22 
MADAGASCAR 
north, I found a sandy beach. The island of Ste. Marie 
exhibits reefs and so does the opposite mainland. The 
harbour at Vohemar is rich in coral, while the edge of 
the coast to the south of it is everywhere sandy. Near 
Diego Suarez there are no continuous coral reefs; on 
the other hand, local coral formations occur on the shores 
of Nossi-Be, as, for example, in the bay near Locube, 
but in other parts, owing to the mangrove vegetation, 
they are not found. 
On the western side genuine reefs occur more sporadic¬ 
ally, and as yet we know but little of the coral reefs 
in the south, which appear to be of small extent. 
In beauty the coral constructions of the coast of Mada¬ 
gascar are markedly inferior to those of the Pacific 
Ocean and the Red Sea. The splendid colouring is 
wanting and dull brown tones prevail in its stead. 
I met with knotted millepores and allarias of very 
numerous species, besides branched madrepores, and lofty 
species of galaxea mingled with brown beds of xenia 
and elegant chocolate-coloured ammothoea like miniature 
trees. There is an alcyonid of tubular structure, peculiar 
to this district, which frequently occurs near Nossi-Be, 
but is only to be found in a few European museums. It 
is the Coelogoi^gia palmosa and forms reddish brown shrubs. 
