COR 



[58] 



COR 



beauty these living wonders of the ocean ! ' ' 

 LyelL Mantell. Buckland. Bakcwell. 



CORALLI'FERI. An order of polypi, em- 

 bracing those species which were so long 

 considered to be marine plants. 



CO'RALLINE. Belonging to the class Zoo- 

 phyta, order Eschara, each polypus being 

 contained in a calcareous or horny shell, 

 without any central axis. The animal 

 which secretes and inhabits coral. 



CO'RALLINE. (corallin, Fr. corallino, It.) 

 Composed of coral ; resembling coral ; of 

 the colour of coral. 



CO'RAL-RAG. A member of the middle di- 

 vision of oolite, of the thickness of about 

 forty feet in the Bath district. 



CO'RAL REEF. ) It is a curious, but in- 



CO'RAL ISLAND. \ disputable fact, that a 

 considerable portion of the earth's surface 

 is the result of organic secretion, and the 

 same process is still going on extensively 

 in the Pacific and Indian seas, where in- 

 numerable coral islands rise above and 

 innumerable reefs and shoals lie just be- 

 low the surface of the waves. The ob- 

 servations of modern voyagers have thrown 

 much light on the formation of coral is- 

 lands and reefs ; they concur in the opi- 

 nion that these reefs and islands do not 

 rise from the depth even of many hundred 

 yards, but commence on the summit of 

 some volcanic elevations, or other sub- 

 marine ridges and rocks, not far below 

 the surface of the sea. The calcareous 

 masses usually termed coral reefs are by 

 no means exclusively composed of zoo- 

 phytes ; a great variety of shells, and 

 among them some of the largest and hea- 

 viest of known species, contributing to 

 augment the mass. The reefs, which just 

 raise themselves above the level of the 

 sea, are usually of a circular or oval form, 

 and surrounded by a deep, and often un- 

 fathomable ocean. In the centre of each, 

 there is usually a comparatively shallow 

 lagoon, where there is still water, and 

 where the smaller and more delicate kind 

 of zoophytes find a tranquil abode, while 

 the stronger species live on the exterior 

 margin of the isle. When the reef is of 

 such a height that it remains almost dry 

 at low water, the corals leave off building. 

 Fragments of coral limestone are thrown 

 up by the waves, unlil the ridge becomes 

 so high, that it is covered only during 

 some seasons of the year by the high tides. 

 The heat of the sun often penetrates the 

 mass when it is dry, and splits it. The 

 force of the waves subsequently separates 

 blocks of the coral and throws them upon 

 the reef. Afterwards the calcareous sand, 

 removed from the action of the waves, lies 

 undisturbed, and offers to the seeds of 

 trees and plants, cast upon it by the waves, 

 a soil upon which they rapidly vegetate. 



Entire trunks of trees, carried by the 

 rivers from other countries, find here a 

 resting-place : with these come small ani- 

 mals, such as insects, lizards, &c. , as the 

 first inhabitants. Even before the trees 

 form a wood, the sea-birds nestle here ; 

 strayed land-birds take refuge in the 

 bushes : and at a much later period, man 

 appears, and builds his hut on the fruitful 

 soil. Phillips. LyelL Kotzelue. Bake- 

 well. 



CORALLI'GENOUS. Producing coral. The 

 depth at which the coralligenous zoophyta 

 commence their labours is said not to 

 exceed fifteen or twenty fathoms. 



CO'RALLOID. } (from coral and tldog, 



CORALLOI'DAL. $ Gr.) Resembling co- 

 ral ; having the form of coral. 



CORALLOI'DES. (coralloides, Fr. seme del 

 corallo bianco, It.) Coral -wort ; the 

 clavaria coralloides of Linnaeus. 



CO'RBULA. (corlula, Lat.) A genus of 

 bivalves belonging to the family Corbu- 

 lacea in Lamarck's arrangement, and to 

 that of Conchacea in De Blainville's. 

 The corbula is a marine animal, found at 

 depths varying to thirteen fathoms, in 

 sandy mud. Some authors place the 

 genus corbula in Solen, others in Mya. 

 Corbulse are found both fossil and recent. 

 Fossil corbulae occur in the London clay, 

 calcaire grossier, and Norfolk crag. 

 They are also found in the Shanklin sand, 

 at Parham, and elsewhere. 



CORBULA'CEA. A family of bivalves in 

 Lamarck's system, belonging to the order 

 Dimyaria, and comprising the two genera 

 Pandora and Corbula. 



CO'RDATED. 1 (status.) Heart-shaped. 



CO'RDIFORM. (from cor and forma, Lat.) 

 Resembling the form of a heart ; heart- 

 shaped. 



CORIA'CEOUS. (coriaceus, Lat. coriacce, 

 Fr.) Resembling leather ; consisting of 

 leather ; of a leather-like consistence. 



COR-MARINUM. A genus of echmites, 

 characterized by the bilabiated mouth 

 being in the third region of the axis of 

 the base, and the anus in the side of the 

 truncated extremity. In this genus, or, 

 as he terms it, family, Leske, with Mul- 

 ler, includes spatangus, spatagoides, bris- 

 sus, and brissoides, not considering the 

 absence of the groove to be a generic dis- 

 tinction. Parkinson . 



CORDI'ERITE. Another name for iolite, or 

 prismatic quartz. 



CO'RINDON. Another name for corundum 

 or spinel. 



CO'RNEA. (from cornu, Lat. corw^e, Fr. 

 cornea dell'occhio, It.) The anterior 

 transparent portion of the ball of the eye, 

 or that portion of the front of the eye 

 which allows the rays of light to pass 



