THE 



GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE. 



No. LXXXVII.— SEPTEMBER, 1871. 



oi^ia-in^TJ^Xj -A-istioxjES. 



I. — On the Discovert of a new and vert perfect Arachnide 

 FROM THE Ironstone of the Dudlet Coal-field.^ 



By Henry Woodward, F.G.S., F.Z.S., 

 of the British Museum. 



(PLATE XI.) 



THE " Pennystone Ironstone" Nodules of the Coalbrook-dale Coal- 

 field have long been celebrated for their fossil contents jdelding, 

 when split o]Den, impressions of Fern-leaves, fruits of Lepidodendron, 

 King-crabs, and the more rare remains of Insects. 



Nor have the similar concretions of the Dudley, Manchester, and 

 Glasgow Coal-fields proved less productive; whilst the recent in- 

 vestigations of Messrs. Meek and Worthen in the Coal-measures of 

 Grundy Co., Illinois, U.S., have brought to light an even larger series 

 of new and interesting forms. 



A short time since I was favoured by receiving from E. HoUier, 

 Esq., of Dudley, a series of these nodules containing examples of 

 Bellinurus trilobitoides, and one sjDecimen, whfgh proved upon examina- 

 tion to be a most beautiful and perfect insect inclosed in the centre 

 of a nodule of clay Ironstone, which, happily, had split at exactly 

 the right spot, and, what is not a little singular, has exposed two 

 entire views — one of the upper or dorsal surface (Plate XI. Fig. 1), 

 the other of the under and ventral aspect (Plate XI. Fig. 2)^of the 

 very same insect, each view being as nearly perfect as it is possible 

 to conceive. 



Turning to " Buckland's Bridge water Treatise," I at once identified 

 Mr. Hollier's beautiful specimen with an insect figured on pi. 46", 

 fig. 2, from the Pennystone Ironstone of Coalbrook-dale. Dr. Buck- 

 land makes the following remarks upon (fig. 2), and upon another 

 specimen (fig. 1), with which latter, however, the fossil under con- 

 sideration has nothing to do. 



" Figs. 1 and 2 belong to the family Curculionidce, of which the 

 Diamond-beetle is a familiar example. They were discovered by 

 Mr. Wm. Anstice in nodules of Ironstone from the Coal-formation 

 of Coalbrook-dale. 

 1 Communicated to the British Associatiou (Section C), Edinhurgh, August 8th, 1871. 



VOL. Till.— NO. LXXXVII. 25 



