470 Reviews — Bernard's Madreporarian Corals. 



GonioporcB from Bracklesham Bay and Brockenhurst (pp. 147-153). 

 Kussia furnishes a Lower Cretaceous form from the Crimea 

 (pp. 153-154). There is also a form from the Eocene of Somali- 

 land described by Gregory. In the analytical tables of results 

 (pp. 162-168) the fossil forms have their appropriate places, as e.g. 

 No. 46, Java Sea 2 and 3, Valley of the Tjilanang, Eonga, Upper 

 Miocene, and 4, near Liotjitjangkang, also U. Miocene. Then Eocene, 

 India; Miocene, Persia; Eocene, Egypt; and so on, down to 

 Upper Cretaceous, Bohemia, and Lower Cretaceous, Crimea. 



The last table gives us a summary of the whole of the known 

 forms of Goniopora, with their geographical and geological dis- 

 tribution, showing Cretaceous 5, Eocene 35, Oligocene 20, Miocene 19, 

 Pliocene 1, Pleistocene 1, Recent 70, giving a grand total of 151 

 forms, or possible species. 



There is an interesting survey of growth-forms and their dis- 

 tribution (pp. 169-186), and the summary of results (pp. 187-189). 

 "The only specimens" (of corals), says Mr. Bernard, "showing 

 unmistakeable genetic affinities are those which have been gathered 

 from the same spot and are obviously daughter-colonies of one and 

 the same parent." 



"The largest area over which such a genetic group is as yet 

 known to spread is that of the Maldive Islands. One simple form 

 of Gonioporan colony, vpith calicles which are those characteristic 

 of its type of growth, has been discovered by Mr. Gardiner occurring 

 at considerable depths round at least four of these islands," the 

 evidence showing that they are all alike developed on a soft muddy 

 bottom. "This determined the growth-form, and this is largely 

 responsible for the type of the calices " (p. 188). Mr. Bernard 

 thinks that " The Stony Corals are still too elementary in their 

 organisation to be able to acquire any but transient stability, if 

 such an expression can be admitted ; they also respond very quickly 

 to their environment." 



" The chief results, then," says Mr. Bernard, " are practically all 

 that could be expected from the relatively small amount of the 

 material. They are almost exclusively morphological, phylogenetic, 

 and biological. The sj^stematio arrangement of the forms in the 

 order of their evolution cannot yet be attempted." 



We desire to record our admiration for the plates, especially those 

 of the present volume, in particular plates i to x^ giving enlarged 

 views of portions of growth-forms from various examples (numbers 

 and localities given in each case). These, which are enlarged five 

 times natural size by photography, far exceed in beauty and 

 accuracy of detail those of the previous volumes. 



"We heartily commend Mr. Bernard's work to the attentive con- 

 sideration of all zoologists, and more especially of those who are 

 interested in recent and fossil corals, although, if the author carries 

 his point, all the species of corals must, in the near future, remain 

 nameless, like the ' Masque de Per,' or be represented only by 

 a locality and a number ! 



