144 



from a quarry in the neighbourhood of Bath, very much resembles the 

 one described and figured by Faujas St. Fond. The stellular forms on 

 this are, indeed, much smaller than those on the Maestricht fossil, and 

 do not possess so much of a rloscular appearance: the general figure of 

 the two fossils are, however, very similar. On one side of the Bath 

 fossil, a crystal of calcareous spar is adherent; and the fracture at its 

 lower end manifests a slight spathose appearance, in which, however, 

 no traces of organization, similar to those in the Maestricht fossil, are 

 observable. But, to return to the consideration of the general cha- 

 racters of the fossil, Fig. 2, it is worth}' of attention in this, as well as in 

 all the preceding Maestricht fossils, that the surfaces of those parts 

 which owe their form to animal organization, have none of the smooth- 

 ness of surface belonging to corals, but rather the granulated spongeous 

 appearance peculiar to alcyonia. Perhaps, this circumstance, cer- 

 tainly of ambiguity, may, in some measure, excuse the placing of 

 these unknown bodies among the alcyonia. Hesitation on this point 

 may appear unnecessary, since I have already remarked, whilst ob- 

 jecting to Mons. Guettard's opinions, respecting the French alcyo- 

 nites, that they possessed not the stelliform figure which was essential 

 to madrepore. In these fossils, it may be said, that the stelliform 

 figure exists, and that therefore no doubt should be entertained of 

 these substances being madreporean. But it must be considered, 

 that although no coral can be regarded as a madrepore, unless it pos- 

 sess a stelliform structure ; yet it is not every body possessing such a 

 structure that is to be considered as a madrepore. 



The fossil, Plate XII. Fig. 9 being a flint from Essex, with which 

 I was kindly presented by Dr. Menish, illustrates this in a very satis- 

 factory manner. The stelliform appearance of this fossil would, at 

 first sight, induce many to place it among the madrepores; but a care- 

 ful inspection of it, with a lens of moderate power, proves that it is 

 indubitably a species of alcyonium. When thus exa-nin( d, it is dis- 

 covered, that this body possessed none of that hard or osseous sub- 



