# Report on the Radiolaria/Chapter X

CHAPTER X.—GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
(§§ 241-250.)
241. Historical Distribution.—Radiolaria are found fossil in all the more important groups of the sedimentary rocks of the earth's crust. Whilst a few years ago their well-preserved siliceous skeletons were only known in considerable quantity from Cainozoic marls (§ 242), very many Spumellaria and Nassellaria have recently been found in Mesozoic and a few in Palæozoic strata. By the aid of improved modern methods of investigation (especially by the preparation of thin sections of very hard rocks) it has been shown that many hard siliceous minerals, especially cryptocrystalline quartz, contain numerous well-preserved Radiolaria, and sometimes are mainly composed of closely compacted masses of such siliceous shells; of this kind are many quartzites of the Jura (§ 243). These Jurassic quartzes (Switzerland), as well as the Tertiary marls (Barbados) and clays (Nicobar Islands), are to be regarded as "fossil Radiolarian ooze" (§ 237). Dense masses of compressed Spumellaria and Nassellaria form the principal part of these rocks. Isolated or in smaller quantities, fossil Polycystina, belonging to different families of Spumellaria and Nassellaria, also occur in in other rocks, and even in some of Palæozoic origin. Since specimens have also been recently found both in Silurian and Cambrian strata, it may be stated that as regards their historical distribution, Radiolaria occur in all fossiliferous sedimentary deposits, from the oldest to those of the present time.
242. Cainozoic Radiolaria.—The great majority of fossil Radiolaria which have hitherto been described, belong to the Cainozoic or Tertiary period, and in fact, to its middle portion, the Miocene period. At this period the richest and most important of all the Radiolarian formations were deposited, such as the pure "Polycystine marl" of Barbados (see note A), also that of Grotte in Sicily (see note B), and the clay of the Nicobar Islands (see note C). Besides the above-mentioned deposits, which may be designated "pure" fossil Radiolarian ooze, many deposits containing these organisms have recently been discovered in widely separated parts of the earth, partly of the nature of tripoli or marl, partly resembling clay. Among these may be mentioned in the first place many coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, both on the south coast of Europe (Sicily, Calabria, Greece), and the north coast of Africa (from Oran to Tripoli). The extensive layers of tripoli which are found in these Mediterranean Tertiary mountains belong to the upper Miocene (Tortona stage), and consist partly of marl rich in calcareous matter, and resembling chalk, partly passing over into plastic clay or "Kieselguhr" (§ 246). The quantity of Radiolaria contained varies, and is more conspicuous the fewer the calcareous shells of Foraminifera present. Similar Tertiary Polycystine formations occur in some parts of America (see note D); probably they have a very wide distribution. In their general morphological characters, the Tertiary Spumellaria and Nassellaria ​are related to those forms which are found in the recent Radiolarian ooze of the depths of the Pacific, especially to the species which are characteristic of the Challenger Stations 225, 226, 265 and 268. Many living genera and families (e.g., most Larcoidea and Stephoidea) have not yet been found in the Tertiary formations.
   A. The famous Polycystine marl of Barbados in the Antilles, which Robert Schomburgk discovered forty years ago, belongs to the Miocene formation, and is the richest and best known of all the important Radiolarian deposits (see L. N. 16, pp. 5-8). After Ehrenberg had published in December 1846 the first preliminary communication regarding its composition out of masses of well-preserved Polycystina, he was able in the following year to describe no less than 282 species from it; he distributed these in 44 genera and 7 families (L. N. 4, 1847, p. 54). In the year 1854 Ehrenberg published figures of 33 species in his Mikrogeologie (L. N. 6, Taf. xxxvi.); but it was only in 1873 that he published descriptions of 265 species (Monatsber. d. k. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. Berlin, Jan. 30, pp. 213-263). Finally there followed in 1875 his Fortsetzung der Mikrogeologischen Studien, mit specieller Rücksicht auf den Polycystinen-Mergel von Barbados (L. N. 25). On the thirty plates which accompany this the last work of Ehrenberg, 282 species are figured and named, of which 54 are Spumellaria (13 Sphæroidea, 8 Prunoidea, 33 Discoidea), and 228 Nassellaria (2 Stephoidea, 38 Spyroidea, and 188 Cyrtoidea). The fourth section of this memoir contains a survey of the Polycystine formation of Barbados (pp. 106-115), and the fifth section the special description of a large specimen of rock from Mount Hillaby in Barbados (see also L. N. 28, p. 117, and L. N. 41, pp. 476-478). The account given by Ehrenberg of the Polycystina of Barbados is in many respects very incomplete, and very far from exhausting this rich mine of remarkable forms. This may be readily seen from the twenty-five plates of figures of Polycystins in the Barbados Chalk Deposit published by Bury in 1862 (L. N. 17). The number of species here figured (140 to 142) is about half of those given by Ehrenberg; and there are among them numerous generic types, some of great interest, which were entirely overlooked by the latter; e.g. Saturnalis (Sphæroidea), Cannartidium (Prunoidea), Tympanidium (Stephoidea), Cinclopyramis (Cyrtoidea), &c. Finally, Ehrenberg always (until 1875) ignored Bury's atlas, which had been published thirteen years ago and was quite accessible to him. How different were the contents of the two works may easily be seen from the following abstract.
