112 LAMARCK, HIS LIFE AND WORK 



madrepores and other littoral polyps, the bones of 

 marine or of amphibious animals which have lived 

 near the sea, and which occur as fossils, are then un- 

 impeachable monuments of the sojourn of the sea on 

 the points of the dry parts of the globe where we 

 observe their deposits, and besides these occur deep- 

 water forms. " Thus the encrinites, the belemnites, 

 the orthoceratites, the ostracites, the terebratules, 

 etc., all animals which habitually live at the bottom, 

 found for the most part among the fossils deposited 

 on the point of the globe in question, are unimpeach- 

 able witnesses which attest that this same place was 

 once part of the bottom or great depths of the sea." 

 He then attempts to prove, and does so satisfactorily, 

 that the shells he refers to are what he calls deep- 

 water (p^lagiennes). He proves the truth of his thesis 

 by the following facts : 



I . We are already familiar with a marine Gryphsea, 

 and different Terebratulae, also marine shell-fish, which 

 do not, however, live near shore. 2. Also the greatest 

 depth which has been reached with the rake or the 

 dredge is not destitute of molluscs, since we find 

 there a great number which only live at this depth, 

 and without instruments to reach and bring them up 

 we should know nothing of the cones, olives, Mitra, 

 many species of Murex, Strombus, etc. 3. Finally, 

 since the discovery of a living Encrinus, drawn up on 

 a sounding line from a great depth, and where lives 

 the animal or polyp in question, it is not only pos- 

 sible to assure ourselves that at this depth there are 

 other living animals, but on the contrary we are 

 strongly bound to think that other species of the 

 same genus, and probably other animals of different 

 genera, also live at the same depths. All this leads 



