ECHINODEEMA — STAE-FISHES. 



69 



Gallery 

 VIII. 



Upright 

 cases A2, 

 A3. 



Herefordshire, have furnished a large number of starfishes 



belonging to the genera Palasterina (Fig. 32 h), Sturtzastcr, 



Rhopalocoma, and Bdellacoma. Some obscure starfishes have 



been found, in the Lower Devonian slates of Cornwall, but 



the fossils of this age are better studied in the beautiful 



series from Bundenbach in Prussia. In these the skeletons 



are altered into iron pyrites and imbedded in black slate, 



which has been cleaned away from them with most delicate 



care by Mr. B. Stiirtz, the original describer of many of 



these specimens (see Pal aeon tographica " 1886, 1890, and 



other papers mentioned on the labels). Palacasterisms, 



Cheiropter aster, and Hclianthaster may be mentioned, but all 



are beautiful and interesting. 



Eeturning to the British series, we find some good speci- Table-case 



30. 



Fig. 32. — Palseozoic Starfishes, a, Schiichei'tia stellata, from the Ordo- 

 vician of Ottawa ; under surface with grooves and mouth, b, Palas- 

 terina 2^rimseva, Upper Silurian of Kendal ; upper surface. 



mens of Jurassic star-fish, notably Tropidaster from the 

 Middle Lias, a massive Pentagonaster SJiarjn from the J^ortli- 

 ampton Ironstone, a beautifully preserved Asterias Gavcyi and 

 Solaster Moretonis from the Great Oolite. Astropectcn is repre- 

 sented by species of various ages from Bajocian to Corallian, 

 and some larger specimens of it are in Wall -case 17. 



Cretaceous Asteroidea are best shown in the excellent Table-cases 

 series from the English Chalk, which have been described ^ 

 by W. P. Sladen and W. K. Spencer in a monograph of the 

 Palaeontographical Society. Here the tesselated Callidcrma 

 Smithi and the fine group of Pentaceros hulbifcrus are 

 specially worth notice. 



The Tertiary star-fish are represented chiefly by Pen- Table-case 

 tagonaster and Astropeeten from the London Clay, preserved 

 in a pyrites that is regrettably liable to decompose. 



