8 
The Queensland Naturalist 
March, 1929' 
The foundation of the island, judging by what is seen 
on the beach, and probably on the whole reef, consists- 
of layers of coral naturally cemented into a concrete,, 
much of which is as hard as the manufactured article. 
On this is the pure coral and shell sand, of which the 
islet is composed. 
The E. and S.E. beaches of the reef are of solid wind 
and and wave-swept coral, rough under foot, and rather 
bare of life above low water mark. Around high water 
mark there are various cyclone drifts, in some cases re- 
sembling new made roadways of driven and broken white 
coral a few yards wide, perfectly level, and perhaps 2. 
or more feet in height above the solid portions. These 
drifts join up with a narrow ridge of similar material 
running parallel with the sea. This ridge serves as a 
protecting bulwark for the greater part of the lagoon 
ar.d islet, and also forms the Eastern boundary for the 
mangrove area, which consists of a belt up to about 300 
yards in width. 
The coral in ridges and in places in heaps is mostly 
hard branches, which ring almost like steel, and have 
the somewhat weird appearance of heaps of bleached 
bones. 
From the islet, extending away to the S. and SAY. 
almost to the reef edge, is an extensive flat, more or less 
dry at low water, and covered at high water ; in this area 
is much loose dead coral rock, and in the pools growing 
coral ; Eastward to the mangroves are sandy flats, merg- 
ing into a lagoon area around the Southern end of the 
mangrove, though only some foot or two- in depth at low 
tide, there being another smaller lagoon near the N.E. 
spit. 
These lagoons abound in life of various kinds, though 
the heat of the water in such confined and shallow areas 
is often much above the ordinary. Here are certain 
varieties of coral in patches, with fish darting from one 
shelter to another, large anemones, with their exquisitely 
coloured commensal fish, and phantom-like prawns. Con- 
trary to Saville Kent’s statement, both of these were 
found in association with a single anemone, on more than 
one occasion, crabs of many kinds, beche-de-mer, and 
other holothuria, a few molluscs, including a poor variety 
of pearl shell, sponges of various kinds, the tests of whose 
quality have not yet been recorded. 
Among the rocks and more broken pools towards 
the Westward side, are to be found great varieties of life ^ 
