Australasian Fossils: A Students' Manual of PalaeontologyChapman, Frederick
Science
Australasian Fossils: A Students' Manual of Palaeontology
Chapman, Frederick
Paleontology -- Australia
The wandering Worms (Polychaeta errantia) are also recognised by their
impressions, trails, borings and castings. Burrows formed by these worms
are seen in _Arenicolites_, found in the Silurian sandstone of New
South Wales, near Yass, and in the Carbopermian (Gympie Series) near
Rockhampton, Queensland. The membranous-lined burrows of _Trachyderma_
(_T. crassituba_), occur in some abundance in the Silurian mudstones
in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, Victoria (Fig. 82 A). The genus
_Trachyderma_ is common also to Great Britain and Burmah, in beds of the
same age.
=Worm Tracks.--=
Some of the curious markings on the Carboniferous sandstone of Mansfield,
Victoria, may be due to worm trails and castings, especially since they
are associated with sun-cracks and ripple-marks.
=Sedentary Worms.--=
The sedentary or tube-making Worms (Polychaeta tubicola) are represented
by numerous forms. The long conical tube of _Cornulites tasmanicus_ is
recorded from the Silurian of Zeehan, Tasmania (Fig. 82 B). _Spirorbis_
occurs in the Middle Devonian of Victoria (Fig. 82 C), and W. Australia,
and also in the Carbopermian of W. Australia. _Torlessia_ is found in
the Trias or Lower Jurassic of the province of Canterbury, New Zealand
(Fig. 82 D). The genus _Serpula_ is widely distributed, occurring in the
Carbopermian (Upper Jurassic Series), near East Maitland, New South Wales
(_S. testatrix_), in the Jurassic of W. Australia (_S. conformis_), in the
Lower Cretaceous of Wollumbilla, Queensland (_S. intestinalis_), and the
Darling River, north west of New South Wales, (_S. subtrachinus_), as well
as in Cainozoic deposits in Victoria (_S. ouyenensis_). _Ditrupa_ is very
abundant in some shelly deposits of Janjukian age in Victoria.
MOLLUSCOIDEA.
The Sea-mats (Polyzoa) and the Lamp-shells (Brachiopoda) constitute a
natural group, the MOLLUSCOIDEA, which, although unlike in outward form,
have several physiological structures in common. The respiratory organs
lie in front of the mouth, and are in the form of fleshy tentacles or
spiral appendages. These animals are more nearly allied to the worms than
to the molluscs.
_POLYZOA._
=Characters of Polyzoa.--=
These are almost exclusively marine forms, and are important as fossils.
They form colonies (polypary or zoarium), and by their branching,
foliaceous or tufty growth resemble sea-weeds. The cells in which the
separate zoöids lived have peculiar characters of their own, which serve
to distinguish the different genera.
=Subdivisions of Polyzoa.--=
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