TERTIARY CORALS. 41 



of iron. Many have been rolled j and in all the original carbonate of lime of the sclerenchyma 

 has been but slightly altered. 



TAMihY—JSTB^ID^. 



Sub-family— ASTR^IN^. 

 Tribe— ASTRMA.C^JE. 



GemiS — SoLENASTRiEA.'' 



The generic characters of the Solenastree<s are as follows -^ 



The corallum is usually massive, convex, cellular, and light : the corallites are long, 

 and are united by a well-developed exotheca, and not by the costse, which are never large 

 enough to come in contact with those of neighbouring corallites. The costse are always 

 more or less rudimentary. The calicular margins are free and circular : the columella is 

 spongy, and usually but feebly developed. The septa are very thin, and are formed by 

 well-developed laminae.: their margin is dentate, and the lowest teeth are the largest. 

 The endothecal dissepiments are simple, numerous, and close. The gemmation is extra- 

 calicinal. 



The species already recorded have been separated into those with rudimentary and 

 those with distinct columellse,^ but they are all well and easily distinguished from the six 

 forms about to be described. 



1. SoLENASTRiEA CELLXJLOSA, Buncan. PI. V, figS. 1 7. 



The corallum is rather short, and appears to increase in breadth : its upper surface 

 is irregular, and covers more space than the lower. 



The corallites are inclined, distant, parallel, and are connected by a cellular exotheca 

 which here and there forms a denser connecting tissue. 



The calices are unequal in size and irregular in outline ;* they project considerably above 



1 ' Compt. Rend, de I'Acad. des Sc.,' vol. xxvii, p. 494, 1848. Milne-Edwards and J. liaime. 



2 ' Hist. Nat. des Corall.,' vol. ii, p. 495, Milne-Edwards et J. Haime. 



3 Edwards and Haime, op. cit., page 497. * Plate V, fig. 7. 



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