ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. I 55 



of the so-called fueoidal remains are only tracks of these creatures • 

 and their presence has been demonstrated by Mr. G. J. Hinde 

 through his discovery of the jaws of many species of the Poly- 

 chseta in the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous formations. 

 In the Wenlock alone he has discovered the remains of 6 genera 

 and 24 species ; and in the Ludlow 2 of the same genera and 6 

 species. No one can doubt that, by careful sifting and preparation, 

 the clays and shales of the still older rocks may yield a rich harvest 

 of the remains of the Annulosa and soft-skinned Echinoderms. This 

 process is now bearing fruit through the energetic measures em- 

 ployed by Mr. G. Maw, in having large quantities of the Wenlock 

 Shales washed, sifted, and examined. Numbers of new forms have 

 been discovered. The same result has been obtained through the 

 determined and persistent search made by Mr. Bennie (the Collector 

 for the Scotch Survey) for remains of the Holothuridse in the Car- 

 boniferous shales of Scotland, and also for the Chitonidse. The 

 results obtained by this patient worker, and the species collected, are 

 now being described and figured for the Glasgow Geological Society 

 by Mr. Etheridge, Junior. 



It is now the age of microscopical investigations, and ere long 

 microscopic palaeontology will stand on the same footing with peno- 

 logical and crystallographic investigations. 



Crustacea. — The distribution of some of the species of the Crus- 

 tacea through the Lower Llandovery is more constant and uni- 

 versal than in any other Silurian deposit. Calymene Blumenbachii, 

 Encrinurus punctatus, Illcenus Tkomsoni, Proetus Stokesii, and Plia- 

 cops StoJeesii occur in almost every locality, and all 5 pass to the Wen- 

 lock. 7 of the known 24 species do not pass to any higher horizon than 

 Upper Llandovery ; they are Illcenus cemulus, I. Bowmanni, I. Mac- 

 callumi, Phacops Weaveri, P. obtusicdudatus, Lichas laxatus, and Tri- 

 nucleus concentricus. To show how equally the species are distri- 

 buted, I may state that in Caermarthenshire 7 genera and 12 species 

 occur ; in Pembrokeshire 7 genera and 11 species ; in Worcestershire 

 7 genera and 13 species ; in Shropshire 7 genera and 15 species ; and 

 in Ireland 7 genera and 14 species ; and, singularly also, 7 genera and 

 14 species pass to the Wenlock. As we have before seen, 10 species 

 are Lower Llandovery and Caradoc — thus, as regards the Crustacea, 

 rendering the value of the Upper Llandovery as a distinct palseon- 

 tological group more questionable still. 



Brachiopoda. — The species in this class are more than double the 

 number of those of any other in the Upper Llandovery rocks. We 

 recognize 65 species and 13 genera. The geographical distribution 

 of Atrypa (5 species), Leptcena (4), Orthis (10), Pentamerus (4), 

 Mhynckonella (9), StricMandinia (2), Spirifera (5), and Strophomena 

 (11) is complete through South AY ales, Gloucestershire, Worcester- 

 shire, and Shropshire. These 8 genera include the mass of species 

 (50 of the 65) that range through the fourteen localities I have 

 selected, and whence I have drawn the materials for analysis, and 

 I believe I have omitted none. Lingula with 5 species, Crania and 

 Discina each with 1 , Chonetes with 3, and Meristella with 6 species 



