Fig. 1. "Part of a fossil lunated star from the chalk of Kent."—Mr. Parkinson. (Goniaster semilunata, of Parkinson; Goniaster Parkinsoni, of Prof. E. Forbes). Remains of Star-fishes are by no means rare in the chalk strata of Kent; in those of Sussex they are far less common. When the "Fossils of the South Downs" was published, in 1822, a few fragments only had been discovered. Of late years, some beautiful examples have been obtained from the chalk-pits near Arundel and Worthing, by Mr. Dixon, Mr. Coombe, Mrs. Smith, of Tunbridge Wells, and other collectors. The cabinet of the Marquess of Northampton is very rich in this class of fossils. Several unique examples of new species have been obtained from the chalk near Maidstone.
Fig. 2. "An echinite, from France."—Mr. Parkinson. The locality of this fossil is uncertain; no similar specimen is known either to Mr. Morris, or the other eminent palæontologists I have consulted; and the original cannot be discovered. I have reason to believe it was purchased, after Mr. Parkinson's death, together with the greater number of the fossils already described, by an American gentleman, and taken to the United States.
Fig. 3. "Part of a stellite or fossil star-fish, resembling Pentagonaster regularis."—Mr. Parkinson. This well-known chalk species (Goniaster Mantelli, of Prof. E. Forbes), occurs frequently in an imperfect state in the quarries near Gravesend. The collection of the Marquess of Northampton contains a perfect and exquisite specimen attached to a flint, from that locality.
Fig. 4. A beautiful example of the Turban Echinite (Cidaris Parkinsoni, of Dr. Fleming), from Wiltshire.
The Cidaris, or Turban Echinite, belongs to the family of radiated animals, of which the recent Sea-urchin (Echinus sphæra) is a well-known example. The globular shell or envelope of these animals is composed of numerous calcareous polygonal plates, arranged in regular and elegant patterns, like the lines of the meridian on a globe. These plates are externally covered with papillæ of various sizes, to which spines of corresponding magnitude are articulated. In some of the Cidares the principal tubercles are very large, and their spines several inches in length. The number and variety of the animals of this family that occur in a fossil state are so great, that a work expressly devoted to the subject would be required to thoroughly investigate the characters and relations of the known species. An elementary knowledge of this class of fossil remains may be obtained by reference to "Medals of Creation," chap. xi. p. 240.
Fig. 5. Part of the case of a Cidaris attached to a flint by its outer surface, surrounded by upwards of twenty spines; the interior of the shell, of a light pink colour, is exposed. This exquisite fossil is now in the cabinet of the Marquess of Northampton. It was purchased by Mr. Parkinson for the sum of twenty guineas; but this was in the palmy days of the study of organic remains, before the terms Geology and Palæontology were invented, and when a choice relic of "a former world" was cheap at any price, in the opinion of the enthusiastic collector.
Fig. 6. A Turban Echinite (Cidaris (Hemicidaris, of Agassiz) crenularis, of Lamarck): from the Coral Rag of Wiltshire.
Fig. 7. A siliceous cast—that is, a flint that has been moulded in the interior of the shell, and received the impress of the internal structure—of "Cidaris corollaris," of Parkinson; (Cyphosoma correlare, of Agassiz): from Sussex.
Fig. 8. Cidaris with spines, from the Oolite of Stonesfield.