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Kin. t, CUVTTOZOON HOREALE, l)llX>S()Il.

(h-iloricimi, Lake St. .loliii, l•.(^, raimda. Tiro o/ t/K- lironchi.i of <i Imye

Ci>mii<iuiitl Miis.i, S'ltunil ni~.i'. ColleoliMl Ity Mr. K. K. Clmiiibi'rs.

(KriHii ii I'hotoKriipli.)

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THE

CilNADIAN RECOED

OF SCIENCE.

VOL. Vll.

OCrOBKK, KS9H.

Xo. 4.

Note on Cuyptozoon and other Ancient Fossils.

liy Sir William Dawson, F.H.S., F.G.S., &c.

For iiijiny years my attention has lieen direeted, in
connection witli the discnssions re»>ar(lin«i; Kozoon, to tlie
discoveries made from time to time of (ir<,'anic remains
older than the Lower Cand»rian,and to thestndvof fossils
oecnrring in the Camhriiin, and which mi<rht he supjxtsed
likely to he snrvivals from the l*re-cand»rian periods. It
is now well known that in the Lower Candaian seas there
already existed representatives of all the classes of Marine
Invertehrates, and these represented ]»rohal»ly l)y several
hundreds of species of many <^enera, since tlie puldished
lists of American forms alone contain more than 160
species.' In the bed. immediately l)elow the Camhrian,
liowever, thono-h several forms of life have been recoo-uised
hy IJillings, Matthew, Walcott and others, they are com-
paratively rare in numhers and s])arsely (Hstrihuted
lhrouo;li great thicknesses of un])ro(hictive Iteds; and this
in connection with the frecpiently disturbed and altered
condition of the beds themselves, renders any attempt to

1 Wii' '*: Meinoii on Fauna of Lower CamlMiaii, ISKO. Ihiblicatioii.s of U.S.
tii'okigical. vev.

15

,"y

I

I.

l^ t'

204

Cnnndiaii Mcconl of Science.

collect l*re-ciiinltriiui fossils tedious and tlitlieult, as well
as often uiireiuunerative.

Ill the present ])a|)er I }»ro))ose to notice some Tic-
camltrian — or ])ossil)ly Pre-canibrian — fossils, as much with
the object of directinu; the attention of youiiu-er oeolo^ists
to the collection of orj^anic remains in these rocks as for
any other purpose, sinc(^ our knowled<;'e of the l*re-
camhrian fauna is yet in its infancy, and may ])e ret^arded
rather as something to he lioited for in the future than as
a ]»resent ])ossession.

I am dis])osed to follow ^latthew in jilacing as l*re-
cambrian, thougii still Paheozoic, the beds in Southern
Xew Brunswick designated by him as Etcheminian, and
holding a few fossils of l'ala'o/(»ic ty])es, and to corridate
with these the Signal Hill Series of Newfoundland and
the Kewenian or Kewenawan of Lake Superior.' JJelow
these, so far as yet known, we have only the Iluionian,
probably divisible into an ui)i»er and lower member, the
Grenvillian or Upper Laureiitian — the two constituting the
Eozoic grou]), — and the Lower Laurentian, Ottawa gneiss
or Ai'cluean proper.

L Ckyitozoox.

In 1(S82 Prof, James Hall described certain remarkable
stromatoporoid forms found by him in a limestone of
the (Jalciferous formation at (}reentield, Saratoga County,
New York, and which he named Onjptozoon proli/eruiiL^
The specimens occurred abundantly on the surface of the
bed, and were of rounded form and closely grouped
together, as if by a process of lateral gemmation. Each
individual is descrii)ed as consisting of " a number of
irregular concentric laminte of greater or less density and
of very irregular thickness. The substance between the

1 Miitthew, Trans. Acad. Science, N.V., Mait-li, 189t>; Trans. Koyal Soc. of Canada,
ISSil, etc. See also "Canadian Itecord ol Science," ISlHi.

2 Tliirty-8i.\th Regents' Reiiort on New York State Cabinet.

:' IiMi '

Crjiptozoon a}ul other Ancient Fossils.

205

;iii

haiiada,

coiK'oiitiio lines, in Nvi'll-idcseivi'd s|te('iiiUMis, is traversed
liy numerous minute irrej^ular eaiuils, which hraneh and
anastomose witiiout rej^ndarity. The central jH.i'tions of
the masses are usually Idled with crystalline, onmular
and oolitic material, and many specimens show the
intrusion ot these extraneous and inorganic substances
between the concentric lanuna-."

