36 THE HABITAT OF THE EURYPTERID A 



SOUTH AMERICA 



Carbonic. Coal Measures of Brazil. David White described 

 some fragments from the Santa Catharina system, about 55 meters 

 above the granite floor (Tubarao series) or 225 meters below the 

 Iraty black shale (Passa Dois series) northeast of Minas, Santa Catha- 

 rina, Brazil (297, 229, 589, 605). The fragments are of most doubt- 

 ful identification, some being apparently plant remains, but others 

 having a suggestion of relation to the Eurypterida (297, pi. XI, figs. 

 4, 6, 7, 8). These are described as Hast'mima whitei White. 



AFRICA 



Devonic. Witteberg series. From the Upper Devonic Witteberg 

 series of Cape Colony, South Africa, Professor A. C. Seward has 

 described two fragments of a fossil which he considers to be a euryp- 

 terid. He compared it with the species described by David White 

 from Brazil and called it Hastimima sp., saying: "The view which 

 seems to me most hopeful is that this fossil represents part of a body- 

 segment of a Eurypterid" (262, 485). Seward sent the specimens to 

 Woodward who not only concurred in the opinion as to the eurypterid 

 nature of the remains, but he also considers that the Brazilian forms 

 are eurypterids (325, 486). It is gratifying to note that the opinion 

 expressed by these earlier writers is fully supported by Clarke and 

 Ruedemann in their monograph where they have discussed this genus 

 (39, 400-406) and figured some more of the fragments from Brazil. 



The Witteberg series consists of a hard blue micaceous quartzite, 

 replaced in some localities by shale or slate. So far as known it is 

 unfossiliferous except for occasional plant stems allied to Lepidoden- 

 dron and the widespread markings known as Spirophyton caudagalli. 

 A photograph of this fossil given by Hatch and Corstorphine in their 

 Geology of South Africa (111, fig. 22.) reveals no essential difference 

 between it and the Spirophyton caudagalli of the Esopus, Oriskany and 

 Hamilton of eastern North America. Seward considers that it is 

 an inorganic structure and Grabau has gone even further in suggesting 

 that it is due to the blowing back and forth of reed-like plants on a 

 plastic surface capable of holding such markings long enough until 

 covered over by wind-blown dust or sand. At any rate, the forma- 

 tion is undoubtedly non-marine, and the two eurypterid fragments 

 therein could hardly have come from any other source than the land 

 waters. 



