288 ZOOPHYTES. 



they are unable to right themselves, unless aided by the motion of the 

 sea-water about them. Stutchbury states that one inverted by him 

 remained so for several weeks without change. They are usually 

 found scattered over the reefs, mostly in holes or pools, their large 

 radiate disks, spotted with the tinted tentacles, contrasting singularly 

 with the sprigs of Madrepore, and the various massive and foliaceous 

 species around. They differ from the Herpetolithi in having a single 

 mouth at centre, and a single stomach, instead of many mouths and 

 stomachs scattered throughout the whole zoophyte; in other words, 

 they are large simple animals, not capable of growth by buds : while 

 in all other Fungidae the polyps are small, in no instance exceeding 

 an inch and a half in diameter; arid the large zoophytes which they 

 form are the result of budding. 



One or two of the elliptical Fungiae have three or four mouths along 

 the centre, after attaining considerable size, and form a passage to the 

 compound species. The animals are still large, as in the Fungise, and 

 the species are therefore retained with this genus, rather than trans- 

 ferred to the genus Herpetolithus, which is characterized by numerous 

 small polyps. The extension of the lamellse, which commence at the 

 oririme, quite to the margin without interruption, affords an easy 

 character for distinguishing the Fungis. 



The genus Furigia was formed by Lamarck from the Madrepora 

 of early authors, and included, as characterized by him, all the free 

 Fungidse, whether simple or compound. Eschscholtz instituted for 

 the compound species (F. limacina and F. talpa), the genus Herpeto- 

 lithus* Quoy and Gaymard, having examined a living specimen of 

 an allied species, proposed for the talpa, the generic name Polyphyllia. 

 Ehrenberg, in his Memoir on the corals of the Red Sea, formed 

 the genus Haliglossa, with nearly the limits of Eschscholtz's Herpeto- 

 lithus, after excluding the Polyphyllis of Quoy and Gaymard. The 

 old genus Fungia includes, therefore, the recent divisions, Fungia, 

 Polyphyllia, and Herpetolithus; and still another, Halomitra, which 

 it has been necessary to make for the Mitra Pokmica of Rumphius, 

 some noble specimens of which, though its existence has been doubted, 

 belong to the Expedition collections. The genus Fungia has recently 

 been made the subject of an elaborate memoir by Dr. F. S. Leuckart, 



* From lg*w, to creep, arid \i66s, a stone. We have followed Leuckart in correcting 

 the orthography of Eschscholtz, who wrote the name Herpolitlia. 



