U7 



ENCRI KITES. 



ENCRINITES. 



Utter, he think*, U the mod probable idea, nine* be bad frequently 

 mrt witb peciuien* in that itate, but had never Men any aide-arm* 

 eloping round extnneoua matter. Tbe author eUewhere state* that 

 he baa in Tain endearoured to trace aperture* at the terminating 

 point* of the finger* and tentacula, although OuetUrd allege* that 

 her* orifice*) existed aerring a* mouth* to the animal in taking it* 



1'fntart itius Capvt-Mfduttr. 



In the front of the figure two of the arm* are much smaller than the other*, 

 ihnwing thit the animal hid nattered mutilation, and had employed its power 

 of reproducing the lout parti, a, The auxiliary *icle-rms, articulating at 

 distant intervals with the vertebral column, capable also of being reproduced. 

 (Miller and Buckland.) 



Miller observe* that columnar fragments, smaller and rather neater 

 than tbone of thin pecien, occur in the Oolite at Dundry, the Forest 

 Marble at Chippenham, and the Chalk near Lynie, but that it remains 

 to be aacerUmed, by the acquiition of perfect xpecimcnn, whether 

 thene belong to a variety of 1'. C'aput-Mnltarr, or po8e> peculiar 

 character* sufficient to ditingiiih them a* a new species. 



The only tiring Britiih ipeciea of animal representing thin family is 

 the Comamla rotacta. [(.'OMATTI.A.] Tbe young of thin animal wa* 

 furmerly called Patacrtntu Kurojxtut. 



Pouil Specie*. 



P. Briaretu, the Briarean Fentacrinite, may be taken a* an example. 

 It U thu* characterised by Miller : " A crinoidal aniinnl, having a 

 large column formed of numerou* pentagonal joint*, alternately 

 larger and miallrr, articulating by lunace* with ]>cntpctalou8 com- 

 preaMd *emi*triated marking* ; fire auxiliary arm*, formed of much 

 oomprewed auboval joint*, proceeding at interval* from the column ; 

 five joint* of the pelvi*, *up|>orting tint five and aecond five coital 

 joint*, on which the Maputo affix, from which ten arm* proceed, each 

 having two band*, formed of numerou* finger*, aometime* amounting 

 to sixteen." 



Dr. Buckland observe* that the root of the nriarean Pentacrinite 

 wa* probably alight, and capable of In-ing withdrawn from it* attach- 

 ment. The abwnce of any large *olid accretion* like those of the 

 Pwtr-Encrinite, Viy which thi* I'entacrinito could hare been fixed 

 permanently at the bottom, and the further fact of it* being frequently 

 found in contact with mm pa of drifted wood converted into jet, lead* 

 him to infer that the llriamui I'entacrinite wa* a locomotive animal, 

 having the power of attaching iUelf temporarily either to extraneous 

 floating bodie* or to rock* at the bottom of the aaa, cither by it* *ide- 



arm* or by a moveable articulated email root We confea* tbat we 

 cannot entirely concur with the Professor on this point That in 

 early youth the animal may have floated till it found a lubetanoe fit 

 for it to adhere to, we do not deny ; but we think that after it wa* 

 once e*Ublihed and had attained a good lire, it wa* fixed for ever. 

 The great length of the *tem and the numerou* Hide-arm* mu*t have 

 secured for it a field of action beyond that of the Pear-Kncrinite and 

 the Lily-Encrinite, both of which we know bad permanent root*; 

 and if we are to judge by analogy, there i* pregnant evidence that the 

 specimen* of the living specie*, more especially the larger one men- 

 tioned by Mr. Tobin, who saw it quite freah out of the sea, and to 

 whose expression* above given we refer the reader, suffered their 

 stem* to be torn asunder without quitting their mooring*. 



It is found in the lower strata of the Oolite Formation, especially 

 the Lias : Lyme, Watchet, Keynsham, Ac. 



Mr. Miller gives three other fossil species, namely P. tuliangularii, 

 P. batalliformu, and P. tulerculalut. Ooldfius ha* recorded the 

 following additional species, namely P. tcalarw (Ooldfusg), P. cinyu- 

 lattu (Munster), P. pentayonalii (Qoldfuss), P. moniliformii (MiinxUT), 

 P. tubtulcatui (Miinster), P. tubtertt (Munster), P. dubitu (Qoldfuas), 

 and P. prucut (Qoldfuis), and, with a note of interrogation, Penta- 

 erintu(!) paradoxui. 



a, Prntncrinut Sriarna reduced (Lvmc) ; *, rare and beautiful ipecimcn of 

 Briarean Pentncrlnite (natural le), from the I.laa at Lyme Re(ti, in tin 

 tion of Mr. Johnnon, of Brintol, howlng the plated integument of the abdominal 

 cavity, terminated upwards by a flexible proboMii, and ourrounded by the 

 commencement of the arm and Anger*. (Figure* and description from Dr. 

 liurkland'n ' Brldgewater Trcatiae.') 



Phytocrinvu, De Blainvillo (Ililernvla, Fleming; Pcnlaerinvu, 

 Thompson). Body regular, circular, covered and surrounded above 

 by a sort of solid cupule, compoeed of a centro-donal un.livi.lid 

 niiiml which are articulated, first, a single row of accessory 

 unguiculated rays, then another row of great didymous and pinnated 

 ray* on the other side of three basilary joints, of which the first only 



* 



Pftitacrinta Europtrvt of Thompson. 



i. several individnnln In dilTcrcnt tagTf of development adhering by the b*ue 

 of n articulated column to the stem of K coralline ; ft, one of the individual* 

 expanded and magnified. 



