A Study of Sociality in the Madreporaria

The type of sociality found in the Madreporaria is necessarily primitive. While we were making this study two criteria of sociality have been adopted and applied: first, the proximity of one corallite to another; second, organic communication between associated polyps and corallites. As the two criteria indicate, sociality is examined from the standpoint of morphology of hard parts. This is necessary because of the extent of the field covered, the absence of live specimens, and the inclusion of fossils