Fam. 2. Oculinidae.—Colonial forms, dendritic or encrusting, with relatively large and rather prominent calices separated by considerable stretches of compact coenosteum. The zooids bear a crown of ten to forty-eight or more capitate tentacles.
Neohelia has a fistulose stem lined internally by a horny membrane. There seems to be some reason for supposing that this membrane is formed by the zooids themselves. A similar membrane is found in the fistulose stems of Amphihelia and perhaps other Oculinidae. If this membrane is really formed by the activity of the corals it forms an exception to the general rule that the skeleton of the Madreporaria is entirely calcareous. Others maintain, however, that this membrane is formed by the Chaetopod worms which are found in the tubes, and that the fistulose stem of the coral is formed by folding round and encrusting the horny tubes of the worm. Neohelia is found in the Pacific Ocean.[[415]]
Lophohelia is a genus forming dendritic colonies of considerable size. The calices have thick walls and are very deep. Lophohelia prolifera has been found in deep water off the island of Skye and in other localities off the west coast of Scotland. It is also not uncommon in some of the Norwegian fjords and in other parts of the world.
Oculina is another widely distributed genus found in the shallow tropical waters of the West Indies, the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It forms dendritic colonies of considerable size. The calices are usually arranged in a spiral manner on the branches. The colour of the West Indian species is stated to be light or dark brown when alive. The tentacles are arranged in three cycles, and are usually twenty-four in number. Asexual reproduction takes place by budding at the apex of the branches.
Fam. 3. Astraeidae.—This is a very large family, and authorities are not agreed as to its limits or classification. Excluding the simple forms for the present, the family may be said to be distinguished by having the calices so closely crowded that there is little or no coenosteum between them. The corallum is compact and massive, unless bored and perforated by algae, worms, and other coral-destroying organisms.
The genera of Astraeidae that form colonies may be divided into two groups: the Gemmantes and the Fissiparantes. In the group Gemmantes asexual reproduction is effected by gemmation, and each zooid of a colony is a distinct individual with two pairs of directive mesenteries. Among the best known of recent corals included in this group may be mentioned Galaxea. In this genus there is a good deal more coenosteum between the calices than there is in most of the Astraeidae. The calices are long and project some distance above the coenosteum. The septa are exsert. In Galaxea esperi examined by Fowler[[416]] there are twelve septa, twelve pairs of mesenteries, and twenty-four tentacles, of which twelve are very small and twelve rather larger. The colour is green or brown. The genus is found in shallow water in the tropics of the old world.
In Astrangia solitaria the zooids are either isolated or more generally united by thin strands of perithecal tissue to form encrusting colonies. The septa are not exsert as in Galaxea. Six are prominent and belong to the first cycle, six smaller ones form a second cycle, and an incomplete third and fourth cycle may be seen. Corresponding with each septum there is a tentacle. The tentacles of the innermost cycle are the longest (3 mm. in length). All the tentacles terminate in a knobbed apex. The living zooids are colourless throughout, or display only very delicate tints within restricted areas.[[417]] This genus occurs principally on the coasts of the American continent, extending as far south as the Straits of Magellan. Other well-known genera of Astraeidae Gemmantes are Orbicella, Cladocora, Phyllangia.
In the group Fissiparantes asexual production takes place by fission without the production of morphologically complete zooids. The tentacles, mesenteries, and septa, when fission is established, are not arranged in regular hexameral cycles, and no new directive mesenteries arise. In some cases very large corals are formed, and, if our conception is correct, these must be regarded, not as a colony of zooids, but as a single individual zooid divided into a considerable number of incompletely separated parts. Among the well-known genera belonging to this group are Euphyllia, Mussa, Meandrina, Coeloria, Favia, and Goniastraea.
In such genera as Euphyllia the parts of the colony become separated by deep grooves, and have the superficial appearance of being distinct individuals; but in the Brain-coral Coeloria and others the surface of the coral presents a series of more or less bent or curved grooves, each with a row of slit-shaped mouths and bordered by rows of tentacles.
A number of genera of solitary corals united in the subfamily Trochosmiliacea are generally included in the family Astraeidae. The study of their skeletal characters has suggested[[418]] that they are more closely allied to the Turbinoliidae. The principal genera thus transferred would be Trochosmilia, Placosmilia, Parasmilia, and Asterosmilia. As these genera and their allies are nearly all extinct, and nothing is known of the structure of the living zooids, their removal from the Astraeidae may be regarded as not fully justified.