22 Secondary Fossils. 



of fossil cetaceans in these primary and secondary strata of 

 marine origin. Professor Sedgwick indeed states in his re- 

 cent work*, that he possesses in the Woodwardian Museum 

 a mass of anchylosed cervical vertebrse of a whale, which he 

 found near Ely, and which he has no doubt came from the 

 Kimmeridge clay, because it is in the same state as other 

 fossil bones procured from that formation. Professor Owen, 

 who has examined it, says that it exhibits well-marked specific 

 characters, distinguishing it from all other known recent or 

 fossil cetacea. If there were not drift-clay as well as Kim- 

 meridge clay in the low region where these vertebrse were 

 picked up, it would be a decisive indication of a marine 

 mammal of the period of the upper oolite. It was probably 

 derived from that formation ; but the determination of its 

 true site is not so satisfactory as could be wished, where the 

 fossil bears on a theoretical point of such extreme importance 

 in palaeontology. 



According to the " Index Palseontologicus" of Bronn, Morren 

 has described a Tubicinella from the chalk of Belgium ; and 

 Mr Darwin, on calling my attention to this fact, observes, 

 that if this cirripede has been correctly named, it implies 

 with a high degree of probability the presence of Cetacea in 

 the cretaceous sea. It is absolutely certain that a Tubicinella 

 could live in no other way, except imbedded in some soft 

 substance, like the blubber of whales. Not only is the recent 

 Tubicinella invariably thus found, but all four species, in the 

 two nearest allied genera, Coronula and Siphonicella, a new 

 genus of Darwin, have similar habits, therefore it would be 

 contrary to analogy to suppose that a fossil Tubicinella 

 should have been parasitic on any class of animals except 

 the mammalia. 



But while we are waiting for more positive information on 

 this subject, it may be affirmed that the theory of the imper- 

 fect development of the mammalia in the cretaceous or oolitic 

 eras, is sufficiently refuted without the aid of a cetacean from 

 the Kimmeridge clay, seeing that in the antecedent slate of 

 Stonesfield, nature had already evolved both the placenta 



* Preface to 5th Ed. of Studies of Oambvidge. 