In general foi'm the masses are hemispherical or broadly
turbinate, and the layers are concave upward as if they
had grown from a central i)oint or circle and expanded
very rapidly in ascending, the general result resendjling a
series of bowls one within another. The larger masses
are from one to two feet in diameter.

Thin slices, from sjtecimens kindly presented to the
Peter Hedpath ]Museum by ]*rof. Hall, show that the
priniiiry lanuntxi are thin and apparently carbonaceous, as
if originally of a corneous or membranous character, and
they are usually finely crumpled as if by lateral pressure,'
while they can occasionally be seen to divide into two
lamina' with intervening coarsely cellular structure. The
tliick intermediate layers which separate these primary
lamina' are composed of grains of calcareous, doloniitic and
silicious matter, in some specimens with much fine car-
bonaceous material. This last, under a high power in thin
slices, is seen to present the appearance of a fine network
or stroma in which the inorganic particles are entangled.
The canals traversing these intermediate layers appear to
be mere perforations without distinct walls, and are tilled
with transparent calcareous matter, which renders them,
luuler a proper light, sufficiently distinct from the grey
granular intermediate matter which they t ..verse. So
far as observed, the canals are confined to the intermediate
layers, and do not seem to penetrate the primary lamina?,
though these sometimes present a reticulated appearance

1 Tliis limy, however, rejiresent an originally eorrugatetl structure of the hiiuina;.

i

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20G

Canadian licciml of Scicurc.

and seem to liuve occasional spaces in llieni vvliicli may
liave been communicating- pores or oritices.'

In 1885 Trot". X. H. Wincliell recognised a similar
structure in stromatoporoid forms Found in a limestone
uiulerlyinj^' the St. I'eter sandstone, and therefore of I'pper
C'amhrian aj^e. These are noticcMl in his 14th Annual
Report under the name Criijitozoon Minitfuotcnsc, and are
stated to ditler from Hall's specimens in their habit of
•growth, the lamina' being convex or conical upward. The
structure also is somewhat dillerent, the lanunation beint;'
much finer.

In 1889 the Minnesota specimens were again noticed
by ^Ir. L. W. Chancy, more esjtecially with reference to
the great size attained by some (»f them, though there
seemed to be doubt as to whether the very large specimens
may not have been enlarged by aggregation of concre-
tionary matter, in this pajter also, the discovery of
Cryptozoon in the calciferous of the Champlain Valley, by
l*rof. H. ]\1. Seely, is mentioned.

About this time 1 had obtaineil from the Calciferous of
Lachute, 1*.Q., a large stromatoporoid mass, and in examin-
ing it microscojucally found that, though less perfectly
preserved than Hall's specimens, it might be referred with
probability to the same genus. The lamina' are more
waved, and often connected with each other, and the
canals less curved and more frequently expanding into
irregular cavities. I cannot positively affirm that this is
a distinct species, but may provisionally name it (J.
Lachutense.

In 1890, the Cryptozoa of the calciferous of the ( "ham-
plain Valley are referred to by Messrs. ]>rainard and Seely,
and one species is named 6. Stccli, in honour of I^r. Steel,
who first observed them in 1825.^ This species is stated

I Tliiii tioi'izontiil sections of Uiu laininii- iii Uie best spcriiiieiis iiulecU ni>|>t>nr as if
constituting ii reticttiiitted mat, more dense than tliiit seen in tlie intennediate layers.
a Bulletin Geol. Socy. of .Vnieiicii, Vol. I, i>. 502.

Crjipfoznon and other Ancient Fotmils.

20:

of

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•ith
iiove
the
into
lis is
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luiiu-
>eely,
Steel,
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tar :is if
lyevsi.

in ihe same paper to appear in the calciferous of IMiilips-
burjjfli on tlie Canadian frontier. Trof. Seely informs me
in a private letter that he lias since recognized in the
Chjiini>lain Valley what appear to be two additional
species of Cryjitozoon.

Cri/jUozooii JJorralc, Dawson (Fig. 1). — A (piite distinct
and very interesting sj)ecies was obtained in 1(S88 by Mr.
E. F. (Jhambers, of Montreal, at Lake St. .lohn, l*.Q., a.sso-
ciated with fossils of Trenton age. It consists of a mass
of cylindrical or turbinate branches, proceeding from a
centre and also budding laterally from each other. Each
branch shows a series of lamiiuc concave upward. The
spaces between the thin lamina' are tilled with a very tine
granular material, in which are canals, less fre(]uent
straighter and more nearly parallel to the lamina- than in
the typical species. This species is remarkable for the
slender and coral-like shape of its branches, for its
resemblance in general form to the disputed specimens
resembling Eozoon from the Hastings (probably Huronian)
of Tudor, Ontario, and on account of its being the latest
known occuri-ence of (Jryptozoon. It was very shortly
described and commented o\) in the " Canadian Jlecord
of Science " for 1S8D.

