TRIPL OP HY LUTES 



35 



ent; tabulae present; dissepiments may be 

 present. 



Type genus. — Hapsiphyllum Simpson, 

 1900, emend. Easton. 



Remarks. — Many of the corals included 

 in this family have formerly been included 

 in the "Zaphrentidae" of authors. Grabau 

 (1928, p. 118) proposed the family Hapsi- 

 phyllidae for what is essentially this group. 

 He included Hapsiphyllum, Allotropiophyl- 

 lum, and Mentscophyllum in the family. 

 In addition to Hapsiphyllum, Allotropio- 

 phyllum may be a member, but Menisco- 

 phyllum is not typical, although it probably 

 belongs here. 



Schindewolf considered Zaphrentoides 

 Stuckenberg to be a senior synonym of 

 Hapsiphyllum Simpson, and therefore 

 changed the family name to Zaphrentoididae 

 (1938, p. 451). The writer does not recog- 

 nize Zaphrentoides as having much taxo- 

 nomic value because of lack of information 

 about its genotype and, therefore, the fam- 

 ily name Hapsiphyllidae is revived. This 

 family includes Hapsiphyllum, Neozaphren- 

 tis, the new genus described hereunder, prob- 

 ably Meniscophyllum, and possibly Clino- 

 phyllum. 



Genus Triplophyllites Easton, 

 new genus 



Zaphrentis of authors [in part]. 

 Triplophyllum Simpson, 1900 [in part], New 



York State Mus. Bull. 39, vol. 8, p. 209. 

 Menophyllum Milne-Edwards and Hairae, Girty, 



1911, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 439, p. 28. 

 Triplophyllum, Grove, 1935, Am. Midland Na- 

 turalist, vol. 16, No. 3, p. 339. 

 Zaphrentoides (Hapsiphyllum) Schindewolf, 

 1938 [in part], Jahr. Preuss. Geol. Lande- 

 sanst. (1937), vol. 58, p. 449. 

 Triplophyllum of authors [in part]. 



Diagnosis. — Simple, small to large, nearly 

 straight to curved, conical; asexual increase 

 very rare; calyx generally evenly concave; 

 septa very short in upper part of calyx; 

 epitheca generally thin, with rugae, striae, 

 interseptal ridges, septal grooves; spines 

 may be present; major septa v^ry long in 

 early stages; minor septa very short to 

 rudimentary or absent ; cardinal fossula very 

 prominent, occupied by progressively short- 

 ened cardinal septum, bounded by generally 

 axially fused neighboring cardinal septa; 

 alar fossulae best developed in late neanic 

 stage, tending to become obscure in later 

 stages; tabulae prominent throughout; dis- 



sepiments generally sparse, irregular, mostly 

 in early portions of corallite, usually between 

 major and minor septa and never becoming 

 lonsdaleoid; septal stereozones may be 

 present. 



Genotype. — Triplophyllites palmatus 

 Easton, n. sp. 



Occurrence. — Abundant in Mississippian 

 of North America ; Tournaisian and Visean 

 of Belgium, England, Russia, and Scotland. 



Description of genotype 



Triplophyllites palmatus Easton, n. sp. 



Plate 8, figures 1-6 



Externals. — Slightly curved, mostly tro- 

 choid but sometimes ceratoid ; sparsely spin- 

 ose ; interseptal ridges strong, markedly stri- 

 ate, notably stronger on either side of the 

 four primary septa ; calyx deep ; cardinal 

 position commonly to one side of the con- 

 cave side; sections show cardinal and alar 

 fossulae present in the calyx, cardinal sep- 

 tum very short in a long narrow fossula, 

 counter and alar septa slightly longer than 

 other major septa. 



Transverse sections. — Minor septa devel- 

 oped very late in ephebic stage and always 

 i;udimentary. 



In late ephebic stage (diameters 14.3 by 

 15.8 mm) 34 major septa, of which car- 

 dinal septum is very short and located in 

 very long, narrow fossula; counter septum 

 slightly thicker than other septa; one or 

 two groups of palmate septa occur in coun- 

 ter quadrants which are accelerated ; minor 

 septa present in a few loculi (pi. 8, fig. 1). 



In middle ephebic stage (diameter 11.3 

 mm) 28 major septa; palmate arrangement 

 of septa in counter quadrants quite marked ; 

 cardinal fossula long and somewhat axially 

 expanded ; long septum shown in it in plate 

 8, fig. 2 is a metaseptum and not cardinal 

 septum, which is masked by stereoplasm to 

 right of long septum. 



Through progressively earlier ephebic 

 stages (pi. 8, figs. 3a-3d) lengths of the 

 palmate septa decrease in counter quadrants 

 until they are indicated only by septal 

 grooves; at the same time, cardinal septum 

 becomes longer. 



In very early ephebic and late neanic 

 stages (pi. 8, figs. 4a-4c), number of septa 

 further decreases; tabulae not observed in 

 neanic stages. 



