Eight articulations of the abdomen, and ten of the tail, are all of this fine species that we have seen. The ribs, or costal arches of the abdomen have a deep furrow on their upper surface, commencing at the middle lobe, and terminating near their free extremities; these extremities appear all detached from each other, and end in reflected points or spines, so as to give the side of the animal a serrate appearance. The costal arches of the tail are grooved through their whole extent, and present no spinous terminations. Beyond the membranaceous expansion of the tail, which is somewhat similar to that of the Asaphus Caudatus, there projects a single spine, like that from the tail of the Limulus polyphemus; this spine may be traced under the caudal membrane to its insertion into the middle lobe. A portion of the crustaceous shell is still entire, and it seems to have been covered with very minute granulations. A row of large granulations may easily be traced on each side of the middle lobe. Length of the fragment, one inch and a half. Breadth one inch and a fourth.
The A. Limulurus was found in the dark brown, shaly limestone, at Lockport, in the State of New York; it is associated in the same rock with the terebratula and several other fossils.
The singular spinous projection from the tail of this Asaph, furnishes another analogy, between the trilobite and the limulus; an affinity which was suggested by Dr. Dekay; and which has been argued with great ingenuity both by himself and Professor Wahlenberg.[29]
[29] See Nova Acta Regiæ Societatis Upsalensis: 1821. Also, Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History. New York. Vol. i. pages 179-185.
Asaphus Caudatus.[30] Brünnich. Brongn. Cast No, 17.
[30] From the Latin word for "tailed,"
Clypeo antice subrotundato, postice valde emarginato, angulo externo in mucronem producto; oculis exsertis, conicis, truncatis, distincte reliculatis; post abdomine in caudam membranaceam, acutam extenso. (Vide Brongniart.)
The middle lobe of the buckler is marked by three transverse plicæ or folds on its posterior part, and its cheeks or lateral portions are triangular; the posterior exterior angles of which, are acute, and considerably elongated. The cheeks are furnished with conical, truncated, semilunar and externally convex tubercles, which were beyond all doubt the eyes of the animal, being reticulated as in those of the Limulus. The middle lobe of the back is narrow, and has twelve articulations. The lateral lobes are composed of double ribbed costal arches. Beyond the lateral lobes and the caudal termination, there is a smooth, thick membranaceous expansion, which forms an acute projection below the central portion of the tail.
The specimen in the Philadelphia Museum, by which I have identified this species, is marked as coming from Ripley, Ohio. It reposes on a fragment of ash coloured limestone—which contains also a mutilated specimen of what seems to be a calymene, and a few small terebratulæ, &c.
Dr. John Bigsby, in his "List of Organic Remains, occurring in the Canadas," states that the A. caudatus is frequently met with, thrown up by the water on the north shore of Lake Superior—on the bank of Rainy river—at the Lake of the Woods, and at several other places. In some localities they are astonishingly numerous, and so small as to be almost microscopic. They occupy indiscriminately limestone of every colour, but are most numerous in that which is brown or crystallized. They are composed of the kind of limestone in which they happen to be embedded.