C R I 



[62 ] 



C R O 



marble is composed principally of the fos- 

 silized remains of crinoidea, cemented to- 

 gether by carbonate of lime. 



CRINOIDE'AN. Belonging to the order 

 of Crinoidea. 



Although the representatives of crinoi- 

 deans in our modern seas are of rare oc- 

 currence, this family was of vast numeri- 

 cal importance among the earliest inha- 

 bitants of the ancient deep. The exten- 

 sive range which it formerly occupied 

 among the earliest inhabitants of our 

 planet, may be estimated from the fact, 

 that the crinoi'deans already discovered 

 have been arranged in four divisions, 

 comprising nine genera, most of them 

 containing several species, and each indi- 

 vidual exhibiting, in every one of its many 

 thousand component little bones, or ossi- 

 cula, a mechanism which shows them all 

 to have formed parts of a well-contrived 

 and delicate mechanical instrument. 

 Prof. Buckland. 



CRINOIDE'A. (from Kpivov and 7oc, Gr.) 

 Lily-shaped zoophytes. A name given 

 to the whole class of encrinites and pen- 

 tacrinites, from their resemblance to the 

 head of the lily. 



The fossil remains of this order have 

 been long known by the name of stone 

 lilies, or encrinites, and have lately been 

 classed under a separate order by the 

 name of Crinoidea. This order compre- 

 hends many genera and species, and is 

 ranged by Cuvier after the asteriae, in the 

 division of zoophytes. The skeleton of 

 the crinoidea is composed of numerous 

 ossicula, the number of bones in one ske- 

 leton being computed at upwards of thirty 

 thousand. Mr. Miller, in his work, en- 

 titled " a Natural History of the Cri- 

 noidea," thus defines them: " An animal 

 with a round, oval, or angular column, 

 composed of numerous articulating joints, 

 supporting at its summit a series of plates, 

 or joints, which form a cup-like body, 

 containing the viscera, from whose upper 

 rim proceed five articulated arms, divided 

 into tentaculated fingers, more or less 

 numerous, surrounding the aperture of the 

 mouth, situated in the centre of a plated 

 integument, which extends over the abdo- 

 minal cavity, and is capable of being con- 

 tracted into a conical or proboscal shape." 

 The detached ossicula of the crinoidea 

 occur in myriads in the mountain lime- 

 stone and transition rocks, forming suc- 

 cessions of strata, each many feet in 

 thickness, and miles in extent ; showing 

 how largely the bodies of animals have 

 contributed by their remains, to increase 

 the mass of materials which compose the 

 mineral world. If we imagine a star- 

 fish to possess a long flexible column, the 

 base of which is attached to a rock, we 



shall have a correct idea of the general 

 character of the crinoidea, or lily-shaped 

 animals ; which are so called from their 

 fancied resemblance, when in a state of 

 repose, to a closed lily. Buckland. 

 Mantell. 

 CRISP, (crispus, Lat.) 



1 . Curled ; crisped ; wrinkled ; veined or 

 grained. 



2. Indented. 



3. Brittle ; friable. 



CRISPA'TION. (crispation, Fr.) The act 

 of curling ; the state of being curled. 



CRI'SPATED. (crispe, Fr.) Rough with 

 waving lines. 



CRISPISU'LCANT. (crispisulcans , Lat.) 

 Waved, or undulating. 



CRI'STATE. \(cristatus, Lat.) Crested; 



CRI'STATED. \ tufted ; plumed ; combed. 



CRO'CODILE. (icpoKodtiXoQ, Gr. crocodilus, 

 Lat. coccodrillo, It. crocodile, Fr.) An 

 amphibious voracious animal of the genus 

 Lacerta, or lizard. It is covered with 

 very hard scales, which can be pierced 

 with great difficulty, except under the belly. 

 It has four feet, and a tail, with five toes 

 on each of the fore, and four toes on each 

 of the hind feet, of which only the three 

 internal ones on each foot are armed with 

 nails. It has a wide throat, with several 

 rows of teeth. The fossil remains of cro- 

 codiles are common and abundant. Cro- 

 codiles are omnivorous. The living spe- 

 cies of the crocodile family are twelve, 

 one Gavial, three Alligators, and eight true 

 Crocodiles. Crocodiles, it is said, con- 

 tinue to grow throughout the whole of 

 their existence, and Buckland states their 

 increase to be no less than four hundred 

 times their original bulk, between the 

 period at which they leave the egg and 

 their full maturity. Crocodiles are fur- 

 nished with a frequent succession of teeth, 

 in order to maintain a duly proportioned 

 supply during every period of their life. 

 The vertebrae of the neck rest on each 

 other through the medium of small false 

 ribs, whereby all lateral motion is rendered 

 difficult, and the crocodile is unable to 

 deviate suddenly from his course ; this 

 renders escape from them facile, by either 

 running round them, or pursuing a zigzag 

 course. The eggs of the crocodile are as 

 large as those of the goose. They inhabit 

 fresh water, but they cannot swallow their 

 food under water. 



CROCODI'LEAN. > T, , .. .* V i 



CROCODILIAN. \ Relatin S to the crocodlle - 



CROP-OUT. A term used by miners to ex- 

 press the rising up at the surface of one 

 or more strata. A stratum rising to the 

 surface is said to crop out. 



CROSS-STONE. Called also Staurolite, and 

 Harmotome ; it is the Paratomer Kuphon- 

 spath of Mohs, and the Kreutzstein of 



