12 THE CRINOIDEA CAMERATA OF NORTH AMERICA. 



little as to the systematic position of the Crinoids generally, stating, how- 

 ever, that they were neither Polyps nor Starfishes. 



Linne, throughout all the editions of his ^^Systema Naturae," placed 

 the Crinoids among the corals. Blumenbach * has the credit of having been 

 the first writer who ranked them with the Asteroids and Ophiurids amono- the 

 order " Vermes crustacei," which corresponds approximately to our pres- 

 ent Echinoderms. Lamarck, in the first edition of his " Systeme des Ani- 

 maux sans vertebres," published in 1801, ranged them among the '^ Polypes 

 a rayons coralligenes," along with Gorgonia, Umbellula, and Pennatula; but 

 he afterwards modified this opinion, and in 1812 t referred the Crinoids to 

 the '^ Polypes flottants," which he arranged next to the Radiata. In 1816 % 

 he placed the Encrinites (Stalked Crinoids) among the Polyps, but the 

 Comatulae (Free-floaters) among the Echinoderms. Schweigger § directed 

 attention to the close resemblance that he found to exist between the arm 

 structure of stalked Crinoids and Comatulae, and he considered the two 

 forms to be closely related. Cuvier in 1817, || and again in 1830,^ placed 

 the Crinoids among the Echinoderms. 



The name "Crinoidea," with the rank of a family, was proposed in 1821 

 by J. S. Miller, for the lily-shaped, radiate animals which theretofore had 

 been known as Encrinites and Pentacrinites, He restricted the group to the 

 Brachiate forms, and to those provided with a stem, as appears by the follow- 

 ing definition: ** ^^ An animal with a round, oval or angular column, com- 

 posed of numerous articulating joints forming a cup-like body containing 

 the viscera, from whose upper rim proceed fi^e articulated fingers." This 

 description includes neither Blastoids nor Cystids, which were placed by 

 Miller's successors as subordinate groups under the Crinoids. It also ex- 

 cludes the Comatulae and the genus Marsupites, which have no stem, and 

 which probably for this reason were referred by him to the " Stellerid^." 

 Among the latter he recognized four divisions: ^^ Comatul^, Euryale, 

 Ophiura, and Asteria," and he placed Marsupites in the same group with 

 Euryale. Miller knew little of the structure of the Comatulae, but enough 



* Handbuch der Naturgescliichte, 1780. 



f Extrait du cours de Zoologie du Museum d'histoire naturelle sur les Animaux sans vertebres, etc., 



1813. 



I Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans Vertebres, etc., 1815-1822. 



§ Handb. der skeletlosen, ungegliederten Tliiere, Leipzig, 1820, p. 528. 



II Le Regne animal, 1817 (r^),Vol. IV., p. 12. 

 ^ Op. cit. (Ed. of 1830.) 



** A Natural History of the Crinoidea, Bristol, 1821, p. 7. 