Ci\i//>(ozoon Occidcntale, s.x. — So far our si)ecimens of
Cryptozoon have been Ujtper Cambrian or Ordovician, but
I)r. C. I). AValcott, in his memoir on the Fauiui of the
Lower Cambrian, mentions at p. o'jO that in the (irand
Canon section in Arizona, there are unconformablv under-
lying the Lower Cambrian " 12,000 feet of unaltered sand-
stone, shale and limestone," which may be regardeil as
l're-cambrian,and probably in whole or in part represent-
ing the Kewenian of Lake Superior and the Ftcheminian
of Southern New lirunswick. In these beds, 0,500 feet
below the summit of the section, he found " a small Patel-
loid or Discinoid shell," a fragment probably of a Trilobite,
and a small Hyolithes, in a bed of bituminous limestone.

t

> I

I

I

*;i

208

Camulian Jievon/ of Science.

" III layers of liuit'stdiio still lower in the section an
obseure Hfrotiinfofxrruid form occurs in iiltmidiince, aloiiu;
with Ira^ineiits of a 'i'rilohite and a Salterella." Small
specimens of these slromaloporoiil forms were kindly
su])])lied to me hy Dr. W'alcott, and on bein^ sliced,
thoujL,di most of them were im)»erfectly ]>reserved. ont,' <»f
them exhibited the concentric lamina' of Cryptozoon, and
the intermediate layers composed of nncroscoj)ic grains
which were ascertained by Dr. Adams to be ])artly sili-
cious and partly calcareous (Dolonute ami ciilcite).
Instead of the irregular curying canals of the typical
Cry ptozoon, where best jn-eserved they show ragged cells,
giying oil' on all sides numerous small tortuous and
branching canals (Fig. o), but this structure I regard as
])ossibly corresponding to that of L'ryiitozoon, and I
would therefore yenture to name the s])ecies C. Occitlciitalc,
in hope of the discoyery of better specimens.

II. AUCILKOZOON.

Still oldei' specimens referable to the same gener.il type
have been found by Dr. (i. F. Matthew in the r[)per
Laurentian ((Irenyillc; Series) of Southern New ]>runswick.
Dr. Matthew having kindly presented a large slab of
these fossils to the Peter Redpath Museum, 1 haxc l>een
enabled to study them both niacroscopically and micro-
sco[)ically. As described by Matthew, with reference to
their mode of occurrence in situ, they consist of cylin<h'ical
or polygonal cohunns api)arently nniltijilying l»y budcUng,
and composed of lamina' and intermediate layers which
are convex u])wards and are in places se})arated by s[>accs
occui)ied with calcite.^ The lanunu' haye the same aspect
with those of Cryjjtozoon: but the intervening tliick
granular layers, which haye a very uniform appearance,

1 III tlie ^sliil) iireseiite<l to the Peter He(l|>aUi Miiseiiiii the iiidiviihial iiiasscs aic
aiiiiareiitly imt i« sitn, hut more or less ))rokeii ami jiileil uii to^-etlier ; some of tliem
are six iiiclies in iliameter. Tlie himimv, of white calcite in several of tlie .specimens I
regard as inorganic; unil fiihng lacunae or cavities.

i'i-

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meet

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nice,

Ist's ;irt^
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Kid. i. Vui. :i.

Vin. •.».— Section i>f part iif CryptDzoon jn'ollftTiin), Ilnll, x 48, showInK two of (he
lirliimry laniliiii! tit (a, a), ami portions of llirec of the canallfci-oiis layers.

Pio. ;!,— Section of part of ('. occlilcntale, S.N., x 4S, xliowlnu' one of the primary
lamina' at (a), and portions of two of the cellular ami canallferoUH layiTs.
(Kroin mli'ro photoi^raplis 1).\ I'mf. I'ciihallow.)

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Ci'UptoxiKin find otlirv Aitc'u'iit Fossi/fi.

