A A AAA AAA — ——À ió 
236 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
Corallum, compound, one of the Astreide agglomerate gemmantes accord- 
ing to Duncan's classification. Reproduction by budding between the calices. 
The form ramous, or in small heads (see Duncan's M. cyathiformis). Coral- 
lites rather small, joined by coste. The surface of the extra corallite area 
granulate, the granules placed along the coste, which become plainly visible 
only in sections. Septa, in type species in three cycles, with very obscurely 
dentate, almost entire margins, sides granulate. Pali before the first and sec- 
ond cycles. The pali are small and delicate, and are not arranged in two 
distinet crowns, although sometimes those before the second cycle are a little 
nearer the wall than those of the first cycle. Endotheca present. Columella 
usually of several stout pillars, each having a rounded knob-like upper surface. 
The number of pillars varies from one to four. When there are one or two 
large pillars a small one or two may often be seen. In section, the pillars are 
joined by processes to each other and to the inner ends of the septa, so the 
columella in sections appears spongy, but by careful examination the pillars 
can be distinguished. 
This genus, although it groups with Orbicella and Columnastrea, is very 
distinet. "The surface between the corallite is very different from that of the 
former, and a further distinction is in the columella. Orbicella has a false 
spongy columella. In Münich, through the courtesy of Geheimerath Prof. 
von Zittel, I had the opportunity of studying a fine suite of Columnastreca 
striata (Goldfuss), the type species of the genus.! The columella in Colum- 
nastrea striata is a simple style. There is a single crown of six pali sur- 
rounding it, standing before only one cycle of septa. In neither of these 
essential generic characters does the Jamaican coral agree with Colwmnastrea ; 
the columella of the former, as already stated, is not a single style, but consists 
usually of several pillars ; there are not six, but twelve pali. It seems impos- 
sible to include the two in the same genus; therefore I have suggested a new 
generic designation for Dunean's Meliastræa cyathiformis. 
In the following specific description there is some repetition of the descrip- 
tions of characters given in the above. 
Multicolumnastrea cyathiformis (Duncan). 
Plate XXXVII. Figs. 5-7, and Plate III. Fig. 1. 
1865. Heliastrea exsculpta, Duncan (non Reuss), Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. 
London, Vol. XXI. pp. 7, 8, 11. 
1865. Heliastrea cyathiformis, Duncan, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, Vol. 
XXI. pp. 7, 8, Plate I. Figs. 1 a, 1b, 
1868. Heliastrew exsculpta, Duncan, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, Vol. 
XXIV. p. 24 
1868. Heliastrea cyathiformis, Duncan, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, London, 
Vol. XXIV. p. 24. 
1 Edwards and Haime, Hist. Nat. des Coral., 1857, Tom. II. pp. 262, 263. 
