THE 



GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE. 



NEW SERIES. DECADE IV. VOL. IV. 



No. VIII.— AUGUST, 1897. 



I. — Hapalocrinus Victoria, n.s., Silttkian, Melbotjbnk, and its 



RELATION TO THE PlaTYCRINIDJE. 

 Ey F. A. Bather, M.A., F.G.S. 

 (PLATE XV.) 

 Description of the Type-specimen. 



THE specimen herein described was sent me by Mr. T. S. Hall, M. A., 

 of Melbourne University. It was found by Mr. F. P. Spry 

 in a rock of supposed Silurian age, at the Yarra Improvement 

 Works, near Prince's Bridge, Melbourne, in November, 1896. 

 The matrix is a fine-grained micaceous sandstone, of a dark purple- 

 grey, weathering yellowish. It often contains ci'inoid columnals, 

 such as were long ago noticed by the Geological Survey of Victoria,^ 

 and were figured by W. Blandowski as " Cyatocriniies (probably) 

 pinnatus " - ; but neither from here, nor from any other Silurian 

 rock of Australia, has a crinoid crown hitherto been recorded. 

 The remains of the crinoid are in the form of an impression, 

 coloured i-ed by iron-oxide ; all calcareous matter has been dissolved 

 away. The counterpart of the impression has not been preserved. 

 The specimen was studied by means of wax squeezes ; the drawing 

 (Plate XV) ^ represents such a squeeze ; and the description follows 

 the drawing. 



The crinoid, regarded thus, is seen to lie with its ten arm -branches 

 fairly regularly extended, having their ventral grooves downwards ; 

 the dorsal cup, which would naturally lie base upwards, is bent 

 over so that its apex or base points towards the bottom of the 

 drawing ; no trace of stem remains. 



The Dorsal Cup appears to consist of two circlets of plates, 

 basals and radials. 



The number and shape of the Basals cannot be seen clearl3^ 

 Apparently these plates were small ; the non-appearance of sutures 

 suggests that they were not more than three in number. 



* A. E,. C. Selvmi, " On the Geology of the Gold-fields, etc." : Quart. Journ. 

 Geol. Soc, siv, 53a-8, 1858. 



* " A Desci'iption of Fossil Animalculfe in Primitive Eocks from the Upper 

 Tarra District" : Trans. Phil. Soc. Victoria, i, 221-3, with plate, 1855. See figs. 

 309-14 and 361. 



^ Hapalocrinus Victorim, from a wax squeeze of the unique type-specimen, 

 X 6 diameters. Owing to the imperfection of the specimen, erery single line in this 

 cannot be vouched for ; hut the general relations and the details in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of the calyx are believed to be coiTectly represented. 



DECADE IT. TOL. lY. — NO. VIII. 22 



