COB 



[ 105 ] 



COR 



and believed to be fossil fir cones. 

 The animal origin of coprolites had 

 previously been suggested by 

 M. Konig, but it is to the investi- 

 gation of these substances by Pro- 

 fessor Buckland, and to his sa- 

 gacity, that we owe our present 

 knowledge of their true nature. 

 Coprolites are found in all strata 

 which contain the remains of 

 carnivorous reptiles. The real 

 origin of these coprolites is placed 

 beyond all doubt, by their being 

 found frequently within the intes- 

 tinal canal of fossil skeletons of 

 ichthyosauri. The preservation of 

 such faecal matter, and its lapidifi- 

 cation, result from the imperishable 

 nature of the phosphate of lime, 

 one of the constituents of bony 

 matter. 



COPEOLI'TIC. Composed of coprolites ; 

 resembling coprolites; containing 

 coprolites. 



COQUILLA'CEOUS. Containing shells. 

 A term applied by some authors to 

 strata abounding in shelly remains. 



COEACOID. (from Kopag, a crow, and 

 etoos, Gr.) Resembling the beak 

 of a crow. A name given to the 

 upper anterior point or process of 

 the scapula. 



CO'RAL. (icopa\\iov, Gr. corallium, 

 Lat. corail, Fr. coralla, It. It is 

 somewhat marvellous to find Todd 

 following Johnson in his description 

 of coral, and stating it to be a 

 plant.) The red coral is a branched 

 zoophyte, somewhat resembling in 

 miniature a tree deprived of its 

 leaves and twigs. It seldom exceeds 

 one foot in height, and is attached 

 to the rocks by a broad expansion 

 or base. It consists of a bright red, 

 stony axis, invested with a fleshy, 

 or gelatinous substance, of a pale 

 blue colour, which is studded over 

 with stellular polypi. Coral is 

 composed of carbonate of lime and 

 animal matter. The powers of the 

 organic creation, says Lyell, in 

 modifying the form and structure 



of the earth's crust, which may be 

 said to be undergoing repair, or 

 where new rock formations are 

 continually in progress, are most 

 conspicuously displayed in the la- 

 bours of the coral animals. We 

 may compare the operations of 

 these zoophytes in the sea to the 

 effects produced on a smaller scale 

 upon the land, by the plants which 

 generate peat. In corals, the more 

 durable materials of the generation 

 that has passed away serve as the 

 foundation on which living animals 

 are continuing to rear a similar 

 structure. Of the numerous species 

 of zoophytes which are engaged in 

 the production of coral banks, some 

 of the most common belong to the 

 genera meandrina, caryophyllia, 

 millepora, and astrea, but especially 

 the latter. It has been asked, 

 " From whence do these innume- 

 rable zoophytes and molluscous 

 animals procure the lime, which, 

 mixed with a small quantity of 

 animal matter, forms the solid 

 covering by which they are pro- 

 tected ? Have they the power of 

 separating it from other substances, 

 or the still more extraordinary 

 faculty of producing it from simple 

 elements ? The latter I consider 

 the more probable ; for the polypi 

 which accumulate rocks of coral 

 have no power of locomotion ; their 

 growth is rapid, and the quantity 

 of calcareous matter they produce, 

 in a short space of time, can scarce- 

 ly be supposed to exist in the 

 waters of the ocean to which they 

 have access, as sea- water contains 

 but a minute portion of lime." Le 

 Sueur, who observed them in the 

 West Indies, describes these poly- 

 pes, when expanded in calm 

 weather at the bottom of the sea, 

 as covering their stony receptacles 

 with a continuous sheet of most 

 brilliant colours. Ehrenberg, the 

 distinguished German naturalist, 

 was so struck by the splendid 



