104 CORALS AND CORAL LSLANB8. ' 



To the animal of the Coryoe, that of the very common, and 

 often large, corals, called Millepores, is closely related, as first 

 detected by Agassiz on one of his cruises to the reefs of Flori- 

 da. The author often had Millepore corals under study in the 

 Pacific, and waited long for the expansion of the animals, but 

 was never gratified by their making their appearance. Agas- 

 siz observes that they are very slow in expanding themselves. 

 When expanded, they have no resemblance to true polyps. 

 There is simply a fleshy tube with a mouth at top and a few 



ANIMALS OF MILLEPORA ALCICOBNIS, MUCH ENLARGED. 



small rounded prominences in place of tentacles, four of them 

 sometimes largest. The preceding figure, from Agassiz, shows, 

 much enlarged, a portion of a branch of the Millepora alcicor- 

 nis with the animals expanded, and the small figure a, near 

 the top of the cut, gives the natural size of the same. 



The corals of the Milleporse are solid and stony, as much 

 so as any in coral seas. They have generally a smooth sur- 

 face, and are always without any prominent calicles, there being 

 only very minute rounded punctures over the surface, from 

 which the animals show themselves. The cells in the corallum 

 are divided parallel to the surface by very thin plates or tables, 

 as in the Pocilliporse and Favosites ; and they were former- 

 ly classed, therefore, with other tabulate corals. 



