porites

[Latin por us; suff. -ites.) [PORE (1).] 1. Zool.: The typical genus of Poritide. Animals urceolate, with twelve very short tentacles; polypidom porous and echinated. The species take part in the formation of coral reefs, at a le depth than the Astræidæ and at the same depth as Me and rin a. Darwin describes the margin of a coral island as largely formed of ma es of Porites irregularly rounded, from four to eight feet broad, and separated by crooked channels about six feet deep. As it extends it spreads laterally, so that many of the ma es terminate upward in broad flat summits when the coral is dead. 2. Palæont.: One species in the Middle Eocene. sin, as; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f. IMG:content-1344.png:[blocks in formation]