46 BULLETIN 64, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



it (see Goldfuss Petref. vol. 1, pag. 211 Tab. 64, fig. 7) in his magnificent work on 

 German fossils. Soon nevertheless becoming acquainted with perfect specimens, he 

 found out his mistake and published another description of the fossil in Acta Acad. 

 Cass. Leop. Carol. Nat. Cur. vol. XIX PL 1, Tab. XXX fig. 6. I never saw that 

 description, and it is therefore not certain whether my description will contain any 

 new fact, except the description of some American species and perhaps confirmation 

 of facts which were yet doubtful. In fact it could not be expected that I, in the centre 

 of the United States, remote from scientific communication and intercourse, should be 

 acquainted with matter published in the Acta of the Imperial Academy when even 

 Prof. Phillips was not acquainted with it. He describes in Murchison's Silurian sys- 

 tem the same fossil as a new genus and gives it the name of Hypanthocrinites. The 

 specimen described by Phillips though more perfect than that from which Goldfuss's 

 first description was drawn up, was still incomplete, and in my opinion not fit to 

 exhibit its true generic characters. I have been more fortunate than the above named 

 naturalists. Decatur County in Tennessee, which I consider as our American Eifel, 

 has furnished me with specimens which are almost perfect, constituting several species 

 different from those incompletely described in Europe. 



I will commence with making some remarks upon the generic characters as given by 

 Goldfuss in his German fossils and by Phillips in Murchison's Silurian system. As 

 already observed Goldfuss considering it as being deprived of a column, his description 

 of the base or pelvic plates must be erroneous. As for the arrangement of the several 

 series of plates Goldfuss is correct. He speaks not of its superstructure of arms, hands 

 etc., in which respect this fossil differs widely from any known crinoid. Phillips, it 

 seems, was not acquainted with the pelvis, he does not speak of it in his description, he 

 is nevertheless correct in considering that part of the lowest series of pentagonal plates 

 that are visible externally on the cup, as a first series of costals [radials]. The gener- 

 ality of hands, fingers, etc., in the figure of Phillips, all but the summit are well repre- 

 sented. (Murchis. Sil. Sys. pi. 17, fig. 3.) The summit does not correspond with 

 any of my specimens, in fact judging from some in which this part is perfectly pre- 

 served, such tuberculated termination above the fingers is impossible. 



The descriptions of this genus published by Goldfuss and Phillips were then drawn 

 up from incomplete specimens. My collection is rich, not only in perfect specimens 

 but in several different species of this genus which all differ from the Hypanthocrinites 

 decorus, and the Eucalyptocrinites rosaceus, from which I have drawn up the following 

 characters. 



Column, cylindrical, with pentagonal or rather pentapatalous alimentary 

 canal [lumen], articulating surfaces with striated margin. 



Pelvis, pentagonal (no division perceptible) cup shaped, rising immediately 

 round the column where it articulates almost immediately with the costals 

 [radials]; so that, if even a small part of the column remains attached to the 

 pelvis, this junction of the costals to the pelvis is not visible. 

 I must here observe that the generic character of the pelvis is drawn up from a species 

 on which the impression of the column is in a very deep cavity (in one specimen the 

 depth of this cavity is 12 mil. met. while the whole length of the cup is only 22 mil. 

 met.) where the impression occupies the whole bottom and consequently the lowest 

 part of the cavity is circular, while soon, the slopes of the cavity being regulated by 

 the pentagonal form of the pelvis, the cavity assumes a pentagonal shape. In some 

 species the cavity shows itself circular at the base of the cup. 



Costals [radials] — First series — five, irregularly hexagonal, they rest upon the 

 sides of the pentagonal pelvis, and constitute in those species where the column 

 proceeds from a deep cavity, the greatest part of the sides of this cavity. When 

 arriving at the external rim or the base of the cup, they are bent outwards and 

 upwards and constitute part of the sides of the cup, where they appear as short, 

 or longitudinally compressed,- hexagonal plates, while in fact they are very 

 elongated. 



