'' 1903 



EEYISION OF THE BLASTOIDEAE, WITH A PKO- 

 POSED NEW CLASSIFICATION, AND DESCRIP- 

 TION OF NEW SPECIES.* 



G. Hambach. 



Our knowledge of the morphology of the Blastoideae has 

 made such progress during the last two decades that a revision 

 is highly desirable ; first, because all late publications on this 

 suljject, even the newest text-books on palaeontology, repeat 

 old and erroneous conceptions which are, to a great extent, 

 accompanied by incorrect illustrations,! and secondly, because 

 of the inadequacy of the present classification, which is almost 

 an arbitrary one, not based on permanent anatomical differ- 

 ences, nor ontogenetic peculiarities. New material which I 

 have collected during this period, and also that which has 

 kindly been intrusted to me for comparison with my own, of 

 which I may mention the whole collection of Blastoideae 

 belonging to the Smithsonian Institution, numbering 1038 

 specimens, also a very valuable collection of Mr. F. A. 

 Sampson, corroborate the suppositions expressed in my first 

 paper, on " The Anatomy of the Blastoideae," and add new 

 facts to those already known. 



Blastoideae are known from the following countries be- 

 sides America: England, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, 

 Russia and Australia. The main bulk of the material 

 belongs to America, however, and especially to the family 

 Pentreraidae. In no other family do we find such abun- 

 dant and such well preserved material as we do in this 

 family ; which fact allows us to form conclusions with a 

 greater degree of certainty than has been the case hereto- 



* Presented by title to The Academy of Science of St. Louis, June 3, 1901. 



t So is, for example, the figure of Granatocriniis melonoides on PI. IX., 

 Vol. V. of the Illinois Geological Survey absolutely a false representation 

 of this species although it was drawn by the eminent palaeontologist, 

 Meek. 



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