Vol. 53. ] THE CAMBRIAN, ETC. OF THE MALVERN HILLS. 127 
from Niobe insignis, Lnrs. as Brogger suggests, Niobe Homfrayt, 
Salter, differs essentially in the form of the labrum. The remaining 
characters are, however, as brogger points out, those of a Niobe.’ 
ToMACULUM PROBLEMATICUM, gen. et sp. nov. (Figs. 32-35, p. 126.) 
-In the Malvern Dictyonema-shales a number of small sausage- 
shaped bodies have been detected at several spots by me, and 
many additional examples have been collected and kindly placed 
at my disposal by the Rev. G. E. Mackie. They are found in a 
grey, minutely micaceous shale. The constancy in size and shape 
of these bodies points, with a certain amount of definiteness, to 
their organicnature. They are occasionally isolated, or in groups of 
two or three (fig. 35), but are usually collected together in elongated 
patches, or in short, broad, or narrow, more or less irregularly 
curved or bent strings, which are flattened in the plane of bedding. 
The longest fragment of such a string seen is about 15 mm. in 
length, and must contain at least 40 or 50 of. the bodies; in other 
fragments, part of one of which is shown in fig. 33, a length of 
10 to 15 mm. is visible, and in this length some 25 bodies can be 
counted. In these strings and patches the bodies are orientated in 
ail directions: in some cases they are closely packed together, and 
piled up one over the other ; in others the texture is looser, and the 
bodies appear to be disposed in a single layer. 
The individuals are cylindrical in shape, with circular section, 
and broadly rounded and equal ends; the breadth is about one-third 
of the length. The average length of 14 of the most perfect 
examples measured was 1°50 mm., and the average breadth of 13 
of these 0°55 mm.; the smallest among them measured 1°23 and 
(0-45 mm. in length and breadth respectively ; the corresponding 
measurements of the longest individual were 1°72 and 0°52 mm. : 
four, however, were somewhat broader, the breadth of three of 
these being about 0:67 mm.: these, however, are possibly a little 
flattened by pressure. One individual, larger than any of these 
14 or than any others seen, measured 2-03 by 0°75 mm. The 
many remaining examples do not appear to depart greatly from 
the average size. The external surface appears to have been 
smooth, although the internal cast sometimes shows faint indications 
of longitudinal and transverse striation. The test was apparently 
thin, but does not seem to be preserved in any case. 
The nature of these bodies is very problematical; their small 
size and shape suggest that they are either the excreta or the eggs 
of some animal. The frequently excellent preservation of the form 
indicates that the body was provided with a resistant covering, 
and this, as well as the fairly constant size, and perhaps the 
arrangement in clusters, favours the latter of the two alternatives. 
Very similar bodies, occurring in a similar manner, have been 
described by Barrande, who has regarded them as the eggs of 
' Bihang t. Kongl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Hand], vol. xi (1885) no. 3, pp. 57 & 58. 
