H. Woodward — New Lias Crustacean. 



11 



Lias-clay : the' shelly envelope, black, and glistening, still remains 

 upon the darkest parts, whilst the lighter portions, though retaining 

 the brown stains which indicate the general contour of the animal, 

 have been decorticated, as it were, by the shrinkage of the clay 

 in drying. 



[All fossils from clay strata, but especially those from the Gault, the 

 Oxford-clay, and the Lias, require almost daily care and attention 

 for the first few weeks after they are removed from the bed in 

 which they occur, or the entire surface will flake off in drying, A 

 judicious application of very dilute gum, mixed with one-fourth 

 part glycerine or sugar, is found to give the necessary tenacity to 

 these delicate remains. But the practised fossil-collector prefers 

 treating such objects with thin gelatine as a more durable harden- 

 ing material.^ The Eeaders of the Geological Magazine must 

 pardon this digression, but I speak feelingly, having seen beautiful 

 specimens perish, for lack of daily gum- water.] 



Although the extremely long and slender rostrum (see woodcut, 

 fig. 1) observable in most specimens from Solenhofen (and most 



Fig. 1.— Eostrum oi ^ger tipulm-is, Schlot. sp. LithograpTiie stone, Solenliofen. 

 Fig. 2.— Distal estremity of 1st thoracic limb of uEger tipularis, showing the double 

 row of setce with which it is furnished. 



probably existing in all the species of this genus ^) is wanting in 

 this Lias example, it may have been present when first removed 

 from the cliff. T]ie slab has, however, been unfortunately fractured 

 longitudinally, just across the very part where the rostrum would 

 have laid. The five pairs of thoracic limbs and the abdominal 

 segments are very well preserved, and I have therefore no hesitation 

 in assigning it to the genus JEger. 



If we refer to the plate we shall see that the first pair of thoracic 

 legs (marked a) are long and slender, with monodactylous ex- 

 tremities ; each joint is fringed with a double row of fine spines or 

 sete. In this well-marked generic character it agrees exactly with 

 the Solenhofen species (see woodcut, fig. 2) ; but the body and 

 limbs are much more robust in our Lias example, than in any of 



1 See Geological Magazine, vol. ii. p. 239. 



- Dr. Oppel in his valuable work, Palaeontologische Mittheilimgen, etc., Stuttgart, 

 1862, has figured and described five species oi ^ger from Solenhofen, two of which, 

 ^. Bronni and jE. armatus, are destitute of any prominent rostrum. 