•200

('xliil)it ciiiiiils only in j)lii('es. KIscwIhto tlicv niuy have
])eiluii»s lieon destroytMl hy (k'ciiy iiml pressurtf. Miittlicw
re^iu«ls these; forms as fossils; and if so, they are
undoulitedly allied to Cryptozoon, if not properly belon^'-
in«' to the <'eniis. Thev an; in any case the oldest known
forms referal)le to this type, in other heds of the same
aj^'e fragments of Kozoon showing the; canal systems have
been found, and also neeilles siijijxjsed to he sjtieides of
sponges, and carhonaeeous films and tlhres which may be
of \'ei:etabl(; oi'iuin.

III. (Jknkkal Hkmaisks on Cryi'Tozoon and Ahcilko/.oox.

If we endeavour in imagination to restore these curious
organisms, the task is a very difficult one. They no doubt
grew on the sea l»ott(jm, and must have had great jiowers
of assimilation and increase in bulk. Still, it must be
borne in mind that they were largely made up of inorganic
particles collected from the mud and tine sand in process
of deposition. The amount of actual organic matter in the
hard parts even of large specimens is not very great, and
the soft living material, if they were animal, must have
been confined to the canals and to the exterior surfaces.

As the only marine animals known to accumulate
foreign matter in this manner are the Protozcja of the
iihizopod type, one naturally turns to them for analogies,
and j)erha])S species of the genus Loftusia most nearly
resend>le them in general arrangement. J5ut this tyi)e is,
I believe, not known lower than the Lower Carboniferous ;
/.. Cohiinhiana, A. M. Dawson, found with the genus
Kusulina in rocks of that age in IJritish Colundjia, heing
the oldest known species.' I am not aware that any of
the Stromato[)orce, projjerly so called, as nearly resemble
Cryptozoon, unless my genus Megastroma from the Car-
boniferous of Nova Scotia is referable to that group.

- Journal London Geol. Suivey, Vol. ;)'), \\. »W, ct sim|1'.

r

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1>10

Caniidian Juronf of Scictire.

This curious fossil was clest'riltod wiili some other Carbon-
iferous forms in tlie liei)ort of the Peter Kedimth Museum
for lSS;5,iiU(l as that ])uhHcatioii is not very <;'enerally
accessible, the (lescri})tion may be repeated here: —

Mi'(j(i)^friiiiut /(DiiiiiosiDii, l)ii\vs(jn.

" liroad' expanded layers about one millimetre in thick-
ness, and two millimetres or more apart. Each layer
consists of a doultle nu'ml)rane, beset with numerous s])i-
cules pointinu' inwards and looking like two brusiu's facing
each other. The mendmiiu^s are })enetrated by openings
or oscula, and a])i)ear lo be jxtrous or reticulate in llieir
substance and to have cellular thickenings in })laces,
giving them a netted ajipearance. The layers sometimes
thouuh rarelv unite, and are not alvvavs continuous when
seen in section : this appearance being perhaps })roduced
by large ojx'nings or spaces, in each layer the ends of
the opposing sjiicules are .sometimes in contact, sometimes
separated by m space, .n))ty or lillod with calcite. The
intervals between the layers are occulted by oiganic lime-
stone, consisting of small shells and fragments of siiells
antl corals. As many as twelve or thirteen layers are
sometimes sujjerimposed, and their horizontal extent
seems to amount to a foot or more. The layers havt; a
deep lirown colour, while the enclosing limestone is of a
ligiit gray tint.

" This remarkable botly was found in the fo.ssiliferous
limestone of Ih'ookHeld, in patches ])arallel with the
stratification, and at first sight resembled a coarse Sfrotna-
topora. AVhcn sliced and examined under the microscope,
it presents the appearance above described. Tiu; mem-
branes refened to, from their dee[) brown coloi', would
seem to ha\e been of a horny or chitinous character. They
are sometimes bent and folded, as if by ])ressure, and
ajijiear to ha\e i)een of a flexible and tough consistency.

Cri/pt(Coon ami other Ancient Fosai/s.

211

le

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live

'Ut

a
)t a

I ho

.uld
hey
and
icy.

The sjiiciiles ('oiinected with them, if oi'^aiiic, would seem
In hiive heeii set in the memhrane, and to have heen
corneous lather than sihcious. 1 have, however, no
ahs(»lute certainty that these a])])arent spicuU'S may not
lie rather the elVeet of i)risniatie crystals of calcareous
s)»ar penetratin*,^ a soft animal matter and impressinj^' ci
it their own forms. If the s]>icules are really or*;unic,
the structure must lie of the nature of n spony-e. If
otherwise, it must have consisted of douhli' niemhranous
la vers enclosinu- hetween them a softei" organic matter,
and sufficiently firm to retain their form till filled in with
calcareous fra*!;nienls. I'nless the structure was of ve^e-
talile nriifin, which I do not think likely, it was prohably
a I'lolo/oan of some kind. In either i-ase it is dilferent
frnni any fossil hitherto found in the Lower C'ai'honiferous
limestones of Xova Scotia." It is introduced here merely
as a ]iossil»le successor of Cryjitozoon.

