46 



A NATURALIST'S WAKDERINGS 



afljftcetit scries; series aliont 2 miliim. npnrt, ealirles alwit 2 to 2*5 

 millim- apart, in the scricss. Calicles foTiuinp, everywlicre Imt on tlie ti]^^€! 

 of Ifio branches, low rounrlod elevrttioiis, by t}ie gradnal risiiif? of tlie 

 snrfacG towan1« their inferior marpiiiR to a lieipht of '25 to '7 millim., 

 and occasionally hy the similar but Terj^ sUplit elevation of their sn]>erior 

 inargiEfi. Calicles orbicular, looking npwards; orifice of adult calicles 

 •ij to '7 niillini. in fliamcter ; on the tips of the branches they open on 

 the level of the Burface of the corallnm, are more or lesfi imperfectly 

 defined from the Riirroundini; !oofo rrenenchyma, and meaeiire about '25 

 to '4 milHn). in diameter. Septa traliecnlar, consiBtinfj of vertical scries 

 of horizontal pointed projections from the wall of tlie caliele, l>cp)nningjnRt 

 helow its margin, difitinct Primaries aliout '25 niiJiim. in IcnprtJi in fall- 

 fjrown ealicles, comprising two main, opposite one^!» varioosly placed (r>, 

 from paralld to the long axis to at an angle of •15*' with the same), which 

 converge towards the lK>ttom of the calicle, wlierc they meet and fomi a 

 veriical plate ; the other primaries are sh'ghtly pmaller and do not meet 

 below. Secondaries varying from about half the dinmeter of rtriraaries to 

 mere points on the Bide of the falicle ; the secondary sejilmai between the 

 two lateral primaries is sometimei? wanting. 



(brallum slightly vermictilate, alwaye covered by minute points at 

 surface (at apex looser, very porons) ; the outer oiie-f|uarter of diameter 

 (except at apex, formed of a denser tif««c, in wliich tlic calcftreoufi 

 tralneculfe exceed iu diameter the siMices between them; tiie central one- 

 half of the diameter {viz. usually ftl>out 2 millim.), consisting of a loofe 

 tissue, in which the calcareous bars are only al>ont haff tlic diameter 

 of tlio inten-ening spaces ; the meshes of this tissue (as seen in transverse 

 section of a bninch) elongate towards margin, smaller and relatively 

 Bhorter at centre. Apices of bmneht s, to a distance of from 2-8 millim. 

 from the ends, formed of tlie looser axia] ccenoncliyma, and caiTying 

 more or les.s rudimentary caliclcs, which are at least 1 millim. from all 

 other calidf s in the same longitudinal series. 



Hah. Keebng IsJands, Indian Ocean; deeper water inside reef. 



Represented l«y a single colony nnd a detached branch, which baa 

 lived indef>cndently after its fracture from the parent specimen.* 

 They were collected and ]>reseiitcd to the British Sliiscnm by l\Ir. IT. O. 

 Forlxis, RZ.S. &c., who has aJready ( Prof.. Hoy. Gfogr. iSW., Dec. 1879) 

 described ihe#ie islands, and with whose name 1 have much pleasure in 

 associating tbis new type. The chief colony measures 83 nnllim. (3 J 

 inches) iu height, lOO millim. (4 inches) in greatest breadth, and 55milhni. 

 (2J inches) from front to back ; the detached branch, which bifurcates 

 tliree tinier, wa-s aliout CO millim. long when alive, Pnrt.*? of tlie coraltum, 

 owing either to an cvanefcent pigment or to traces of animal matter, have 

 a most delicate pink tint, 



Some interesting jwints arc brougbt out by the detnched branch ; this 

 occurs unrooted, but obviously hrtd Iwn broken off from the colony 

 while yet alive, and lived subsefpieutly free. As commonly happens in 

 such cases, the fractured snrface has healed over; but in this case the 

 new material is not a continuation of the svpfrjhuif ccenenchyma of the 

 adjacint side over the htnmp, 1>ut the prolongation outwards of the loose 

 central ccenenchjiua which has iievelo]ie<l on i*tself five or six young 

 calicles. Here also the law of centrijjctal gemmation asserts itself, these 

 calicles ocjcurring on the sides of a central cone of loose coeuenchyma, of 



• Pec Mofleley'fl * Notts by a TjaturaliBt <m ClittUmgerJ Sf>roc sf»ecjnien» 

 of fhii* (rftritrr) spccit-s were iinatlnc)ie*b thoiipb livhigt bfing in the form nf 

 rrtUHrlwJ ninm-fv < ntirtlv mvcit d willr living i^olvfn* . . . ftUtl I Fiijtpose finm 

 time U> timt' rf>llc(l over f>y the wnvoa" : p. 34 1, [H. O, F.] 



