234 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



termine its specific characters, and consequently whether 

 it will form a distinct species ; and as for the same rea- 

 son, it cannot be ranked among the known species, I 

 have denominated it Asterias antiqua. 



I discovered it near Big Harpeth river, Davidson 

 county, Tennessee, on a water-worn part of a stratum of 

 granular blackish-grey limestone, which is quarried there 

 for marble. The same fragment of rock, as we per- 

 ceive in the drawing, contains fragments of polypiferes, 

 which also have come to light. They seem to belong to 

 the Ceriopora, Goldf., and Calamopora, Goldf., with 

 some bivalves, spirifer and terebratula. Such remains 

 are also found amongst the disintegrations of this stratum. 

 This stratum is the lowest one of that section of country 

 and is the same as those in the vicinity of Nashville, and 

 consequently belongs to the upper transition series. 



Whether this asterias is abundant or not, I cannot 

 say, because I do not believe that it would be recognisa- 

 ble in fractures of the rock, as the object is too intima- 

 tely incorporated with the rock. It is the only one that 

 I have seen. 



When I presented this report to the legislature of the 

 state of Tennessee, I w^as not acquainted with the third 

 part of the valuable work of Dr Goldfuss, Petrefacta 

 Musei Regise Bomssicse, ^c, which, at that time, was not 

 yet published. Dr Goldfuss describes in it ten species 

 of t/lsterias, but none of them resemble our fossil ; and it 

 remains as interesting as it was before, as it belongs to 

 one of those few animals which are found from the lowest 

 fossiliferous strata through the intermediate formations, 

 and are found living at present in the ocean. Those 

 described by Dr Goldfuss are : first, the A. lumhricalis, 

 Schloth. It occurs in the upper strata of the Lias sand- 

 stone, at Walzendorf, near Coburg, and at Lichtenfels, 

 in Bambergen. The second, A. lanceolata, Goldf. ^ same 

 locality as the first. Third, Goldf., slssoci- 



