1 88 



THE OCEAN WORLD. 



In Madrcpora palinata, vulgarly named Neptune's Car, we have 

 a large and beautiful species, whose expanding branches are flat, 

 round at the base, and formed into lobes, whose length is often as 

 much as three feet high, with a breadth of twenty inches, and a 



f!^.. 



m^m. 



.^^^. 



'^fii^-^^^v^^^^^^' 



Fig. 72. — Pontes furcata (Lamarck), natural size. 



thickness of two to two and a halt : this fine madrepore is found in 

 the Caribbean Sea and among the Antilles. 



Here also comes Astreopora punctifera. Fig. 64, p. 180. 



The genus Poritcs belong to the second family Poritinas of the 

 perforated madrepores, the polypidom is entirely formed by a reticu- 

 lated sclerenchyma, the animal is somewhat pitcher-shaped, with 

 twelve short tentacula ; the cells are unequally polygonal, imperfectly 



