406 
holotype and 4 paratypes, SAM H664; King George 
Sound, 22-26 m, Verco collection, 3 paratypes: 2 
(SAM H663), 1 (SEM stub 857, USNM 85715). 
Type Locality 
King George Sound, W.A.; 40-51 m. 
Description 
Corallum (anthocyathus) cuneiform, with 
straight, rounded thecal edges and planar thecal 
faces. Angle of thecal edges about 33°; angle of 
thecal faces 10°. Holotype 6.1 x 2.8 mm in calicular 
diameter and 6.9 mm in height. Upper calicular 
edge slightly convex; GCD: LCD = 1.9-2.2 Region 
of basal scar highly compressed laterally and 
extends into 2 or 3, downward-projecting, 
triangular wedges: the 2 outer wedges are 
continuous with the thecal edges, whereas the 
central wedge is usually smaller (Figure 9d-e). 
Theca white and only slightly porous, more pores 
occurring on lower corallum than upper. Theca 
covered with tall (0.15 mm), circular to elongate 
(0.1-0.4 mm in length) granules (carinae) oriented 
longitudinally but not arranged as costae. 
Intercostal regions 0.05-0.06 mm wide, sometimes 
trapping irregularly shaped sand grains (Figure 
9c). Intercostal regions contain large pores 0.8-1.0 
mm in diameter, which penetrate the theca, and 
much more numerous and smaller (10 pm in 
diameter) pits. Epitheca absent. Anthocaulus 
unknown. 
Septa hexamerally arranged in 4 cycles, pairs of 
S4 present only in half-systems adjacent to tire 
principal SI, resulting in 32 septa (6:6:12:8). SI 
widest and thickest septa, the inner edges of the 4 
lateral SI fusing to the lamellar columella in upper 
fossa. S2 dimorphic in size, those 4 occurring in the 
end systems being slightly less wide and thick than 
the SI, but the 2 S2 occurring in the lateral systems 
are quite small at the calicular edge, but become 
wider and fuse to the columella deep within fossa. 
S3 also dimorphic in size, the 8 in the lateral 
systems and adjacent half-systems being about the 
same size as the larger S2, whereas the 4 closest to 
the principal septa are quite small. The 8 S4, which 
occur only in the half-systems adjacent to the 2 
principal septa, are equal to the smaller S3 in size. 
Inner edges of all septa straight; septal faces and 
lamellar columella finely granular. 
Remarks 
Two Recent and 4 fossil species have been 
described in the genus Notophyllia. Between the 2 
Recent species, both of which occur off South 
Australia (Cairns and Parker 1992), N. piscacaiuia is 
most similar to N. elheridgi, having a similarly 
shaped highly compressed corallum, but differs in 
having 32 hexamerally arranged septa (vs 48 
decamerally arranged septa), a serrated 
S-D. Cairns 
anthocyathus base (fishtail shaped), and higher 
cycle septa that are proportionately much broader 
than those of N. elheridgi. N. piscacauda differs from 
the fossil species in having a more compressed 
corallum (higher GCD:LCD) and in having a 
distinctive septal arrangement. 
In the course of comparing this new taxon to 
other species, the types of N. variolaris (Tenison 
Woods, 1878a) were borrowed, a species described 
from the Balcombian (Middle Miocene) of Victoria 
as well as the Recent of New South Wales. Only 
the 49 Recent syntypes were obtained (AMS 
G7022), 34 of which are N. recta and 15 of which 
are N. etheridgi. The primary description and 
illustration of N. variolaris, however, is based o n a 
single Middle Miocene specimen, which is a valid 
and different species from the Recent syntypes. 
This fossil specimen is herein designated as the 
lectotype of N. variolaris. Among the three fossil 
species, N. piscacauda is most similar to N. 
variolaris, both species having a similar corallum 
base shape and coarsely granular theca without 
costae. N. piscacauda differs in having a more 
elongate calice (GCD:LCD = 1.9-2.2 vs 1.4-1.8) and 
in having hexamerally arranged septa (those of N. 
variolaris being decamerally arranged: 10:10:20). 
Distribution 
Western Australia: known only from King 
George Sound; 22-51 m. 
Etymology 
The species name piscacauda (Latin piscis, fish + 
cauda, tail) is an allusion to the fishtail-shaped base 
of the anthocyathus. 
Genus Heteropsammia Milne Edwards and 
Haime, 1848b 
Heteropsammia cochlea (Spengler, 1781) 
Madrepora cochlea Spengler, 1781: 240-248, figs. 
A-D. 
Heteropsammia cochlea - Veron and Pichon, 1980: 
416-420, in part: figs. 727, 729 (synonymy and 
description).—Veron, 1986: 576-577, color figs. 
1-2, but not black and white fig. (reversed with 
figure for Heterocyathus aequicostatus, page 
559).—Veron and Marsh, 1988: 123.—Hoeksema 
and Best, 1991: 234-237, figs. 24-28 (synonymy 
and diagnosis).—Veron, 1993: 339-340, fig. 53. 
New Records 
Umataka Mane, stn 6927, 1, WAM 220-92. 
Lady: stn RW96-5, 1, NTM C8061. 
Other records: stn Pac, Mermaid Sound, Dampier 
Archipelago, 7-9 m, 13 II 1981, 2, WAM 342- and 
343-88; stn pA5, Ibid., 4 II 1981, 1, WAM 352-88; 
stn PE4-7, Ibid., 12 II 1981, 1, WAM 381-88; stn 