I thiidv we are justilied in holding- that the fossils of
the tyjie of Cryptozodii constitute a tyjie <liHerin,y from
that <tf the ordinary stromatopora', and prohahly inferior
iti them in organization. At one time I sup]iosed that
the ( )i-d(»vician forms contained in tlu' Ljenus Stromata-
cerium of Hall miuht he a connect inu' link, and in some
res])ects of u-eneral arran«,'ement they certainly conform
to Cryplo/oon: hut in so far as I have heen able to

examine them microscopically, their aiUnities seem to he
with the typical Stromatopora'. Still, there remains even
in my own collection a larye amount of material referred
1(1 Stromatocerium which has not not yet heen sliced and
examined.

Of modern forms, that which seems to approach nearest
tt» ( "ryj)tozoon is the remarkable organism dredged by
Alexander Agassiz in the Pacific,' and which has been
described by Goes as an arenaceous foraminifer, under the

1 l.iit. 107' X. I.oui;. .S° 4' W., 1,740 fiitlioiiis.- ".Vlbatio.ss " Kxpeilitiixi.

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iiiinie Ncifsina A;/assi'.i} It is of coiisideiahle size, the
lai'j^est si)e('inieiis nieiisiiriiiu,' 100 iiiiii. in lucadlli, but is
very lliin, beiiij^' only 2 iiiin. in thickness. TIk' i^eneral
form is fan-like or reniforni, with concentric lines or
bands, from the edj^es of which loose tubes or hollow
bundles of fibres ])roject into the water. These bands are
described as " chambers," which arc, however, crossed ly
inunnuerablc thick ])artitions dividing them into chiim-
berlets, and these partitions nre composed of ■<\ fine '
corneous stroma or network, in which and on the surface
are contained the arenaceous <.;rains that <;ive consistency
to the whole. It is evident that such a strucluic, if
fossilized, would resemble a flattened ("ryptozoon in form,
ap]»carancc and structure, c.\cei)t in havinij; rounded
chaml)erlets instead of short tortuous canals, a diheience
not of essiMitial importiince. (Iocs mentions as ]>robid>ly
an allied form JiiliaucUa fotida, Schlumberj^er, from
shaUow water (five metres) on the AVest ("oast of xVfrica.
It wants the filamentous stroma and has the chamberlets
laru;er and more regular and the lateral tubes more
numerous. If tlu^se forms are rightly included in Foiiuui-
nifera, they would strengthen the same reference for
Cryptozoon and Arclacozoon. In any case they indicate
the i)ersistence u}) to the modern time of organisms
apparently of tlie same general structure.

IV. (liiiVANELLA, Nicholson {Strcritochciuti, Seely).

These ])eculiar fossils were first detected bv Nicholson
and Ktheridge in the Silurian of (iirvaii in Scotland ' and
were illustrated by Mr. Welhered. of ( 'heltenham, at the
meeting of the Ihitish Association in Liverpool last
autumn.'' A similar form discovered in the ('hazy of
Vermont by Prof. Seely, of Middlebury I'ollege, was

1 Hill. Mms. Coiiip. Zoi.liiKV, Vol. XXm., .No. ,'., ISil'J.

2 NIcliolsdii itiid l.vik'ker, I'liliroiilnlogy, 188!), lli^t (IcsciiliiMl in Mfiiniii (Hi (lirv.iii.

1S7S.

a N'ow Coltfswiilil Xiitiirallsts' (Mull, Vol. .\1I, I't. 1, l,S'j:.-il.

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■ (illVilU.

Ci'J/pfozoon (Old other Ancient Fo!<«ils.

