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
Echinus.--The shells of the genus Echinus resemble those of Cidaris in
their general structure, but the tubercles are imperforate. More than
twenty fossil species are described, from the Oolite and Chalk.
Salenia.--In the greensand pits near Faringdon, in Berkshire, which
abound in fossil sponges and other poriferæ (_ante_, p. 228), there are
immense numbers of a small elegant Turban Echinite, which belongs to
the genus thus named by the eminent zoologist. Dr. J. E. Gray, of the
British Museum. The collector will easily recognize these sea-urchins
by the plated summit. The shell has five ovarian and five interovarian
plates, and an eleventh or odd one. The tubercles are crenulated. The
common species at Faringdon is _S. petalifera_, of Desmarest. Two
species of this genus, viz. _S. scutigera_ and _S. stellulata_, from
near Warminster, are figured in _Pict. Atlas_, pl. liii. _fig._ 12, 13.
_Cidarites of New Zealand._--Detached plates and spines of sea-urchins,
belonging to the family Cidaritidæ, have been discovered by Mr.
Walter Mantell, in the Ototara limestone of New Zealand; which is a
fawn-coloured stone, composed of foraminiferæ, like the Chalk, and
containing terebratulæ, corals, and teeth of sharks.[300]
[300] Geol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 319.
[Sidenote: SPINES OF CIDARITES.]
Spines of Cidarites. _Lign. 102._--Allusion has been made to the
immense numbers of the spines of two or three kinds of Cidarites that
occur in the oolitic limestones of certain localities. The spines of
other species and genera abound in the Chalk, Greensand, &c.; occurring
detached and intermingled with corals, shells, and the usual fossils of
those deposits. There is great variety in the form, size, and sculpture
of these organs. In the subjoined _Lign. 102_, a few distinct kinds are
represented.
[Illustration: Lign. 102. Fossil Spikes of Cidarites.
Fig. 1.--Spine of Acrocidaris nobilis (_Agassiz_).
2.-- ---- Cidaris cucumifera.
3.-- ---- ----- stemmacantha.
4.-- ---- ----- meandrina.
5.-- ---- ----- spinosa.
6.-- ---- ----- clunifera.
7.-- ---- ----- sceptrifera.
8.-- ---- ----- Parkinsoni.
9.-- ---- Hemicidaris intermedia.
]
Flint Casts of Turban Echinites. _Lign. 103._--The siliceous casts of
the shells of the Turban Echinites are interesting objects, for they
are often beautiful models of the interior. A specimen of this kind is
represented in _Lign. 101, fig. 5_. Casts of the larger Cidarites are
often seen on the ploughed lands of the South Downs, in beds of gravel,
and among the shingle on the sea-shore of chalk districts; appearing
as flattened spherical bodies, with a circular protuberance at each
pole, and vertical rows of nodular projections. Impressions of the
external surface of the cases are also frequent on chalk-flints, and
exhibit exquisite casts, in intaglio, of the mamillated tubercles, and
ambulacral grooves and pores.
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