LIFE 



401 







t. These giants among their kind were aquatic, but whether 

 inhabitants of salt or fresh water is not certain. 



Mollusks, crinoids, corals, and similar marine forms are almost 

 entirely absent from the fauna of the Waterlime. The few brachio- 

 pods found are usually pauperitic, as though they lived in uncon- 

 vniul conditions. 



It was at this time that the earliest known scorpions, kin of the 

 eurypterids, appeared both in America and Europe. The European 



Fig- 355- Arthropods, other than Trilobites: a, Enryptcrns fischcri Eirh.; 

 Pterygotus anglicus Agass.; c, Palaeophonus caledonicus Hunter. 



forms have been thought to be land species, though this has been 

 questioned. The stings and poison glands have been identified, 

 and the significant name, Palaeophonus, "ancient murderer," 

 applied in consequence (Fig. 355, c). The American species have 

 been thought to be aquatic. 



The presence of fishes emphasizes the peculiarities of this fauna. 

 Except for their occurrence at a few points in the Rocky Mountains 

 in the Ordovician, fish remains have not been found in America 

 until this stage. In Europe a few fishes appear somewhat earlier, 

 but nearly all fish remains of the period yet found are in the upper- 

 most horizons of the Silurian, or in deposits that form the transition 

 to the Devonian, where they are associated with eurypterids, land 



tlants, and marine invertebrates. 



