Round — Crossotheca from R. I. Carboniferous. 131 



Art. XII. — A Crossotheca from the Rhode Island Car- 

 boniferous; by Eda M. Eouxd. 



The presence of any form of fruiting body in the Penn- 

 sylvanian is of interest, especially if it sheds light upon 

 the evolution of seed plants. Among fossils of this class 

 from the Ehocle Island coal basin have been found speci- 

 mens of a new species of Crossotheca named from its 

 diminutive size nana and described as follows: 



Crossotheca nana,' n. sp. — Stirps 5 mm. latus, paniculi laxi 

 racemorum fructuum sustinere videtur. Paniculi for minimum 

 5-6 em. longi vel longiores probabiliter ; secundaria^ divisiones 

 ovatas fusiformas fruges sustinent, unaquaque 3-4 mm. longa, 

 1-1% mm. lataque est. Fruges maturiores inclives sunt arcuta- 

 tim paullum esse, ex raceme axe super quern sustinentur. Fruges 

 lougitudinales in partes tres dividuntur. Partes ulteriores novi- 

 ter divisae sunt et compositae oblongarum antheridium quae 

 separatae vel ex parte conjunctae centrali parti videtur esse 

 similis fimbriis. (Figs. 1, 2.) 



Stem 5 mm. wide, bearing loose panicles of clustered fruits. 

 Panicles at least 5-6 em. long, probably longer; secondary divi- 

 sions bearing oval fusiform fruits each 3-4 mm. long by I-IV2 mm - 

 in diameter, in more mature forms inclined to be slightly arcuate, 

 the more convex side being farthest from the axis of the raceme 

 on which they are borne. The fruits appear to be divided longi- 

 tudinally into three parts. The outer portions, which are again 

 divided, are composed of oblong antheridia which are either 

 separate or partly attached to the central part like fringe. 



In seeking for evidences of the presence of Crossotheca 

 nana in other parts of the world, sketches by Gutbier of 

 specimens 1 from the Zwickau coal basin of Saxony may 

 be cited. The raceme figured by him (see fig. 3) is sug- 

 gestive of the general appearance of the Rhode Island 

 fossil when viewed under low magnification. Gutbier, 

 however, makes no reference to his figures but in another 

 text speaks of them as Sphenopteris allosanrioides, 2 a 

 name which gives an interesting sidelight upon his inter- 

 pretation of the fossil and shows that he regarded it as 

 the fertile portion of a fern closely allied to the modern 

 cliff brake. 



1 Gutbier, A. von: Abdriicke u. Verstein. Zwickauer, Atlas, PI. 10, figs. 

 4-4b, 1836. 



2 Keichenbach, Ludwig: in Gaea von Sachsen (Verst. Uebersachsen) 1843. 



