58 BRITISH CARBONIFEROUS BRACHIOPODA. 



Millecent, in Ireland. No English or Scottish specimens appear to have been hitherto 

 discovered. 



Spirifera Urii, Fleming. PI. XII, figs. 13, 14. 



Spiripeba. Urii, Fleming. British Animals, p. 376, 1828, reference. David Ure, The Natural 

 History, &c., of Rutliergleu and Kilbride, p. 313, fig. 12, 1793. 

 — UNGUlLicus, Phillips. Palaeozoic Fossils, tab. xxviii, 119, according to Morris, 

 Catalogue of British Fossils, p. 154. 



Spec. Char. Suborbicular, rather wider than long ; hinge line shorter than the greatest 

 breadth of the shell ; cardinal angles rounded. Dorsal or socket valve semicircular, 

 shghtly indented in front, with a narrow hinge area ; nearly flat or but slightly convex, 

 most so at the umbone, with a shallow mesial furrow commencing at a short distance from 

 the umbone and extending to the front. Ventral valve much more convex and deep than 

 the opposite one, with a lengthened incurved beak, and longitudinal furrow commencing 

 at the extremity of the beak and extending to the front. The area is triangular and of 

 moderate length and width, the fissure being partly closed by a pseudo-deltidium. The 

 external surface is smooth in the generality of specimens \ but, when perfect, was covered 

 with small spinules. Dimensions variable ; the largest British specimen I have seen 

 measured — 



Length 4, width 4|, depth 2 lines. 



Obs. This interesting little shell was noticed and figured for the first time by David 

 Ure, but not named or described, an omission which was filled up by Dr. Fleming thirty- 

 five years later, in his excellent work on ' British Animals.' Ure's illustration would 

 convey the idea that the beak was not incurved ; but in all the numerous examples I have 

 been able to examine the shell possessed a gibbous lengthened incurved beak, as described 

 by Dr. Fleming; but Ure did not fail to observe and represent an area on either valve. 

 8p. Urii does not appear to have ever attained proportions much exceeding those here 

 given, and was in general a much smaller shell, for, out of many hundred examples 

 collected by a zealous friend at Carluke, the largest did not exceed 4 by 4^ lines in length 

 and width. Sp. Urii closely resembles the Permian Sp. Clannyana, King, as I have 

 already stated at p. 16 of my 'Monograph of British Permian Species;' and 8p. 

 xinguiculus, mentioned to occur in the Upper Devonian of Pethervvin, Barnstaple, Pilton, 

 and Brushford, is either the same or a closely allied species or variety. 



8p. Urii was stated by David; Ure to be plentifully found in a lime quarry on the east 

 bank of the Aven, a little belbw Strathaven. It abounds near Carluke, and has been found 

 at Corieburn (Campsie) by Mr. J. Young. Dr. Fleming has it also from Westlothian, in 

 Scotland. In England it does not appear to be so common a fossil. I have seen a 

 specimen from BoUaud, and some other examples were discovered at South Petherton by 

 the late Mr. D. Sharpe, and form part of his collection. 



