135 
HAMITES, Parkinson • 
Baculites , Faujas de St, Fond . 
Gen* Char. Fusiform; hooked or bent into two 
parallel limbs,, chambered; septa undulated at 
their margins with a siphuncle at their outer 
edge* 
T he surface has commonly annular undulations, and the 
siphuncle is at the outer edge of the septum. The septa 
have six large waves with plated margins, as in Ammonites. 
The Genus Baculites appears to have been formerly 
made from straight fragments of chambered shells ; the bent 
or hooked parts of which, having been since found, have 
been termed Hamites by Parkinson. The siphuncle seems 
to have been passed over by Faujas de St. Fond, who 
describes the septa as imperforate ; it is, however, visible in 
several of my specimens, and particularly so in one from 
Maastricht, the chambers of which are cast in sandstone 
and detached from each other, which was lent me by Mr. 
Parkinson. Some Authors, as De Montfort, speak of and 
figure a central siphuncle, but we conceive that none of the 
chambered shells of the same construction as those of the 
present Genus ever have the siphuncle in the centre. 
As far as I know, no whole shells of this peculiar Genus 
have been found, or even either of the terminations; from 
hence it is, I presume, that many mistakes have arisen and 
continually will arise in the division of the species. I have 
taken up the subject as a means of drawing the attention of 
Collectors to it, hoping they may do something to improve 
our knowledge; besides it had become necessary to make 
figures, as some of the subjects are liable to decompose and 
be lost, while most of them are considerably lessened in 
beauty by the decay of their tender pearly shell. The 
form and position of the undulations upon the surface, and 