21:)

described by biin as a six)ii<,'e, under tlie name Slreptovketufi
ocellatioi} and ap))ears to be <^enerically the same with
Nicholson's s]»ecies, thou,t,di l)elon^ing to an oldm' foi'nia-
tion. These ])odies occur in small rounded or elliptical
masses, ]>resenting a concentric structure resend)lin<f tliat
of ("ryptoxoon on a small scale. Tuder the microscope,
in siieciniens kindlv connnunicated to me by Prof. Seelv
and Mr. Wethered, the layers are seen to be made up of
nnnute tubes twisted tojretlier in a most comjdicated man-
ner. The tubes are cylindrical, smooth, and apparently
calcareous, and they do not occupy the whole si)ace, but
leave irregular unoccu])ied cavities. The tubes make up
the layers and there do not seem to be any distinct
se])ara,tinff lamina- between the layers, or any included
earthy mattcir. In tliese resj)ects they differ structurally
from Crvptozoou, and are certainlv at least *'enericallv
distiiu't, though having some resemblance in general
maimer of growth.

(lirvaneUa gives us little assistance in determining tlie
aHinities of ('y]»tozoon, and ics own relati»>nships have
lieen very variously interi)reted. It has l»een referred to
Hvdroids, I'rolo/oa anil even to Alua-. I'rof. Penhallow,
iiowever, who has examine<l my specimens, does not seem
inclined to refer it to the latter, though it has certain
resemblances to some of the Siphonea'. IV'rhaps the
most ])robablc conjectuie as to its athnities is tliat
advanced by Xicholson,'^ who com])ares it with the recent
lul)id()us Forannnifora of the genera Syringauimina and
Hy])erammina of lUady, whose tests ]):'esent mas.ses of
tortuous and in some forms branching tubes, sometimes in
concentric layers.

I have recently been able to extend the range of this
curious organism downward, by the discovery in a b(»ulder
in a conglomerate at Little Metis of nuic 'Us examjiles

1 Aiiu'iicaii .louiiml of Sciencii, ISS'i.

4 Nicholson and Lydeker, Manual of Palii-ontology, 188i», i'. 127.

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of 11 species whit'h is ])rol»iil>ly of Lower Ciiinliriuii Ji<2,e.
It (K'ciirs in ji laiiiiiiiited imperfectly oolitie limestone, in
oNjil, soniewhiit Hattened masses, the lar<fest of which is
18 mm. in its longest diameter. Thev show an obscure
eoncenti'ic structure, and an^ mostly in the state of
granular calcite, hut in places have the characteristic
tuhes of Girvanella, thoui,di less curved ami twisted tiian
those of tlie Cha;<y and Silurian specimens, and also of
smaller diameter.

The formation holdinj^ the conglomerate is the Sillery
(ri)]»er Camhrian), hut the fossiliferous limestone boulders
which it contains are, so far as known, of Lower Cambrian
aye, to which therefore the si»ecimens in (juestion may
with ]»roba])ility be referred. The ditl'erence in structure
as well as in age entitles this form to a s]tecific name.
It may be named Girvanella anfiqna, and niay be defined
as similar in size and general structure to G. oeellnta of
the ("hazy, but with less convoluted and narrower tubes.

V. KKCElTACrLITFlS, Aucir.KOCYATiir.^, &c.

In ''The Dawn of Life " (1875), reference was made to
tile singular ami complicated organism known as Reeepta-
cidites, which at that timi' was generally regarded as
Foraminifcral, and is still ]>laced by Zittel, in his great
work on Pala-ontology, among forms doubtfully refer-
able to that grou]>. It has also been referred to
sponges, though on very uncertain grounds. It has
not, however, l)een traced, so far as I know,
any farther back than the L^i)per Cambrian, and
no structural links are known to connect it with (.'ryj)to-
zoon or with Archa-ozoon. It may, however, l)e regarded
as a possible survivor of an ancient type, probal)ly a ja-oto-
zoan, forming an unusually large antl complicated skele-
ton, sometimes a foot in diameter, and which may not
improbably have existed much earlier than the time of the

Cri/pfozoon and other Ancient Fomls.

215

formations in which it lias liitlierto been found. In any
case it sliould be looked for in the i*re-canibrian beds.

The latest atteni]»t known tome to unravel the relations
of Kece])taculites is that of Dr. Ivaufi' in the Transactions
of the ( lerman Geoloj^ical Society. He rejjcats and con-
firms the . oUservations of Billintfs as to its structure,
ditlerinf; only in rejecting the pores of the internal wall.
He also ritjhtlv concludes that it must have been a calca-
reous organism, and consequently cannot l)e referred to
any of the groups of silicious sponges ; but seems to regard
its systematic position as still (piite uncertain. It may
possibly remain so, till either moilern analogues, or more
ancient and simpler forms, shall be discovered. Jvece})ta-
culites and its allies are at present known as low as the
Lower Ordovician on the one hand, as high as the Carbon-
iferous on the other.

