220 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.41. 



Catillocrinus tennesseensis Troost. 



Holy siocrinus per plexus (Shumard), 



Synhathocrinus rohustus Shumard. 



ScJiizohlastus decussatus (Shumard) . 

 Practically every one of the above species has been found in the 

 New Providence shales in the Ohio Valley near Louisville. Mr. 

 Springer's notes indicate many more echinoderms which are common 

 to these Kentucky shales and the Whites Creek Springs bed imme- 

 diately under discussion. A more complete study of the other fos- 

 sils will no doubt greatly increase the number of identical species. 

 It therefore seems to me that the equivalence of the New Providence 

 shale and the Tennessee strata under consideration can not be 

 doubted. Not only are the faunas practically identical, but, as 

 mentioned above, the lithological characters of the beds in the two 

 areas are essentially similar. As these Tennessee strata are 

 undoubtedly only the southern extension of the New Providence 

 (Knobstone) shale, it seems desirable to use the same name for them 

 in preference to coining a new term. 



The Fort Payne chert in the Whites Creek Springs section differs 

 but little from the beds elsewhere recognized in Tennessee under the 

 names Fort Payne and Tullahoma. For reasons stated before, the 

 latter name is discarded in favor of the former. Fossils, with the 

 exception of crinoids, are extremely rare and the crinoids are by no 

 means common. All of the crinoids from this horizon are of un- 

 doubted Keokuk forms, as evidenced by Mr. Springer's list which 



follows : 



Crinoids of the Fort Payne chert, Whites Creek Springs, Tenn. 



Agaricocrinus americanus Roemer. 

 Agaricocrinus nodulosus Meek and Worthen. 

 Lohocrinus naslivillae Hall. 

 Alloprosallocrinus conicus Casseday and Lyon. 

 Eretmocrinus ramulosus (Hall). 

 Eretmocrinus praegravis Miller. 

 Dorycrinus gouldi (Hall). 

 The hills in the vicinity of Whites Creek Springs do not rise high 

 enough to show the St. Louis limestone. 



EMBAYMENT DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PROVIDENCE FORMATION IN 



TENNESSEE. 



Sections with the same stratigraphic units as at Whites Creek, 

 and each developed to practically the same thickness, are exposed 

 in the creek valleys just east and west of Whites Creek; but farther 

 away, say 8 or 10 miles west and southwest along the line of out- 

 crops, the New Providence shale division is entirely absent, having 

 pinched out in the intervening space. Going east^ and northeast 



