224 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
de Souza. Escripto рог seu Irmão Pero Lopes de Souza.  Lisbóa, 
1839. 
This writer was at Pernambuco in 1530, and makes mention of the 
reefs at that place, at Cabo Sto., Agostinho, and at São Miguel (р. 
14-15). He gives no descriptions of them, however. 
Souza, Gabriel Soares де. Tratado descriptivo do Brazil em 1587. 
(Published anonymously at Lisbon in 1825.) Revista do Instituto 
Historica e geographico do Brazil, 1851, XIV. 
This is probably the oldest account we have of the Brazilian reefs. 
They are not described in much detail, however, and no distinction is 
made between stone and coral reefs. The author mentions (p. 25) reefs 
near Goaripari just south of Cape St. Roque. The port of Rio Grande, 
he says, has a reef like that at Pernambuco; reefs are mentioned at 
Aratipicaba (р. 26); others from Rio Magoape to’ Itamaracá (р. 
27, 31). The Pernambuco reef is said to be two leagues long (p. 33) ; 
that at Rio Formoso is mentioned, also those at Rio Camaragipe, at 
Porto Novo, and at Curruripe (p. 37). There is said to be a reef at the 
mouth of Vasabarris, at Braz Affonso, at Rio Joanne, Rio Vermelho, and 
at Porto Seguro. He tells. of the use (р. 354) of the reef rocks at 
Bahia for building the city, and says these rocks were covered at high 
tide; that *the rock is white and hard, and does not go to pieces, but 
is hard to work because it wears the tools. Fine and beautiful works 
and very large grave stones are made of it. To one examining it, it 
seems that this stone is made of sand hardened, for along these same 
reefs and close to them the rocks are all black, while the former is very 
white after it is cut. It is not very soft though, and when worked it 
shows a sandy grain, and often oyster and other shells are found inside 
the rock, and small pebbles. From this it is held that this rock is 
formed from sand, and that it has been hardened by the coldness of 
the sea-water, which is easy to believe, for there are found about these 
shores mud filled with sand and congealed and hard as rock, and some 
tree trunks also covered with this mass as hard as if they were of 
stone." 
Spix, J. B. von, and C. F. P. von Martius. Reise in Brasilien. Mün- 
chen, 1828, Vol. IL, p. 795, 799, 
On р. 795 it is said that “the harbor of Recife is formed by the rock 
reef which gave name to the place, and extends along and parallel to the 
coast in front of the town.” On page 799 they have a brief note upon 
the coral reefs along the coast of Ceará. 