Another primitive and ai)parently very generalised type
is the genus Arckaocijathnx of J>illings, one of the oldest
and most curious Cambrian fossils. It deserves an addi-
tional notice here, in connection with facts and publications
of recent dates.

As early as 18G5 my attention was attracted to these
forms by specimens presented to me by Mr. Carpenter, a
missionary to Labrador, and about the same time Mr.
Hillings was kind enough to shew me specimens wliich
had been obtained by Mr. Itichardson of the CJeological
Survey, in what was then known as the " Lower Potsdam "
of L'Anse a Loup in that region, and which he had
described in 18G1 and 18G4, stating that he was in doubt
whether they should be referred to corals or sponges
Slices of the specimens were made for the microscope,
when it appeared that, though they had the general aspect
of turbinate corals, like Petraia, etc., they were (piite dis-
similar in structure, more especially in their porous inner
and outer walls and septa, yet they did not closely
resemble the porous corals, which besides were regarded as

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of much more recent (hue. Xm- could Lliey with proba-
])iHty bi' referi'ed to spoiiLres, as they were composed of
soHd calcareous plates which, as was evident from their
texturt', could not have been spicular, and which, it
ap}>eared, must have been composed of ordinary (;alcite
and not of araifonite. One seemed thus shut uj) to tlie
idea of their bein<j; foranuni feral, ami if so verv larue and
com})le.\ forms of that <^roup, consisting of perforated
ciiambers arranged around a central funnel and occasionally
subdivided by thinner curvt-d laiudlae. 1 mentioned them
in this connection in the "Dawn of Life" in I.STo, not as
closely related to Eozoon, but as a])parently showing the
existence of verylarge foranunifera in the Lowest Cambrian.
The si)ecimens thus noticed were those named A. pro-
fundus by ])illings, and were from the Lower Cand>rian.
He had, however, referred to the same genus siliciiied
specimens from the Calciferous or rp])er Cambrian, which
were subsetjuently found to be associated with spicules
like those of lithistid s{)onges, and which may have been
very different from the s])ecies of the Lower Caml)rian,
and are now indeed ])lace(l in a ditlerent genus. The
subject became in this way involved in some confusion,
and the genus of Billings was su])])osed Ijy some to be
referable to corals and by others to sponges. I, therefore,
asked mv friend Dr. Hinde to re-examine niv si>ecimens,
and at the same time Mr. Billings placed in his hands
examples of the later form, and he also obtained specimens
from European localities whicli agreed substantially with
the older of the Labrador si)ecimens, ami were from the
same ancient horizon. Hinde retains the original and
t)lder type from Labrador in Arclueocyathus,^ and places
the later form, A. minganensi>> of liillings, in a new genus
Archicoscyphia. In this Walcott, in his memoir on the
Lower Cambrian fauna, substantially agrees with Hinde.
Hinde, however, rejects my foraminiferal suggestion, and

1 Journal Geol. Society of I.oikIoii, Vol. 45, 1889, 1>J>. 125, et seiju.

Cri/pfoy)on und other . ' nciciif F(h<isils.

217

jtri't'eis lo ii'njird Aicliicocvatliiis iis a coral, ihouLiii hv
admits tlial it is of a vimt peculiar and o'ciunalized ly))e,
unknown cxccjit in tlu' lowest ( anilnian: Imt there very
widely dilTused, since it occurs in dillei'ent ])arts of North
America, in Spain and in Sardinia. 1 think, however, we
may still he allowed to entertain some douht as to its
reftM'eiice to corals, more es])ecially as its skeleton does
not seem to liave lieen comi»osed of ara^onite. I still
ctmtinue to hope that, whether I'rotozoon or coral, it may
he traced helow the Lower ("amhrian, and may form a
liids connecting' the fauna of that au'c with that of still
older (U'posits. in my descrii)tion of it in "The Dawn of
of Life." in IST-"', 1 have written of it in the following
terms: — ''To understand Archa'ocyathus let us inia<^ine
an inverted cone of carhonate of lime, from an inch or
two to a foot in len^i'th, and with its ])oint huried in the
mu<l at the hottom of the sea, while its open cup extends
upward into the clear water. The lower j)art huried in
tlu' Ixtttom is composed of an irreyular acervuline net-
woik of thick calcareous i)L tes, enclosing- chamhers com-
municating with one another. Ahove this, where the cu})
e.\j)ands, its walls are composed of thin outer and inner
jtlales perforated with numerous holes in vertical rows, >
and connected with each other hy vertical j)artition.s, also
]ierforated, estal»lishing free connuunication l)etween the
radiating ehaml)ers, into which the thickness of the wall
is divided." Such a structure might, no douht, serve as a
skeleton for a peculiar and generalized coral, but it might
/ist as well accommodate a })roto})lasmic protozoon with
chambers for its sarcode and i)ores for emission of its
|»sende])ods both outwardly and by means of the interior
cu}), which in that case would represent one of the
oscula or funnels of Eozoon or of the modern Carpenteria.

