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III. DESCRIPTIONS OF FOSSIL PLANTS FROM 
THE VICINITY OF HEMPSTEAD HARBOR, 
OYSTER BAY AND MONTAUK POINT 
Marsilea Andersoni sp. nov. 
(PLATE 171, FIGS. [-3.) 
Organism pane the appearance of an orbicular, peltate leaf, 
about 6.5 cm. n diameter, with entire margin and finely flabellate, 
obscurely reueulsted (?) nervation. 
For some time I was quite uncertain in regard to the probable 
botanical affinities of these fragmentary specimens. The most 
complete one, represented by Fic. 1, has the general appearance of 
having been an entire, peltate leaf, similar to Melumbo or Bra- 
senta, but the nervation is of a totally different type. This is 
strongly suggestive of the fossil genera Sagenopterts or Alarsz- 
Zidium, supposed to be related to A/arszlea, all of which, however, 
ave compound leaves. Nevertheless, a comparison with flattened 
herbarium specimens of the latter, in which the leaflets are closely 
pressed together and more or less folded or overlapped, shows a 
striking superficial resemblance to our fossils, as may be seen by 
comparing them with PLATE 71, FIGS. 4, 5, 6, which represent leaves 
of VWarsilea Holtingiana Schaff., a living species from Mexico. 
In these figures the overlapping marginal outlines of the leaflets are 
much more distinctly indicated than they actually appear in the 
herbarium specimens, in which they are very obscure and are more 
or less confused with the nervation. 
Iam inclined to think that a fragment similar to our fossils, col- 
lected on Chappaquidick Island and identified by me provisionally 
as Thinnfeldia variabilis Vel. (Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 2: 403. 
pl. 41, f. 12. 1902) may belong to the same species. In this frag- 
ment, reproduced in PLATE 71, Fic. 7, the nervation is well defined 
and may be seen to be almost exactly that of AZarsdlea, and it is an 
interesting coincidence that Dr. Edwin Bayer has referred Zhznn- 
feldia variabilis Vel. to the genus Sagenopteris and mentions the 
occurrence, in association with it, of the fruit of A/arszlea (Fric 
& Bayer, Studien im Gebiete der béhmischen Kreideformation. 
Perucer Schichten, 86. 1900). 
The specimens were collected by Mr. A. E. Anderson, after 
whom the species is named. 
Formation and locality: Cretaceous shale; Manhassett Neck, 
Long Island, N. Y 
