d>%,^^^ 



TH :e 



PALEONTOLOGIST. 



No. 4. .- CINCINNATI.— U. P. JAMES. [July 10, 1879. 



Tbe Price of this Number Is 25 Cents. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF NEWLY DISCOVERED FOSSILS— ON GEOLOGICAL 

 NOMENCLATURE— AND SUPPLEMENT TO CATALOGUE. 



By U. p. JAMES. 



GENUS BRACHIOSPONGIA. Marsh. 



Brachiospongia tuberculata. (sp. nov.) James, 

 (tuberculata —warty.) 



Fossil consisting of a sub-circular body with nine arms projecting horizontally 

 somewhat like the spokes of a wagon-wheel, and when placed upon its edge 

 has some resemblance to a clumsily constructed, massive wagon-wheel destitute 

 of tire and felloes. The body is between 5 and 6 inches in diameter, one arm 

 broken off close to the body, the others left from i to 2 inches in length, all 

 having been broken away to such lengths ; but the broken, detached end of one 

 was found, which fits closely to the place of fracture, and makes the length of 

 that arm nearly 3 )4 inches, where it bifurcates ; length of branches of that arm 

 unknown, both being broken away just beyond the bifurcation. The specimen 

 is about two inches thick through the thickest part of the body, and the arms 

 from 1^ to i)^ inches in diameter at their junction, tapering very little, if any, 

 to the fractured ends, except where weathered ; in fact the one showing the bi- 

 furcation thickens towards the end and is two-fifths wider at the bifurcation than 

 where it starts from the body. . 



Prominent tubercles from V^ to y^ of an inch above the general surface, from 

 }( to }4 an inch broad at their bases, and from }( to }4 an inch apart at the bases 

 are distributed irregularly over the surface of the body and arms, also a few 

 pit-like cavities of irregular shapes. One side has, evidently, been exposed to the 

 weather and action of water for some length of time, and become somewhat 

 worn away ; on the worn portion the tubercles are all removed. The general 

 surface of the fossil is rough, but with a good magnifier it is difficult to determine 

 whether the roughness may have been caused by pores, the appearance resembles 

 fine pappilEe, but I am unable to detect any openings ; and the internal structure, 

 at the fractures seems destitute of any organized arrangement, it is compact and 

 granular like in appearance. 



A very fine specmien of B. (Scyphia), digitata, Owen in Mr. C. B. Dyer's collec- 

 tion, has hollow body and fingers. B. tuberculata may have been hollow, but, 

 if so, became filled with foreign matter, as the specimen shows nothing of the 

 kind now. x\ marked feature of B. digitata is, the fingers or arms curve out- 

 ward and downward and taper towards the ends whilst in this sp. they project 

 directly outward from the body and do not taper. B. digitata has none of the 

 tubercles that are so prominent on the surface of tuberculata ; the latter is much 

 more massive than the former, but the number of arms are the same on each. 



25 



