Mr. P. M. Duncan on the Corals of the Maltese Miocene, 273 



XXX. — 0)1 the Corals of the Maltese Miocene. 

 By P. Mautin Duncan, M.B. Lond., Sec. Geol. Soc. 



[Plate XL] 



The Corals discovered in the strata in the island of Malta are 

 generally badly preserved. Either they are found as casts or 

 are so filled with a ferruginous mineral as to be indeterminable. 

 The itw which are well preserved offer some points of interest, 

 and add to the palseontological data upon which the geological 

 age of the whole series of strata is determined. 



MM. Milne- Edwards and Jules Haime have described two 

 species from the island, but have not mentioned the bed whence 

 they were derived — the Acanthocyathus HastingsicE, Ed. & Haime, 

 and the Ueliastraa Prevostana, Ed. & Haime*. The second 

 species is founded on a badly preserved coral of the genus 

 Astrcea (now termed Heliastrcea by those able zoophytologists) ; 

 and its specific characters are not sufficiently given to be com- 

 prehended. But it is not amongst the collection about to be 

 described. 



Following Dr. Adams's f last classification of the Maltese 

 strata, and arranging the Corals under their respective beds, 

 the species are thus distributed ; — 



1. The Coralline Limestone (uppermost stratum). 



Astrcea (^Heliastrcea) Ellisiana, Defrance. Other localities, 



Miocene of Dax, Turin, Crete, &c. 

 Astrcea {Heliastrcea) Forbesi, sp. nov. Allied to the Miocene 



A. Barbade7ms, nobis. 



2. The Yellow Sand. 



Stephanophyllia iinperialis, Michelin. Astesan Tertiaries. 

 Flabellum extensum, Michelin. Miocene of Turin, Villeneuve- 



lez- Avignon, Antwerp. 

 Coenocyathus Adatnsi, sp. nov. Allied to recent species in the 



Mediterranean. 

 Acanthocyathus Hastingsice, Ed. & Haime. (?) 



3. The Clay-bed. 



Stephanophyllia imperialis, Michelin. 



4. The Calcareous Sandstone. 



CoenocyathtiSj sp. 



* Hist. Nat. des Corall. vol. ii. pp. 22 & 4/8. 



t See various papers by Drs. Wright and Adams on the Eehinodermata 

 of these strata in Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., and bj-^ Prof. R. Jones and my- 

 self in Geol. Mag. No. 3, 1864, 



Ann. ^ Mag, N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol xv, 18 



