Life's Dawn on Earth: Being the history of the oldest known fossil remains, and their relations to geological time and to the development of the animal kingdomDawson, John William, Sir
History
Life's Dawn on Earth: Being the history of the oldest known fossil remains, and their relations to geological time and to the development of the animal kingdom
Dawson, John William, Sir
Life -- Origin; Paleontology -- Precambrian
All this, however, has nothing to do with the layers of fragments of
Eozoon which are scattered through the Laurentian limestones. In these
the fossil is sometimes preserved in the ordinary manner, with its
cavities filled with serpentine, and the thicker parts of the skeleton
having their canals filled with this substance. In this case the
chambers may have been occupied with serpentine before it was broken
up. At St. Pierre there are distinct layers of this kind, from half an
inch to several inches in thickness, regularly interstratified with
the ordinary limestone. In other layers no serpentine occurs, but the
interstices of the fragments are filled with crystalline dolomite or
magnesian limestone, which has also penetrated the canals; and there
are indications, though less manifest, that some at least of the layers
of pure limestone are composed of fragmental Eozoon. In the Laurentian
limestone of Wentworth, belonging apparently to the same band with
that of St. Pierre, there are many small rounded pieces of limestone,
evidently the debris of some older rock, broken up and rounded by
attrition. In some of these fragments the structure of Eozoon may be
plainly perceived. This shows that still older limestones composed of
Eozoon were at that time undergoing waste, and carries our view of the
existence of this fossil back to the very beginning of the Laurentian.
With respect to organic fragments not showing the structure of Eozoon,
I have not as yet been able to refer these to any definite origin. Some
of them may be simply thick portions of the shell of Eozoon with their
pores filled with calcite, so as to present a homogeneous appearance.
Others have much the appearance of fragments of such Primordial forms
as _Archæocyathus_, to be described in the sequel; but after much
careful search, I have thus far been unable to say more than I could
say in 1865.
[Illustration: Fig. 32. _Archæospherinæ from St. Pierre._
(_a._) Specimens dissolved out by acid. The lower one showing interior
septa. (_b._) Specimens seen in section.]
[Illustration: Fig. 33. _Archæospherinæ from Burgess Eozoon._
Magnified.]
[Illustration: Fig. 34. _Archæospherinæ from Wentworth Limestone._
Magnified.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account