Alfred Bell — Fossils of East Anglian Boxstones. 409 



Clai-ke, of Ipswich, on the nodule "bed" and its contents, figuring 

 amongst other items a ziphioid rostrum. This was apparently repro- 

 duced with other species in an early paper on Red Crag Mammals, 1 

 by Professor Owen. 



Mr. S. V. Wood was the first to recognize the shells in the 

 boxstones, 2 specifying several of these by name, but nothing further 

 was done till Professor Sir Ray Lankester, in 1865, briefly noticed 

 the deposit and, in 1868, 3 discussed at some length its possible origin 

 and that of its contents. 



Unfortunately for science, the closing of the " Coprolite " industry 

 or phosphate diggings, and the little interest taken in the stones 

 when they were obtainable, limits the scope of our inquiry, and all 

 that can be done is to utilize the material at hand. This is chiefly 

 conserved in the Museums of Practical Geology, London, Ipswich, 

 Norwich, and York, and in one or two private collections, all of 

 which, by the courtesy of those in charge of them, it has been my 

 privilege critically to examine. I have also to thank the Trustees 

 of the Percy Sladen Memorial Fund for assistance in collecting 

 information. 



The specimens upon which the following lists are founded 

 commonly occur as moulds of the exterior of the shells, showing the 

 sculpture, or as casts of the interior ; the shelly matter being rarely 

 preserved. From these it has been possible by the use of wax or 

 gutta-percha to reproduce the general details of the organism, which 

 has been done by permission, from a number of the rarer and more 

 perfect examples, especially those in the York and Norwich Museums. 

 These will be ultimately added to those specimens already preserved 

 in the Museum of Practical Geology, London. 



The fossils are so scattered that it may be useful to students to 

 know the Museums where they can be seen, and to have a reference 

 to some good figure of the shell referred to in the text. As a rule 

 the organisms have suffered little attrition, the sculptural details are 

 well preserved, and most of the bivalves are found closed, as if 

 embedded alive before the muscles had become relaxed. 



Boxstone Mollusca. 

 Cylichna sp. 

 Cylichna cylindracea, Ravn, K. Danske Vid. Selsk. Skrift. (7), vol. iii, 

 p. 367, pi. viii, fig. 15, 1907. Mus. Pract. Geol. London, York. 



Ringicula auriculata, Menard. 



Ringicula auriculata. Beyrich, Zeitsch. deutsch. Geol. Ges., vol. v, p. 330, 

 pi. v, fig. 13, 1853. Mus. Pract. Geol. London. 



Ringicula striata, Philippi. 

 Ringicula striata, Philippi, Beit. tert. N.W. Deutschl., p. 28, pi. iv, fig. 23, 

 1843. 

 Ravn, K. Danske Vid. Selsk. Skrift. (7), vol. iii, p. 365, 

 pi. viii, fig. 11, 1907. 



Mus. Pract. Geol. London. 



1 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol. xii, 1S56. 



2 Crag Moll., pt. ii, 1851. 



3 Geol. Mag., Vol. II, pp. 103-49, 1865 ; Vol. V, p. 254, 1868. 



