396 BULLETIN 103, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



1902. Solenastfea hyades Verrill, Conn. Acad. Arts and Sci. Trans., vol. 11, 



p. 104, pi. 15, figs. 5, 5a, 56. 

 1917. Solenastrea hyades Vaughan, U. S. Geclogical Survey Prof. Paper 98-T 

 pp. 372, 373, pi. 98, figs. 1, la, 2, 2a, 3. 



Professor Verrill has studied Dana's types of Orbicella hyades in the 

 collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, and gives the 

 following description: 1 



Calicles circular, or nearly so, mostly 3 to 3.5 mm. in diameter; borders generally 

 distinctly elevated above the exotheca, often to the height of 0.5 to 1 mm. Younger 

 and smaller calicles, 1.5 to 2.5 in diameter, are scattered between the full-grown 

 ones. In the middle of the convex summit the calicles are so crowded that the walls 

 are in contact, and here they often become angular by crowding, and when not in 

 contact their edges may not be elevated. On other parts they may be separated by 

 intervals of 2 or 3 mm. or more. The walls are very thin. The costae are thickened 

 and roughly minutely serrulate; they are very narrow and mostly confined to the 

 wall, never extending across the exothecal spaces, when these occur. The surface 

 of the exotheca is smooth or vesicular; in sections the exotheca is openly vesicular. 



Septa 20 to 24, mostly 24 in mature calicles; 12 extend to the columella; those of 

 the third cycle are also wide, but thinner, and most of them bend toward and join 

 the larger ones about midway between the wall and columella. The septa all become 

 thin and curved toward the columella, but thickened at the wall; the summits are 

 narrowed and rather prominent above the walls; inner edge irregularly and roughly 

 serrulate, especially distally; sides roughly granulated. Paliform lobes small and 

 thin. Columella usually rather small and loose; formed of small twisted processes 

 from the inner edges of the septa, but variable in size. 



Thickness of the larger mass from St. Thomas, about 50 mm.; diameter 125 mm.; 

 diameter of calicles, mostly 3 to 3.5 mm., rarely 4 mm. 



This species is found on the Florida Reefs and throughout the West Indies. It 

 has not been found at the Bermudas. St. Thomas (coll. C. F. Hartt, Yale Mus.). 

 In the American Museum, New York, there is a large turbinate mass, 12 to 14 inches 

 in diameter and about 10 inches high, from Jamaica. 



The same author gives the following description of Orbicella 

 excelsa Dana: 2 



Dana's type of this species, in the Boston Society of Natural History, was carefully 

 studied by me a number of years ago, and descriptions were made at that time. The 

 type is apparently slightly beach-worn, but so little that the natural surface of the 

 coenenchyma and costae, and the summits of the septa are well-preserved in most 

 parts, and there is no evidence of post-mortem alteration by infiltration to account 

 for the solidity of the coenenchyma, referred to by Dana, and which is, indeed, 

 quite remarkable in most parts. The coral is very solid and heavy as contrasted 

 with 0. annularis or Solenastraea hyades. 



A fragment, apparently of the same specimen, and which appears to have been 

 used by Dana in describing the details, is preserved in the Museum of Yale University. 

 From this the accompanying photograph has been made (pi. 15, fig. 4). The coral 

 grows in irregular, often upright, lobed or gibbous masses, up to 100 to 150 mm. or 

 more high, but when young it must be encrusting. No. 1729. 



The type-specimen is so strongly lobed that the lobules in some places look like 

 incipient branches. But these may possibly be due to the coral growing over the 

 tubes of invading bivah^es or annelids, though none can be seen without sections. 



i Conn. Acad. Arts and Sci. Trans., vol. 11, pp. 104, 105, 1902. 

 2 Idem, vol. 11, pp. 98, 99, 1902. 



