The Medals of Creation, Volumes 1 and 2: First Lessons in Geology and the Study of Organic RemainsMantell, Gideon Algernon
Science
The Medals of Creation, Volumes 1 and 2: First Lessons in Geology and the Study of Organic Remains
Mantell, Gideon Algernon
Geology -- England -- Guidebooks; Paleontology
Cidaris (_Hemicidaris?_) intermedia, _Lign. 101, fig. 1, 2, 3._--The
shell of this echinite, from the Oolite at Calne, so closely resembles
that of _H. crenularis_, above described. that without the spines it
could not be distinguished.[298] It is of a depressed form, and has
very long subcylindrical spines; a specimen is figured _Lign. 102_,
_fig. 9_. It is this cidarite which occurs in such immense numbers in
the Oolite at Calne, Chippenham, Faringdon, &c. Slabs of limestone
are occasionally extracted from the quarries at Calne, with more than
thirty of these echinites surrounded by their spines. I have one
specimen, attached to a block of limestone, with fifty spines; but it
is difficult to detach a perfect spine.
[298] Mr. Woodward. I am indebted to this gentleman for many valuable
remarks on fossil Echinoderms.
[Sidenote: CIDARIS BLUMENBACHII.]
Cidaris Blumenbachii. _Lign. 127, fig. 3._--This is another beautiful
characteristic Turban Echinite of the Oolite. The tubercles are very
large and prominent, and the spines remarkably neat, being covered with
longitudinal granulated striæ; they are of an elongated cucumerine
form, and homogeneous in structure (_Lign. 127, fig. 5_). They occur
by hundreds in some of the layers of friable stone in the quarries
around Calne.
Many species of Turban Echinites abound in the White Chalk, especially
near Gravesend, Northfleet, Purfleet, Charlton, and other places
in Kent; the softness of the cretaceous strata in those localities
rendering the removal of the chalk an easy task. Splendid specimens,
with the spines and tubercles almost as fresh as if recent, have
rewarded the patience and skill of collectors. The British Museum
contains many fine examples, especially a specimen of _Cidaris
clavigera_ from Charlton, with sixteen spines, and the dental apparatus
_in situ_.[299]
[299] Several coloured figures of Cidarites and spines are given in
Pict, Atlas, pl. liii. and lvi. A fine series of Chalk specimens are
figured in Dixon's Fossils, tab. xxv.; many from the choice cabinet of
Henry Catt, Esq. of Brighton.
The collection of Chalk Cidarites with their spines, formed by W. H.
Taylor, Esq. F.G.S., of Winterslow-place, Brixton, is the most splendid
assemblage of these fossils I have seen.
Diadema. _Lign. 101, fig. 4, 6._--The shell in this genus is of
a more depressed form than in Cidaris; there are two rows of large
tubercles, which are crenulated and perforated, on the ambulacra as
well as on the interambulacral spaces. The spines are slender and
annulated. Mr. Woodward remarks that the common Chalk species referred
by authors to this genus, belong to the sub-genus _Cyphosoma_ of M.
Agassiz, in which the tubercles are imperforate. There are nearly fifty
fossil species known, and they range from the Lias to the Chalk. The
recent analogues inhabit the seas of warm regions.
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