Note 229 — Chapter VII

A name derived from the tentacula, or processes, which in some species serve for prehension, and in others for respiration.

[230] The basis, framework, or endo-skeleton, of these groups of animalcules is termed the polyparium, or polypidom (polype-habitation); those of a stony hardness are familiarly known as corals; these names, therefore, refer to the durable substance, and not to the animals themselves; but in familiar writing, the term Coral is often used to designate the entire living mass. The Red-Coral forms a distinct genus called Corallium. In fossils, the polyparium alone remains, except in very rare instances.