On the Scattered Skeletal Remains of Holothuroidea. 185 



appears to have been given until Mr Charles Moore, of Bath, 

 read a paper before the meeting of the British Association in 

 1872, " On the Presence of Naked Echinodermata (Holothur- 

 oidea) in the Inferior Oolite and Lias."* In this communica- 

 tion he drew attention to certain minute wheel-like bodies, 

 about the 40th of an inch in diameter, which he had met 

 with in these deposits. The spokes of the wheels are from 

 five to thirteen in each, and the tires are toothed. Omitting 

 the questionable reference of Von Miinster, I suspect Mr 

 Moore's discovery is the first reliable notice of the remains 

 of this interesting group of animals in any Eocks older than 

 those of the Tertiary Period. 



I was much gratified, in 1873, to have brought under my 

 notice by Mr James Bennie certain calcareous microscopic 

 organisms, found by him in the Carboniferous Limestone 

 Series at Limekilns, East Kilbride, and Williamwood, near 

 Glasgow. These I briefly noticed in the same year,-|- but the 

 absence of sufficient material did not permit further investi- 

 gations being made. Of late, however, Mr Bennie has met 

 with similar remains at Fifeshire localities in such quantity, 

 that a notice of them should no longer be delayed. The 

 present communication will embody a description of these 

 organisms. 



2. The Skeletal Remains of Recent Holothuricc. — The de- 

 scriptions to follow will probably be more intelligible if a few 

 brief notes are given on the form and appearance of the 

 spicular skeleton in the recent Holothuroidea. 



The body in this group is enclosed in a coriaceous skin 

 usually containing scattered calcareous grains, plates, and 

 spicules of various forms. They are likewise present in the 

 tentacles. No other form of skeleton exists, except a ring of 

 calcareous pieces at the base of the latter, and around the 

 sesophagus, — whilst in some genera a smaller circlet surrounds 

 the anal or cloacal opening. The ambulacral tube feet occa- 

 sionally have perforated discs. 



The calcareous pieces forming the anterior ring " have often 

 been called the dental ring, or even the teeth, — having at first 



* Brit. Assoc. Report for 1872, pt. 2, p. 117. 



t Mem. Geol. Survey of Scotland, Expl. Sheet 23 (1873), p. 98. 



