14 Gymnophyllum wardi Peculiar Specimen 04 evidence of regeneration

This specimen of Gymnophyllum wardi shows evidence of regeneration (the appearance of one corallite growing atop another). The angle of regeneration suggests the young corallite may have become tilted before sprouting a new top in a more upright orientation.

Although Gymnophyllum wardi has been extinct for millions of years, we can imagine their appearance in life based on pictures we can see by googling the term “button coral”.

If you would like to learn more about Gymnophyllum wardi, I recommend two excellent sources that can be downloaded as pdf files from Google Scholar, as follows:

Jeffords, R. M. (1955). Septal arrangement and ontogeny in some porpitid corals. University of Kanas Paleontological Contributions: Coelenterata, 2, 1-16.

Sunderland, P. K., & Haugh, B. N. (1969). The discoid rugose coral Gymnophyllum: Growth form and morphology. In K. S. W. Campbell (Ed.), Stratigraphy and palaeontology: Essays in honour of Dorothy Hill (pp. 27-42). Canberra: ANU Press.