306 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



ever of these teethlike structures nor of any plications or ribs on the 

 cardinal area. We find the area to be rather high, concave and quite 

 smooth. This part of the shell has been seen only in the species P. 

 v e t u s t u m. 



Praecardium vetustum Hall 



Plate xi, fig. ii - 19 



Cardium? vetustum Hall, Geology of New York ; rep't on fourth dist. 1843. 



p. 245, tab. 107, fig. 2 

 Cardiola vetusta (Hall) Miller, Cat. North American Paleozoic Fossils. 1877. 



p. 186 

 Praecardium vetustum Hall, Paleontology of New York. 1885. v. 5, pt 1, 



p. 427, pi. 70, fig. 18-20 

 Praecardium v e t u s t u m Beushausen, Abhandl. der konigl. Preuss. Geolog. 



Landesanst. N. F. 1895. Heft 17, p. 301, pi. 31, fig. 6, 7 



This species was early described as derived from the Portage shales on 

 the shore of Lake Erie, and also from Cashaqua creek and the Genesee 

 river. It would appear that at the time of preparation of the Paleontology 

 of New York, 5: 1, as above cited, representatives of the species were 

 recognized only from the Lake Erie shore near Portland Harbor, and, so 

 far as our personal knowledge extends, the species is strictly localized to 

 the western region. 



The characters of the shell are well defined, its highly oblique and 

 subtriangular form, its abrupt anterior cardinal slope and coarse, broad, flat, 

 sharply defined ribs, and equally broad and flat furrows, distinguishing it. 

 It presents some variation in the number of its ribs, which are from 9 to 1 5 

 in adult shells. According to Hall these show a tendency to duplication 

 near the margin, but no such tendency is observable in our material. The 

 existence of a very fine concentric ornament is evident on all specimens. 



Habitat. Genesee province; Chautauqua subprovince. Common in 

 the soft shales at Barcelona (Portland Harbor), Correll's point, Lake Erie, 

 and Forestville (Walnut creek, Terry's ravine), Chautauqua co. ; Gowanda, 

 Cattaraugus co. Rare at all outcrops farther east and not known outside 

 this subprovince. 