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Camulian Bccord of Science.

VI. Pke Camijkian in Wai.ks.

In the ])jist suiiiincr I was ciialilcd to s|kmkI a few days,
with the assistance of my friend, Mr. H. Tweeddale Atkin,
of Kgevton TarU, IJoek Ferry, in exaniinin^' the supjioscd
l*re-C' I'idirian roeks of Holyliead Island and An^iesey.
Fossils are very rare in these heds. As Sir A. (Jeikii; has
shewn, the ([iiart/itc^ of Holyhead is in sonu! ]»laees ]>erfo-
rated with evlindrieal wonn-hurrows; and in the niieaceons
shales there are lon^', cylindrical c /rds which may We
alj^ae of the Ljenns 7*^/A/v;r//7>/-(/</,and also hifnrcatinu,' fossils
reseml)lin<>' C/iotidrifrs, hnt 1 saw no animal fossils. I
liuve so far heen al)le to discover no ort^anic structure in
the layers of limestone associated with a])])arently heddcd
ser]>entine in the southern jtart of Holyhead Island. In
central Anglesey there are lenticular IhmIs of limestone
and dolomite associated with l*re-('and>rian rocks, which
Dr. Calloway regards as [»robal)ly e([uivalent to the
Tehidian of Hicks. In these there are obscure traces of
oruanic frau'inents ; and in one hed near IJodwi'oy; Church,
I found a rounded, lannnated hody, which may he an
in)i)erfectly preserved specimen of Cryptozoon or some
allied organism. The specimens ecjllected have not, how-
ever, heen yet thoroutihly examined. These, and other
})re-Cambrian deposits in (jrreat IJritain, corresjioutl in
their testimony with the Eo/oic rocks of North America,
as to the small numher and rarity of fossil remains in the
formations below the base of the I'ala'ozoic, and the
conse([uent probability that in these formations we are
a})proaching to the beginning of life on our planet. Mr.
Edward Greenly, F.G.S., of Achnasheaw, lUingor, is now-
engaged in a careful revision of the geological map of
Anglesey, and will give si)ecial attention to Pre-Cand)rian
fossils. He has already discovered, in rocks su})posed to
be of that age, organisms recognized by Dr. Hinde as
spicules of sponges.^

1 Jonrnal Geological Society, Nov., 1896.

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Cri/piozoon and other Ancient Fossils.

219

In conclusion, it is intere.slii^i,' to note how many large Itut
obscure ami pnjltlematical organic remains, all ap))iirentlyof
low types and generalised structures, and therefore ditlicult
to classify, cluster about the base of the Cambrian, and
api)ear to point to a primitive world beyond, of whose
other inhabitants we know little else except indications of
marine worms, of sponges, of a few Protozoa, and possibly
of plants. Like the lloating debris of the land noted by
CJohunbus on his westward voyage, they raise our hcjpe
that we are one day to reach antl annex to the empire of
geological science a new region in which we may be al)le
to see the beginnings of those great lines of life that have
descended througli the ages, and are alike mysterious in
their origin, their development, the decay and disappear-
ance of some of them, and. tiie addition from time to time
of new types to their number.

1 may add for the benefit of searchers in this field two
practical points: (I) Such organisms as most of those
referred to in this paper are not attractive to the ordinary
collector ; because externally they shew little of their
structure, which becomes manifest only after they have
been cut and etched with dilute acid or prepared in trans-
parent slices for study under the microscope. There can
be little doubt that many of them are overlooked for this
reason. (2) In Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian formations
fossils are often abundant on certain surfaces or in certain
thin layers, while intervening beds of great thickness are
barren. Hence the importance when productive beds are
found, of working them thoroughly when possible. In this
the local collector who can revisit the same spot many
times and spend days in working at it, hiis great advan-
tages. Otherwise such productive spots can be adequately
worked only by spending money in securing good collect-
ors and giving them sufficient means for excavation.

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