128 



a thickened cell-wall near the surface of the corallum, simply in response to 

 the ramose growth. 



The ramose Favosites, or PacJiypora of many authors, are very common,, 

 for instance, in the Devonian rocks of Rheinland, Germany, and among them, 

 Fkech distinguished four species, F. polyinorpha Goldf., F. reticulata 

 Blainv., F. cristata E. et H., and F. nidiolsoni Frech. According to this 

 author, F . polymorpJia is characterized by its tuberous or branching corallum, 

 the corallites of which are o.Z-2.0 mm. in diameter, crossed by numerous 

 tabulae, but provided with no spines. F. cristata, on the other hand, is dis- 

 tinguished from the former by its corallites being traversed by but few tabifiae 

 and surrounded by a much more thickened wall. In F. rcticulatas, the 

 corallum branches copiously, sometimes anastomosig, and its corallites which 

 never exceed i mm. in diameter, are provided with numerous spines. Lastly 

 F. nicholsoiii with a corallum similar in habitus to that of F. rcticulatas, is 

 characterized by having corallites with the wall thickened by secondary scle- 

 renchymatous deposits which are more developed than in any of the preceding 

 species.'^ 



The corals described by M'Edwards and Haime under the names F. cer~ 

 vicornis*^^ Mid F. reticulata^'' in the "British Fossil Corals" are according to 

 Fkech specifically identical with his F. polyinorpha ; while his F. iiicJiolsoni 

 is based on F. ccrvicornis described by Nicholson from Gerolstein.^^ 



The name F. nicJiolsoni was, however, subsequently withdrawn by 

 GuRiCH,'^ after consultation with Frech, this being considered essentially 

 identical with F. rcticulatus. Gi^'RiCH further transferred F. cristata of Frech 

 from the genus Favosites to Striatopora ; the latter genus is distinguished by 

 the circular apertures of its corallum, which sink more or less deeply below 



1) G. LiNDSTROM: Beschreibung einiger Obersilurischer Korallen dus der Insel Gotland. 

 Bihang till K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handlingar, vol. XXI., 1895, p. 28. 



2) F. Frech: Die Korallenfauna des Oberdevons ia Deutschland, p. ioq. 



3) F. Frech: I.e. 



4) M'Edwards and Haime: British Fossil Corals, p. 216, pi. XLVIII., fig. 2. 



5) M'Edwards and Haime: I.e. p. 215, pi. XLVIII, figs, i, la, lb. 



6) A. N.-CHOLSO.v: On the Structure and Affinities of the Tabulate Corals of the Palaeozoic: 

 Period, 1879, p. 82, pi. IV., figs. 3-3d. 



7) GIrich: Das Palaeozoieiim im Polnischen Mittelgebirge, 1896, p. 135. 



