PALEONTOLOGIC CONTRIBUTIONS 99 



show no relationship in their relative occurrences. We also doubt 

 the conclusiveness of this already much discussed argument, in 

 view of the fact that the aptychi would naturally drop out of the 

 conchs of the goniatites as soon as decay sets in and thus remain 

 at the original habitat of the goniatites, while the conchs, especially 

 the chambers, becoming filled with gas from the decay of the 

 animal would be shifted about either at the bottom or even rise to 

 the surface of the water as those of Nautilus are known to do 

 today after death. Holzapfel concludes that the view that Spathio- 

 caris has any relation to goniatites is very improbable. On the 

 other hand, from the lack of study on his part, he is not ready to 

 consider them as crustaceans. 



The last and most important contribution to this controversy 

 is by Doctor Clarke in the above-cited paper. This author describes 

 Euhoa accola from the Deep Kill graptolite shale as a 

 gigantic brachiopod, a form which, if both valves with muscles im- 

 pressions had not been found, would undoubtedly have been referred 

 to Discinocaris Woodward, the most typical genus of the whole 

 group of fossils and whose largest representative (D. gigantea 

 Jones and Woodward) also occurs in graptolite shales (the Moffat 

 beds of Scotland). It is therefore inferred that Discinocaris may 

 well prove to be a brachiopod instead of a crustacean. Doctor 

 Clarke, after surveying all the evidence, concludes that " in view of 

 all the present evidence, we can not divest ourselves of the belief 

 that there is nevertheless some organic connection between these 

 Devonic bodies and the cephalopods, for, while we lack any further 

 confirmation of the latter than that above given, we have been 

 altogether unable to acquire positive indication of crustacean struc- 

 ture in any of them." 



It is in accordance with this view that Doctor Clarke in Zittel- 

 Eastman, volume i, page 658, refers the genera Cardiocaris, 

 Ellipsocaris, Pholadocaris and Spathiocaris, in an addendum to the 

 Phyllocarida, with doubt to the crustaceans. 



From the specimens of Spathiocaris before us, we are enabled 

 to add the following data to the discussion : 



The general outlines of the valves of the genera here cited are, 

 as the discussions have shown, by themselves as little conclusive of 

 their position with the crustaceans as with the aptychi of cephalo- 

 pods and their mode of occurrence is likewise undecisive. It 

 seems, however, that the structure of the valves combined with 

 their outlines is more apt to shed some light upon their nature. 

 All these valves are furnished with lines or ridges concentric about 



