128 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



NOTES ON THE ASTEROIDEA, ETC., LIVING AND 



FOSSIL. 



Read before the Geological Section, July 2^th, i8go. 



BY COL. C. C. GRANT. 



My acquaintance with both Kving and fossil is so extremely 

 limited that the Section must not expect to find much original mat- 

 ter in the brief notes I have taken. The information respecting this 

 exceedingly interesting class is derived chiefly from the writings of 

 European naturahsts already known to you, or of scienitfic men in 

 the United States on recent deep sea dredging expeditions. 



In the Silurian rocks of Canada, including the specimens ob- 

 tained in Anticosti a few years ago, I collected altogether a dozen 

 true star-fishes. Some were in duplicate ; one from the CUnton 

 beds was described and figured by Dr. Spencer, now State Geolo- 

 gist of Georgia ; four, perhaps five, I think, were new species ; two 

 were pronounced to be new forms of Stenaster and Palasterina, by 

 the late E. Billings, who seems to have laid them aside so carefully 

 that they have never turned up since his successor, Mr. Whiteaves, 

 was appointed Palseontologist. However, a duplicate of one of them 

 was forwarded to the Irish Geological Survey Office, Dublin, and as 

 the parcel containing it was received by the late Mr. Bailey, I con- 

 clude it may be found in a museum case of Hamilton organic re- 

 mains. It is so small that likely it may have escaped observation. 

 The living star-fishes, not only the ones usually found on reefs and 

 in shallow water, but also at great depths, possess almost as varied 

 an assortment of colours as the moUusca themselves. In the 

 " Cruise of the Blake " the younger Agassiz states: — "Colonies of. 

 ophisthrix may be found on the flats and keys of the Gulf 

 (Mexico), blue, green and red, while here and there a yellow or ver- 

 million star marks the soft ophomexa flaccida. These and their 

 companions, Uving in a strong light and in warm shallow water, pre- 

 sent brilliant and well marked colors — nor are these that inhabit 

 the depths of the ocean always pale. On the contrary many are 

 bright orange and red. The colors of these, however, do not appear 



