4 R. Tate — Census of the Lias Invertehrata. 



think this fact would have gone for much. We have independent 

 physical evidence that the Crag was followed by a period of intense 

 cold ; and, knowing this, we are justified in looking upon the arctic 

 character of the Crag fauna, which in itself would not have been 

 much to lean upon, as a pi'oof that the refrigeration began during 

 the Crag period. 



I have spoken very plainly, because the man who speaks plainly 

 is most likely to make himself understood ; but I will venture, 

 though it is hardly necessary, to say that nothing could be further 

 from my thoughts than to show any want of respect for the eminence 

 and scientific attainments of Dr. Carpenter, whom it would be im- 

 pertinence in me to praise. 



II, — A Census of the Marine Invertebrate Fauna of the Lias. 

 By Ealph Tate, Assoc. Lin. Soc, F.G. S., etc. 



THE Marine Invertebrate Fauna of the Lias would, if one consulted 

 Morris's Catalogue of British Fossils, published in 1854, be re- 

 garded as exceedingly poor, especially in certain classes, relative to 

 the thickness of the rocks constituting that system. Thus, I count, 

 eliminating synonyms, 130 species of Cephalopoda, 5 of Gasteropoda, 

 57 of Conchifera, 37 of Brachiopoda, 1 of Crustacea, 2 of Annelida, 

 21 of Echinodermata, and 2 of Zoantharia, and if to these we add 

 the fish and other forms of life, we obtain a total of 426 species of 

 plants and animals. But during the lapse of 16 years, this number 

 has been nearly tripled, and to those classes, which were either un- 

 represented or characterized by a paucity of species, great accessions 

 have been made. Notably, the number of Gasteropoda has risen 

 from 5 to 269 ; the Conchifera from 57 to 297, the Brachiopoda have 

 been augmented by the addition of 39 species, the Corals now num- 

 ber 67, and the Polyzoa and Sponges, previously unrepresented, now 

 have a place in the list. 



In the last decade the following monograj)hs have appeared 

 in the publications of the Palseontographical Society : — The Liassic 

 Starfishes, by Dr. Wright; the Liassic Belemnitid^, by Professor 

 Phillips ; and the Liassic Corals, by Professor Dr. Duncan. These 

 bring up our information on the classes treated of to a satis- 

 factory and determinate position; and Memoirs by Mr. Day, Dr. 

 Lycett, Dr. Oppel, Mr. C. Moore, Mr. H. Woodward, Dr. Wright, 

 and myself, have contributed also largely to our knowledge of the 

 Liassic Invertebrate Fauna of this country. These materials have 

 formed the basis on which I have taken the census, so to speak, of 

 the British Liassic population ; but the labour has been more than 

 merely docketing the published names of species, quoted for the 

 System, as the claims of each new species have, to the best of my 

 ability, been investigated, and the names have been rejected or 

 accepted accordingly. The exercise of this caution I have found 



