306 Mr. F. A. Bather on British Fossil Crinoids. 



is worthy of note that once in January a large example was 

 procured by the trawl in deep water and at a considerable dis- 

 tance from the shore — a solitary survivor of the hosts of 

 autumn. 



2. On Arachnactis. 



In the Zetlandic seas no more conspicuous form than 

 Arachnactis occurs amongst the pelagic animals in July. It 

 is, however, by no means common along the eastern shores of 

 Scotland, so far as present experience goes. M Plymouth, 

 again, Mr. Harmer stated at the meeting of the British Asso- 

 ciation at Newcastle that it was abundant. Its comparative 

 rarity in the Bay of St. Andrews is peculiar, since Edwardsice 

 are by no means unfrequent ; indeed, the stomachs of some 

 Pleuronectids are filled with them. The only example yet 

 observed at St. Andrews is a minute form about ^ inch in 

 diameter which was captured in the midwater-net on the 11th 

 June amongst Hydromedusae and other Ccelenterates. In 

 lateral view (fig. 1) it somewhat resembles a cushion-star, 

 and is more or less translucent, a faint tinge of yellowish exist- 

 ing only at the tips of the tentacles. Of the latter, four are 

 conspicuously larger than the rest, three a little shorter, while 

 two tentacle-buds occur opposite the median one (fig. 2). 

 The oral region shows two prominent papillae, and the mesen- 

 teries, though apparently not quite complete, are well 

 marked. 



Fig. 1. Tig. 2. 



XL1II.— British Fossil Crinoids. By F. A. Bather, B.A., 

 F.G.S.j Assistant in the British Museum (Natural History). 



[Plate XIV.] 



I. Historical Introduction. 



The fossil Crinoidea of the British Isles are of great interest 

 to the zoologist, for in the early days of geology they attracted 

 the attention of many enthusiastic workers and most of the 

 common genera were established on the evidence of British 

 specimens. The first work of any importance is James 



