SPENCER — MAG AHA FOSSILS. 



Literature of the History of the Study of the 

 Graptolite Family. 



557 



The literature of the study of the Graptolites is widely ditiused 

 both as to place and time. In 1850, Barrande reviewed the 

 geographical and geological distribution of the Family as then 

 known. In the Canadian Organic Remains, decade ii., and sub- 

 sequently in the twentieth Report of the Museum of Natural His- 

 tory of the University of New York, Prof. Hall has given the 

 bibliography of the Family. In 1S67, Mr. Caruthers published 

 " Graptolites : their structure and systematic position." Still 

 more recently, Prof. Nicholson, following Hall, published a paper 

 on the study of the British Graptolites^ in which he gives a list 

 of the published papers. But Prof. Hall's monographs of what 

 is known are sufficient for the American student, unless he wishes 

 to consult the original papers both in Europe and America. 



In turning to the History of the subject we find that Linnaeus, 

 in the first edition of Systema Natures^ in 1736, founded the ge- 

 nus Graptolithus or Graptolites. His type was G. scalaris. 

 But Barrande considers G. Sagittarius (Linnaeus) as the true 

 type of the genus. In 182 1 and 1832, Wahlenberg and Schlo- 

 theim regarded these fossils as slender Orthoceratites. In 1828, 

 Brongniart obtained specimens from the Qiiebec Group at Point 

 Levis, the great home of the family, and described them as 

 Fucoides. Prof. Nillson appears to have been the first to have 

 recognized the Graptolites as polyps, in which opinion he was 

 followed by Brown, Hisinger, and ( thers. Again, Quenstedt 

 and Geinitz regarded them as Cephalapods. This brings us 

 down to 1843, when Vanuxem recognized Brongniart's Fucoi- 

 des dentatus in the Utica slate. In 1843, Gen. Portlock recog- 

 nized them as Zoophytes, and pointed out their analogy with 

 Sertularia and Plumularia., and suggested the idea of sev- 

 eral genera or even orders being included in the genus. By 

 1850 the species known became greatly increased, and they 

 were recognized as characterizing different horizons by Ma- 

 ther, Emmons, Hall, Murchison, De Verneuil, Sedgwick, Sal- 

 ter, Phillips, and others. Some of these geologists considered 

 them as polyps, others as plants, while others did not commit 

 themselves. In 1850 a considerable number of new species 

 were added to the list by Barrande, who placed them among 



