FOSSIL FAUNA. 115 



PLATE XLVIII. 



The Lily Encrinite {Encrinites monileformis). 



This exquisite species of the extinct Crinoideans which swarmed in the seas of the secondary 

 ages of Geology, is equally interesting and attractive to the amateur collector and the scientific 

 observer. The specimen figured is a charming example of the " Stone Lily" partly expanded, 

 attached to a block of limestone studded with encrinal ossicula. Mr. Parkinson informed me 

 that it was formerly in the collection of Mr. Jacob Forster, and cost him twenty guineas ; 

 from five to ten guineas is now the usual price for a specimen in a good state of preservation, 

 with any part of the column attached. This Encrinite is not known to occur in England. The 

 specimens seen in collections are for the most part from Lower Saxony : this species has only 

 been found in the limestone strata called " Musclielkalk" one of the subdivisions of the Trias, 

 or New Red Sandstone formation, of Germany.' The most celebrated locality of these fossils 

 is in Brunswick, near the village of Erkerode, about two miles from the town bearing the 

 same name. The bed in which they are found is a soft argillaceous cream-coloured limestone, 

 about one foot and a half in thickness ; and the stone is composed chiefly of trochites, or detached 

 ossicula of the stems, and a few fragile shells and corals. 



An elaborate account of the structure of the skeleton of the Lily Encrinite is given by 

 Mr. Miller, in his valuable work, " The Natural History of the Lily-shaped Animals," (1 vol. 

 4to. 1821.) Mr. Parkinson had previously carefully investigated the diiFerent parts which 

 enter into the composition of the receptacle and column, and had given them names analogous 

 to those employed to designate the bones of the skeleton in vertebrated animals. This nomen- 

 clature has very properly been abandoned ; but I subjoin Mr. Parkinson's description of the 

 figures, to record his ingenuity and skill in dissecting organic remains : — 



" Fig. 1, The Lily Encrinite, with part of its vertebral column attached. In this specimen 

 is seen the extensive capacity for motion yelded by the peculiar form of the vertebra; 

 in the superior part of the column ; and by the fortunate removal of a portion of the 

 fingers, a fair view is given of the natural arrangement of the tentacula. 



Fig. 2. The pentagonal base, composed of the ossa innominata, and forming with the scapulte 

 and clavicles, the pelvis, in which were contained the organs of digestion, &c. 



' Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 322. Wonders of Geology, vol. ii. pp. 534, 549. 



