53 
H. A. Nicholson, and the Writer,* * * § and later by the former alone. As now restricted it 
contains Favositiform corals with thin-walled corallites opening obliquely on the surface 
®ub-triangular or seini-lunar calicos. The septa are either obsolete or in the form of 
longitudinal rows of spinules. It has been already pointed out by Mr. A. H. Foord and 
the Writer t that the species upon which De Koniuck’s genus Billingaia was founded is 
a true Alveolites, and it follows, therefore, that Billingsia must now be considered a 
synonym of the latter. Previous to this determination. Prof. II. A. Nicholson had 
^eniarked,+ “ It seems hardly possible, with our present knowledge, to arrive at any 
Certain conclusions as to its tnie systematic position” (i.e., of Billingsia). 
Oladopora, Hall, as defined by Ildminger,§ does not appear to differ essentially from 
Alveolites. The corallites are said to be usually devoid of tabulae, but Eominger 
ebserves— “ Their occasional development is proved by many actual observations.” 
Under this name there have been described from the Palaeozoic rocks of Australia 
the following species The Upper Silurian Series of Burrowang has yielded to the 
’’csearches of Prof. De Koninck,|| Alveolites repens, Fougt., and A. rapa, De Kon. The 
®o-called Lower Devonian rocks of the same Colony have yielded Alveolites sulaqualis, 
Edw. and H., and A. obscunis, De Kon. The Queensland Alveolites in no way correspond 
to any of these ; indeed, the two new species described by Prof. Do Koninck appear to 
be very unsatisfactorily established, and nothing is known of their microscopic structure. 
In addition to the foregoing, Prof. H. A. Nicholson and the Writer described two 
ittiperfectly known sj)ecies in 1879. 
Alveolites alteolaeis. Be Koninch, sp., PI. 2, figs. l-3a. 
^illmgsia alveolaris, De Kon., Toss. Dal. Nouv.-Galles du Sud, 1876, Pts. 1-2, p. 75, t. 2, t. 4 a, b. 
MveoUtes alveolaris, Eth. fil. and Foord, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Uist., 1884, xiv., p. 176, t. 6, f. 1-lc. 
Sp. Char. Corallum massive and apparently lobate. Corallites minute (about 
two in the space of a millim.), closely contiguous, of considerable length and their walls 
Somewhat thick ; the apertures of the calicos present an irregularly lunate form, and in 
^ome of them a single tooth-like septum may be detected. Tabulas well developed, 
horizontal, or a little curved and tolerably numerous. Mural pores large, in a single 
Tories placed at pretty regular intervals of about half a millimeter apart. 
Ohs. The highly crystalline condition of the specimens rendered their determi- 
nation very difficult. They occur in the shape of w'eathered masses in wdiich some parts, 
^’^der than the rest, stand out in relief and exhibit wmll the structures described 
^bove. One of the specimens has the surface studded with small conical elevations, 
^ nnt 1 centimeter apart, measured from their summits. The significance of these is 
apparent, and their occurrenee is not known in any species of Alveolites. Of the 
"'0 species of Alveolites recorded from Australian Devonian rocks, only one (A. 
^'^l><Bqualis, Ed, and H.) need be compared with the present form, and the much smaller 
corallites of the latter afford sufficient grounds for their separation. 
In his “Palmozoic Fossils of New South Wales,” Prof. L. G. De Komnek 
restituted a genus under the name of Billingsia, for a Devonian coral from t e 
neighbourhood of Tass, which the author describes as apparently devoid of tabulm 
( ies planchers scmblent faire defaut") and as possessing lateral openings in the wa s 
n^ni^cj OTallites resem bling those of Sgringopora. M. De Koninck appears to have 
* Jouni. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), xiii., p. 353. 
t Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1884, .xiv., p. 176. 
t Tabulate Corals Pal. Period, 1879, p. 186. 
§ Report Geol. Survey Michigan, 1876, iii., Pt. 2, p. 50. 
. II Foss. Pal. Nouv.-Galles du Sud, 1876, Pt. 1, pp. 17, 18, 19. 
