354 Mr. P. W. Bassett-Smlth on 



determinations, if Dr. G. J. Hinde had not, at the sacrifice 

 of much time, most kindly gone over the whole of the collec- 

 tion and revised my work. Owing to various circumstances 

 the present Report is limited to an enumeration of the different 

 species which have been determined ; amongst them are many 

 forms which in Dr. Hinde's opinion are apparently new, but 

 a detailed description of these is delayed until they can be 

 reexamined with the assistance of additional material, and 

 until an opportunity can be found to figure them suitably. 

 I have thought it desirable to subjoin some brief notes on the 

 character of the reefs whence the corals were obtained. 



The Tizard Bank (PL XII.) is situated in lat. 10° N., 

 long. 114° E., near the centre of the China Sea between the 

 Philippines and the Malay Peninsula. Like many others 

 in the same region it is irregularly circular in outline ; and 

 it has an extreme length of 32 miles and a breadth of 10, 

 and it is surrounded by deep water. 



But with such an extended margin the only portions of the 

 bank which project above the surface of the sea consist of three 

 small islets, each from half a mile to one mile in length, and 

 two very small sand-kays of about one mile each. For the 

 greater part of the circumference of the bank, that is for 50 

 out of 67 miles, the rim is within 10 fathoms of the surface. 

 On the north-east side there are two extensions of the bank, 



5 and 4^ miles in length respectively ; the first of these is 

 nearly uncovered at low water, whilst the other is at a depth 

 of 6 fathoms. 



' The area of the lagoon inclosed within this bank is very 

 extensive ; it has an average depth of 40 fathoms, with a few 

 scattered elevations here and there, the eastern end being the 

 most shallow portion. The bottom of the lagoon is covered 

 by a fine foraminiferal sand, and the same material extends 

 over the floor of the narrow channels which cut through the 

 rim and connect the lagoon with the outer sea. At depths of 



6 to 10 fathoms long channels paved with this sand can be 

 seen bounded on either side by walls of living coral. 



From the central portion of this sandy floor of the lagoon, 

 at a depth of 45 fathoms, a living Astrasan coral belonging to 

 an apparently new species of Favia was dredged up, thus 

 showing the existence of these reef-building forms at depths 

 much greater than it has been supposed they could flourish 

 in. I may here point out that the evidence obtainable by the 

 lead alone regarding the presence of living corals is entirely 

 misleading and almost worthless. For example, judging 

 from the observations obtained by the lead, the greater part 

 of the corals on the surface of the Macclesfield Bank appeared 



