HISTOEICAL. 23 



In Germany the principal writers on fossil Crinoids were : Goldfuss, 

 Mliller, the two Eoemers, Miinster, Steiniger. Sandberger, Quenstedt, Bey- 

 rich, Schultze, V. Meyer, v. Zittel, Follman, Walther, Kunisch, Wagner, 

 Steinmann, Neiimayr, and Jaekel. The Belgian Crinoids were described 

 by de Koninck, and by Fraipont ; those of Russia by Eichwald, Grewingk, 

 Volborth, F. Schmidt, and Trautschold ; a few Indian specimens by Waagen, 

 and those from Australia by Etheridge, Jr., and McCoy. 



In the year 1879 appeared the first volume of von Zittel's Handbuch der 

 Palaeontologie, with a chapter on the Crinoids. He made the latter a class 

 of the Echinodermata, with three orders : the Eucrinoidea or Crinoidea 

 sensu strido, the Blastoidea and Cystidea. The Eucrinoidea were divided 

 into three suborders : Tessellata, Artieulata, and Costata, in which he followed 

 Muller. His Tessellata were separated by him into twenty-six famihes, 

 which comprise all the Palaeozoic forms, and the Cretaceous genera Marsiipites 

 and Uintacrinus ; the Articulata into seven families, all Mesozoic and recent 

 forms ; the Costata comprise only the Jurassic Saccoco^na. 



The Tessellata were defined by him as having thin, immovable calyx 

 plates, united by suture with smooth faces ; " interradials " rigid ; mouth 

 subtegminal and anus excentric. Among the families he discriminates 

 between forms in which the tegmen consists : — 



A. Exclusively of five large orals, or in addition to them small covering 

 pieces closing mouth and food grooves. The orals forming a pyramid or a 

 so-called Consolidations- Apparat J' Arms simple : Haplocrinidce, Pisocrinidce, and 

 CiipressocrinidcB. 



B. Tegmen composed of small plates ; the mouth closed by five orals, 

 which either are tegminal, or placed underneath the tegmen ; the anus 

 excentric. Dorsal cup formed of three (rarely two) zones ; the base gen- 

 erally dicyclic. Arms strongly developed ; their ambulacra covered by two 

 or three pieces : Hi/hocrinidw, Ct/athocrinidw, TaxocrinidcB, IcMh?/ocnnidoe, Cro- 

 talocrinidce and Cheiroerinida^. 



C. Tegmen ventricose or balloon-shaped, composed of numerous thin 

 pieces; mouth subtegminal. Anal tube long and heavy, the anal opening 

 near the base. Arms strongly developed and pinnule-bearing : Heterocrinidce^ 

 Poteriocnnidce and Marstipitidce. 



D. Tegmen composed of heavy, frequently nodose plates ; the middle 

 portion covered by seven larger pieces. Mouth subtegminal, communicating 

 with the arms through plated tubes. Anus often extended into a long pro- 



