STAR-FISHES. 



45 



*'stone-lUk's" (Fig. 30), and the term {Crinoidece) applied 

 to the fiimily is one which simply means " lily-liiie." The 

 abundance of these animals in former ages, and their present 

 scarcity, have suggested the following paragraph, which we 

 extract from the work just referred to. " One of the most 

 remarkable phenomena displayed to us by 

 the researches of the geologist, is the 

 evidence of the existence, in primeval 

 times, of animals and plants, the analogues 

 of which are now rare or wanting on our 

 lands and in our seas. Among those tribes 

 which have become all but extinct, but 

 which once presented numerous generic 

 modifications of form and structure, the 

 order of Crinoid Star-fishes is most pro- 

 minent. Now scarcely a dozen kinds of 

 these beautiful animals live in the seas of 

 our globe, and individuals of these kinds 

 are comparatively rarely to be met with: 

 formerly they were among the most nu- 

 merous of the ocean's inhabitants; — so 

 numerous that the remains of their skele- 

 tons constitute great tracts of the dry land 

 as it now appears. For miles and miles 

 we may walk over the stony fragments of 

 the Crinoidcce; fragments which were 

 once built up in animated forms, encased 

 in living flesh, and obeying the will of 

 creatures among the loveliest of the in- 

 habitants of the ocean. Even in their 

 present disjointed and petrified state, they 

 excite the admiration, not only of the 

 naturalist, but of the common gazer ; and 

 the name of stone-lily, popularly applied 

 to them, indicates a popular appreciation 

 of their beauty." 



We have already seen, among the Zoophytes, instances of 

 the secretion of calcareous matter within a living body. If 

 we suppose a Pol)-pe on a long-joiuted stalk, extending five 

 pair of arms, composed of a vast number of pieces, all uni- 

 formly shaped and jointed together, we shall have some idea 

 of what these animals were in their living state. The detached 



Fi|f. 30. — ExcRixiTE. 



