342 Mr. R. Kirkpatiick on the 



From Nicholson's great monograpli on the British Stroma- 

 toporoids I extract a few historical data. 



The histor}' of the group |)ractically begins with Goldfiiss 

 (1826), who described a fossil (|)robablj from the Devonian 

 of Gerolstein), which he named Stromatopora concentrica 

 and placed near Millepora. 



In the following list I give the name of the author, the 

 date, and his views as to the nature of Stromatoporoids : — 



GoLDFUSs, 1826. Hydrocoralliuse. 



Steininger, 1834. Sponges. 



F. RcEMEB, 1843-4. Corals. 



Hall, 1847. Alcj^ouariaiis near Tubipora. 



d'Orbigny, 1850-51. Sponges. 



The two Sandbebgers, 1850-56. Polyzoa. 



F. RcEMER, 1851-56. Polyzoa^ but later tabulate corals like Favosites 

 and Chcetetes. 



Billings, 1857. Beatricea (a Stromatoporoid), a vegetable. 



EiCHWALD, 1860. Horny sponges. 



Hyatt, 1865. Some Stromatoporoids regarded as Cephalopoda. 



Baron von Rosen, 1867. Horny sponges. 



Dr. G. Lindstrom, 1870. Foraminiiera, and, in 1873, Labechia allied 

 to Hydractinia. 



Salter, 1873. Calcareous sponges. 



Nicholson, 1873-4. Calcisponges. 



Dawson, 1875. Between Foraminifera and Sponges. 



Sollas, 1877. llexactinellid sponges, and, later, partly siliceous 

 sponges, partly Hydrozoa. 



Carter, 1877. Hydrozoa. 



Nicholson, 1886 (the Monograph). Partly Hydroida, partly Hydro- 

 corallinse. 



Zittel, 1903. Hydrozoa. 



Geikie, 1903. Polyzoa. 



Steinmann, 1907. Hydrozoa. 



Kirkpatrick, August 1912 : Sponges. September 1912 : Fora- 

 minifera. 



To sum up, within the last eighty-six years Stromato- 

 poroids have been regarded as Foraminifera ; calcareous, 

 horny, Monaxonellid, and Hexactinellid Sponges ; Hydroida, 

 Hydrocorallina3, Alcyonaria, corals (Anthozoa), Polyzoa, 

 Cephalopoda, vegetables. 



Kepler wrote a treatise, which is said to be highly instruc- 

 tive, entitled ^ A Book of Mistakes.' A \'q\w observations on 

 some of the errors recorded in the above list will not be 

 without interest. 



The *' Ccelenterate " view was mainly held on account 

 of the presence of " tabulie," the Sponge theory owing to 

 the oscule-like astrorhiza?, to the incrusting and enveloping 

 character of some species, and to the resemblance of the skeletal 



