. The cyclopædia of anatomy and physiology. Anatomy; Physiology; Zoology. POLYPIFERA. hering to it; sometimes they are fixed to other madrepores by an elongated pedicle, and occasionally, as we learn from a recent author, grow from the substance of the parent zoophyte. His account is as follows : — " The specimens of Fungia which I have seen generally lie in hollows of reefs, where they are in some degree protected from the more violent agitation of the sea by the sur- Fig. rounding portions of branching coral which enclose the hollows, and at the same time allow sea-water free access thr
. The cyclopædia of anatomy and physiology. Anatomy; Physiology; Zoology. POLYPIFERA. hering to it; sometimes they are fixed to other madrepores by an elongated pedicle, and occasionally, as we learn from a recent author, grow from the substance of the parent zoophyte. His account is as follows : — " The specimens of Fungia which I have seen generally lie in hollows of reefs, where they are in some degree protected from the more violent agitation of the sea by the sur- Fig. rounding portions of branching coral which enclose the hollows, and at the same time allow sea-water free access through their in- terstices. It appears that although the older and larger individuals are quite unattached and present no mark of former attachment, yet that in the young state they are fixed sometimes to rocks, and frequently to the dead remains of their own species ; in this Fungia actiniformis. (After Quay et Gaimard.) state they grow upon a footstalk, and gene- rally remain attached till they acquire the size of nearly an inch in diameter, when they separate at the top of the ; "At this time the coral, when divested of the fleshy part, shows a circular opening be- neath, through which the radiating plates of the upper surface are visible. In a short time a deposit of coral matter takes place, which cicatrises the opening, the marks of which, however, can be traced for a consider- able time ; at length the increase of this de- posit, which continues with the growth of the animal, entirely obliterates all appearance of it. It will not appear surprising that this cir- cumstance should hitherto have been un- noticed, when it is recollected that it has very rarely occurred to naturalists to visit the places of their growth, and that to general collectors the smaller specimens would appear hardly worth the trouble of preserving and bringing ; " The sheltered situation in which the FinigifE are found are particularly well adapted to their na
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