HARDWICKE'S SCI ENCE-GOSSIP. 



37 



of these arms, aud this opens into the gullet. All 

 the embryos of these more or less fixed "Lamp 

 Shells" are free-swimming creatures, moviugthrough 

 the water by means of cilia. The nervous system 

 in the adults is not nearly so highly developed as in 

 the true bivalves. One of the oldest and most per- 

 sistent genera of "Lamp Shells" is undoubtedly the 

 Bhjnchonella, which may easily be recognized by 

 its ribbed and " cockle-like" appearance. Numeri- 

 cally, also, it is perhaps the most abundant of any 

 of its kind in the older rocks. One species found 

 in the Upper Chalk formation {Terebratula lineata) 

 is believed by our best palseoutologists to be speci- 

 fically identical with the living Rhjnchonella caput- 

 serpentis of our British seas. 



striated, especially in the above species, which is one 

 of the largest. The coils are calcareous in their 

 structure, and were used for the support of the 

 " arms" above mentioned. In the chert beds, which 

 are frequently found intercalated in the older lime- 

 stones, just as the flint bands are in the chalk, these 

 spiral coils are usually met with in the best pre- 

 served state, and. often silicified. It is only by 

 carefully chipping away a portion of one of the 

 valves that the coil may be seen, and, unless found 

 in the chert beds, you may open scores withouii 

 finding it. 



Of the numerous species of Brachiopods besides 

 the above, space forbids us to do other than merely 

 refer to their existence. Few creatures have done 



Fig. 32. Producta horrid i, a chiracteristic 

 Permian fossil. 



Spiri/er strltitus, Derbyshire ; h, valve showing internal coil ; 

 c, portion of coll. 



[The Lingula (fig. 31), or "Little-tongue," as the 

 name aptly signifies, is even geologically older than 

 the Uhynchonella, It is still in existence, but only 

 to be met with in southern seas, although it lived 

 in British waters as late as the Coralline Crag. It is 

 so abundant in the Upper Cambrian formation that 

 this depositj'six thousand feet in thickness, goes by 

 the name of the " Lingula flags." The Pentamerus 

 (fig. 30) is so called from its internal arrangement 

 of the septum, by which the cavity is'divided into 

 four chambers, one of the two valves having an 

 additional chamber. Tliis five-parted division is 

 caused by the greater development of the internal 

 plates, and the fact, expressed by two Greek words, 

 has given its name to the genus. It is very abun- 

 dant in the Upper Silurian beds, especially in the 

 Aymestry limestones. 



The Prodtccta (fig. 32), from a Latin word signify- 

 ing " drawn out," in allusion to its usual lateral ex- 

 tension, is one of the most characteristic shells of 

 the Carboniferous limestone, where, both in specific 

 and numerical abundance, it seems to have out. 

 stripped all its contemporaries. One species, Pro- 

 ducta giganfea, found plentifully in the neighbour- 

 hood of Buxton, Derbyshire, often attains the size 

 of a child's head. A peculiar species, P. horrida, 

 is very characteristic of the Permian strata. But 

 perhaps the most interesting of the ancient Brachio- 

 pods \?,i\\e,Spir if er, which itakes its name from the 

 spiral coil often to be found within it (fig. 33). The 

 hinge is very broadjl and the valves are strongly 



more towards building up the solid structure of our 

 continents than these insignificant shells, and there- 

 fore they acquire an interest transcending even that 

 of their vast antiquity. J. E. Taylor. 



GOLD-TAILS AND BROWN-TAILS. 



THE two closely-allied species, Liparis aurijlua 

 and chrysorrhcea, have much in their economy 

 of considerable interest ; nor have all points therein 

 undergone due investigation. This may partly be 

 explained by the particularly unpleasant effects pro- 

 duced by the larvee upon the human skin. The 

 Bev. J. G. Wood gives us a melancholy record of 

 his experiences when he attempted the task of dis- 

 secting and stufiing some of these ; and through a 

 misapprehension as to the real cause of the painful 

 swellings produced, it was not until the third attack 

 that the poisonous "Gold-tails" were convicted as 

 the offenders, and carefully avoided by him (no 

 doubt) in future. And Mr. Moncreaff informs us 

 that he— rash man ! collected about two hundred of 

 them " for investigation." Unfortunately, a double 

 investigation went on, and while he was investi- 

 gating the caterpillars, their hairs, or somewhat 

 detached from them, investigated his skin, and the 

 irritation made him seriously unwell for a time. He 

 found that the virus (whatever it might be) con- 

 tinued to hang about the box in which they were 

 kept for some six months afterwards. Mr. Mon- 



