hito the Depths 297 



the refuge of those cold, unlighted haunts as the hist 

 resort from tlie too strenuous competition imposed by 

 the parvenues of the thickly populated shores. One 

 form Is a family of lobsterlike animals {Eryonid^e) 

 which have fossil representatives in some very old 

 rocks; another Is a group of crabs {Homolodromud<^) ^ 

 which seem to be the most ancient of the existing 

 brachyurans. It Is also quite probable that certain 

 prawns {Penaida and A canthephyrid<£) found there 

 are of an older type than their shallow-water relatives. 

 Then, there are the Crinolds, or sea lilies. Their his- 

 tory, too, Is written in stone. They are often called 

 stone lilies on account of their close resemblance to the 

 lilies of the land. They are not plants, however, but 

 are related to the starfishes. The long-jointed cal- 

 careous stem Is supported In the ooze by rootlike 

 branches, and the top is capped with what has the 

 appearance of being an inverted starfish; literally, this 

 is a starfish sustained by a stem. Crinolds have existed 

 from early geologic times, and apparently were once 

 the only class of echlnoderms; traces of their evolution 

 into other forms can be followed to some extent 

 through successive geologic periods. Their fossil 

 forms are very abundant, showing that they once 

 thrived in enormous numbers. The fact of their pres- 

 ent existence is a modern discovery, for, although their 

 fossils had long been familiar, no one was aware that 

 there were living descendants until the deep sea was 

 dredged. But they are dying out, there now remaining, 

 perhaps, not more than twelve of the two hundred 

 genera which are known to have formerly Inhabited the 

 sea. One bed of Crinolds lies off the coast of Cuba ; but 



