IN THE MCD OF THE LEVANT. 29 



In 1784 Walker examined those of our own coast 

 — a labour in which he was followed by Mon- 

 tagu, in 1803 and 1808, whilst Fichtel and Moll 

 recorded many additional recent forms ; and sub- 

 sequently Lamarck especially studied the fossil 

 species of the Paris basin. M. Dessalinesd'Orbigny 

 was the first to reduce the study of these curious 

 organisms to its present form, and the result of 

 his labours, published in 1826,* has constituted 

 the basis of all modern classification of the various 

 species. All the above naturalists, with the excep- 

 tion of Montagu and Stobseus, have referred these 

 chambered structures to the Cephalopoda, arrang- 

 ing them with the Nautilus and the Cuttlefish. 

 Thoujfh Montagu held the same view, with refe- 

 rence to most of the species, he pointed out 

 that Troncatulina tuberculata (Nautilus lobatulus, 

 Walker) was found parasitic on Fuci, and being 

 aware that the Nautili are never sessile, he decided 

 that it could not be arranged along with the 

 Cephalopoda. He fell, however, into another 

 error, and placed it, as well as the Miliolse, 

 amongst the Serpulse.f Pallas also, speaks 



* Tableau Methodique de la classe des Cephalapodes. 

 Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Vol. vii., p. 96. 

 j" Supplement to the Testacea Britannica, p. 160. 



