CRETACEOUS. 97 



Lower Cambrian slates of Middle Granville, New York. The second is 

 Discophylhm pettatum Hall, from the "Hudson River group" of New York. 1 

 (See p. 101.) 



CRETACEOUS. 



Reports of the discovery of fossil medusae in flint nodules derived from 

 the Cretaceous have been made from time to time since Dr. Kner described 

 Medusites cretaceus in 1866. This species is noticed by Brandt, Haeckel, 

 and Amnion. In 1871 Dr. Brandt proposed Medusites helgolandicus for a 

 second species, and in 1886 Dr. Amnion described a third species as Medu- 

 sites latilobatus. 



Through the courtesy of Dr. C. Gottsche, I have had an opportunity 

 to examine a collection of the so-called fossil medusse belonging- to the 

 Natural History Museum at Hamburg - . In the letter transmitting the 

 specimens, under date of January 23, 1896, Dr. Gottsche states that he is 

 convinced that the fossils have nothing- to do with ruedusse ; that the speci- 

 men from Langenhorn shows on the under surface the undoubted stalk of a 

 siliceous sponge, which led him to suspect that the fossils are Camero- 

 spongia-like bodies. On the receipt of the specimens from Dr. Gottsche, I 

 had thin sections cut from one of them, and found it to be a true siliceous 

 sponge belonging to the Lithistida. 



All three of the species described from the Cretaceous flints appear 

 to belong to the same group and should be referred to the Spongise. As 

 they have, however, been described as fossil medusa?, a description of them 

 will be given ; also the figure of Medusites latilobatus (fig. 25, p. 99), and an 

 illustration of the spicular structure cut from a specimen of M. latilobatus 

 (fig. 26, p. 100). 



Genus MEDUSITES Gerniar. 

 Medusites cretaceus Kner. 



Medusites cretaceus Kner, 1866. Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien., Math.-naturwiss. 



Classe, Vol. LII, Part I, pp. 480-482. 

 Medusites cretaceus Brandt, 1871. Mem. Acad. imp. sci. St. Petersbourg, 7th series, 



Vol. XVI, No. 11, p. 2. 

 Medusites cretaceus Haeckel, 1880. System der Medusen, p. 647. 

 Medusites cretaceus Amnion, 1836. Abhaudl. Math.-phys. Classe Kongl. bayerischen 

 Akad. Wiss., Vol. XV, p. 158. 



1 Paleontology of New York, Vol. I, p. 277, pi. 75. fig. 3. 

 MON XXX 7 







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