274 Mr. H. M. Bernard on the 
Martin Duncan * in his revision of Milne-Edwards’s system 
in 1884. 
This definite association of Astrwopora with Turbinaria as 
members of the same subfamily led to the recognition of an 
important generic distinction. Turbinaria was distinguished 
from Astreopora by its well-developed columella. This led 
again to the transference of another of de Blainville’s Astreo- 
porans to the Turbinarians ; Astr@opora stellulata, possessing 
acolumella, became Turbinaria stellulata, and has since been 
looked upon as a transition form connecting the two genera. 
My own study of the specimens of the two genera contained in 
the British Museum collection has led me to the conclusion 
that there is no close affinity between them. They are inde- 
pendent developments of coenenchymatous corals, their respec- 
tive specializations being too distinct to be deducible one from 
the other. 
I desire again to tender my sincerest thanks to Dr. Giinther, 
F.R.S., the Keeper of the Zoological Department of the 
Museum, for the kindly interest he has taken in my work, and 
to Professor Bell for his readiness to assist me in every way. 
There are thirty specimens of Astrw@opora in the National 
Collection, this small number being probably indicative of the 
rarity of the genus. In his recent visit to the west coast of 
Australia, Mr. Saville Kent only succeeded in obtaining a 
single specimen. ‘These thirty specimens fall into fourteen 
groups, sufficiently distinct to rank as species. The number 
of species hitherto recorded is only five; hence there are at 
least nine new species represented in the collection. 
Three of the five recorded species were established by 
Lamarck. His descriptions are very short and inadequate, 
and their identification is at once difficult and uncertain. Of 
the other two recorded species the single (type) specimen of 
one (A. expansa, Briiggemann +) was fortunately in the 
collection, and four figures of the other (A. profunda, Verrill) 
are given by Danat in the Atlas to his ‘ Zoophytes’ under 
the title of A. pulvinaria, Lamarck. 
Accepting Lamarck’s suggestion that two of his species— 
A, myriophthalma and A. pulvinaria—might be different 
growths of the same, the established species were reduced to 
four, and the thirty specimens belonging to the Museum were 
ultimately arranged into fourteen species, ten of which are new. 
* ‘Journal of the Linnean Society,’ Zoology, vol. xviii. (1885). 
+ Described in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) vol. xix. p. 416 (1877). 
t Plate xxix. figs. 3, 5a, 34, 3c. 
