THE 



JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY 



JANUARY-FEBRUARY, igoi 



PROBLEM OF THE MONTICULIPOROIDEA. I. 



The Monticuliporoidea, comprising the greater part of the 

 so-called Paleozoic Bryozoa, are a comparatively neglected group 

 of fossils, as evidenced in such ways as frequent omission or 

 slight mention of them in lists of fossils or descriptions of 

 faunas. They are not, however, really without great scientific 

 value, but rather their unpopularity may be due to the fact that 

 at present there is a real difficulty for the amateur, the collector, 

 or the geologist in making use of them ; this difficulty being 

 magnified, moreover, by a too readily accepted supposition that 

 these fossils are for none but gifted specialists to study. In fact, 

 the specimens themselves are very often excellent, the species 

 quite easy to learn or to identify, and well worthy of considera- 

 tion as to scientific value in geologic faunas, and the entire group 

 is of peculiar interest to biology. 



Aside from the retarding supposition that the Monticuli- 

 poroidea are difficult, the present difficulties attending them are 

 these : ( I ) the interpretation of the animal that built the honey- 

 comb-structured organic remains is still uncertain; (2) the 

 monographs in which they are described want censorship; (3) 

 study of the fossil involves technique more or less. These 

 obstructions are, however, not absolute. It is the aim of this dis- 

 cussion to render them better understood, and hence less feared. 



Vol. IX, No. 1. 1 



