig. 6 ; M.-Edwards & 

 Haime, Coralliaires, t. iii. p. 157 ; Verrill, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 1864, vol. i. p. 42 ; Studer, 

 MB. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1878, p. 525 ; Studer, Mitth. naturf. Ges. Bern, 1880, p. 19 ; Duncan, 

 Joum. Linn. 8oc. Lond. 1886, vol. xxi. p. 20 ; Rathbun, Proo. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1887, vol. x. 

 p. 18 ; Faurot, Arch. Zool. Exper. 1888, t. vi. p. 119 ; ? Ortmann, Zool. JB. 1888, Bd. iii. p. 153 ; 

 ? ibid, 1889, Bd. iv. p. 511 ; B.-Smith, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1890, vol. vi. p. 454. 



