COR 



spectacle presented by living poly- 

 paria covering every portion of the 

 bottom of the Eed Sea, that he is 

 said to have exclaimed. " "Where 

 is the paradise of flowers that can 

 rival in variety and beauty these 

 living wonders of the ocean. 

 Lyell. Mantell. BucklanA. Bak&well. 



COEALLI'FERI. An order of polypi, 

 embracing those species which were 

 so long considered to be marine 

 plants. 



CO'RALLINE. Belonging to the class 

 Zoophyta, order Eschara, each 

 polypus being contained in a cal- 

 careous or horny shell, without any 

 central axis. The animal which 

 secretes and inhabits coral. Fossil 

 corallines abound among the radiata 

 of the transition series, proving that 

 this family had entered thus early 

 upon the important geological func- 

 tions of adding their calcareous 

 habitations to the solid material of 

 the strata of the globle. 



CO'EAL-EAG. (So named from an 

 abundance of fossil corals generally 

 found in it.) A member of the 

 middle division of oolite, of the 

 thickness of about forty feet, in the 

 Bath district. "The coral-rag of 

 England, and analogous zoophytic 

 limestones of the oolitic period in 

 different parts of Europe, bear a 

 resemblance to the coralline forma- 

 tions now in progress in the seas of 

 warmer latitudes." Lyell. The 

 coral-rag comprises a series of beds, 

 occupying in some places a thick- 

 ness of from one to two hundred 

 feet. 



CO'EAL EEEF. \ It is a curious, but 



CO'EAL ISLAND, j indisputable 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 innumerable coral islands 

 rise above, and innumerable reefs 

 and shoals lie just below, the surface 

 of the waves. The observations of 



[ 106 ] C 



modern voyagers have thrown much 

 light on the formation of coral is- 

 lands and reefs ; they concur in the 

 opinion 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 submarine ridges 

 and rocks, not far below the surface 

 of the sea. M. M. Quoy and Gai- 

 mard observe that the species which 

 form the most extensive banks belong 

 to the genera Meandrina, Caryo- 

 phyllia, and Astrea, but especially 

 to the latter; and that these genera 

 are not found at depths exceeding 

 a few fathoms. The calcareous 

 masses usually termed coral reefs 

 are by no means exclusively com- 

 posed of zoophytes; a great variety 

 of shells, and among them some of 

 the largest and heaviest 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 unfathomable 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, until 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 undis- 

 turbed, and offers to the seeds of 



