1880.J 



NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 



293 



November 24. 1879. 



on a new fucoidal plant from the trias. 



by henry carvill lewis, 



The fossil described here as Palseophycas limaciformis^ sp. nov., 



is from a very beautiful and well-defined specimen, casts of which 



stand out in relief upon a slab of Triassic sandstone. It was 



found by the writer near Milford, New Jersey,' in upper Triassic 



strata. Its general faeies is like that of some species of Palseo- 



phycus and Astropthycus of the Carbonifei'ons age, and of Butho- 



trephis of the Clinton group, and it belongs to the same order of 



plants — that of the fucoid or marine algae. The general, rather 



than generic name of Palaeophycus, which is quite as indefinite as 



that of Fucoides, is well applicable to it. 



The frond is cjdindrical and jointed. The ramuli, or short 

 l)ranches of the frond are flesh}-, tubular, elongated bodies of about 

 an inch in length. They are spindle-shaped, attenuate, and more 



or less curved at both ends. 

 The}' are very frequentl}^ ag- 

 gregated in bunches of three 

 or more, radiating from a com- 

 mon point of growth, and are 

 generall}' detached from the 

 main frond. The form of 

 these bodies is characteristic 

 of the plant, being distinctl}' 

 snail-shaped; hence its spe- 

 cific name, " limacifomnis.-^ 

 At the locality where it 

 was found there also occur 

 specimens of ripple-marked 

 sandstone, also of rain-prints 

 and mud-cracks. These show 

 the phj-sical conditions under 

 which the plant grew — that 

 of mudflats in shallow water 

 frequentl}' left exposed to 

 sun and rain. The rain-prints 

 have been compared with 



Nat. Size. 

 PalcEophycus limaciformis Lewis, sp. nov. 