Comparative View of the Species of Fossil Radiolaria from Barbados made known by the figures of Bury in 1862 and of Ehrenberg in 1875.
| Legion. | Order. | Order. | Bury. | Ehrenberg. | Total. |
| II. Legion Spumellaria (Peripylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1. Sphæroidea | 16 | 13 | 29 |
| II. Legion Spumellaria (Peripylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 2. Prunoidea | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| II. Legion Spumellaria (Peripylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 3. Discoidea | 37 | 33 | 70 |
| II. Legion Nassellaria (Monopylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 4. Stephoidea | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| II. Legion Nassellaria (Monopylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 5. Spyroidea | 13 | 38 | 51 |
| II. Legion Nassellaria (Monopylea). | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 6. Cyrtoidea | 60 | 188 | 248 |
| | Total, | Total, | 141 | 282 | 423 |
   In 1882 Bütschli still further increased the number of known Radiolaria from Barbados both by figures and descriptions (L. N. 40), and gave in particular a very accurate morphological analysis of 12 new Nassellaria (3 Stephoidea, 3 Spyroidea, and 6 Cyrtoidea; L. N. 40, Taf. xxxii., xxxiii.). The number of the fossil species collected in the Barbados marl is, however, greater than would appear from the above-quoted communications. My respected friend, Dr. R. Teuscher, of Jena, has, at my request, made a large number (about a thousand) of very accurate drawings with the camera lucida of Polycystina from Barbados (see p. 1760). From these it appears that the variations in the structure of the shells, with respect to number, size, and form of the lattice-pores, of the spines, &c., is much greater than would be supposed from the figures of Ehrenberg and Bury. I have thus come to the conviction that the number of species from Barbados (using the word "species" in the sense understood by those authors) is not less than 400 and probably more than 500. Descriptions of some particularly interesting new species from this series have been included in the systematic account of the Challenger Radiolaria. A complete critical investigation of the Radiolaria of Barbados, and especially an accurate comparison of these Cainozoic species with the Mesozoic forms from the Jura, on the one hand, and with recent types on the other, must be left to the future for its accomplishment (see § 246).
   B. The Cainozoic Polycystine tripoli or marl of the Mediterranean coast, which is probably always of Miocene origin, forms very extensive mountain ranges both in the south of Europe (Sicily, Calabria, Greece) and in the north of Africa (from Oran to Tripoli) (§ 246). Hitherto, however, only one locality has been thoroughly investigated, namely, Grotte in the province of Girgenti in Sicily (L. N. 35). In the accurate account which was given of it by Stöhr in 1880, 118 species were described, distributed in 40 genera (L. N. 35; pp. 72-84); of these 118 species 78 are quite new, 25 are identical with previously known fossils, and 29 identical with living forms. Among them are 73 Spumellaria (28 Sphæroidea, 8 Prunoidea, and 37 Discoidea), but only 40 Nassellaria (1 Stephoidea, 6 Spyroidea, and 33 Cyrtoidea), and 5 Phæodaria (Dictyochida). The other parts of Sicily from which the same upper Miocene tripoli has been investigated (belonging to the Tortona stage) have proved less rich than Grotte. The best known of these places is Caltanisetta, since upon three genera discovered here (Haliomma, Cornutella, Lithocampe) the group Polycystina was founded by Ehrenberg in 1838 (see L. N. 16, p. 3). Afterwards 31 species were described from this locality, of which 23 were again found in Grotte. The richest deposit on the Mediterranean coast, however, appears to be at Oran. A small specimen of the Kieselguhr found there, which was recently sent to me by Professor Steinman, proved to be pure Radiolarian ooze, very similar to that now found in the Central Pacific, and contained many hitherto undescribed species; it is deserving of careful investigation and comparison.
   C. Regarding the Tertiary Radiolarian clay of the Nicobar Islands, see § 247 and L. N. 25, pp. 116-120. Its fauna is incompletely known; probably it is of Miocene or Oligocene origin.
   D. Cainozoic tripoli, containing larger or smaller quantities of Radiolaria, appears to be rather widely distributed in America. Ehrenberg has described such from South America (polishing-slate from Morro di Mijellones, on the coast between Chili and Bolivia), and from North America (Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia, Piscataway in Maryland). Similar deposits are also found in the Bermuda Islands (L. N. 4, 1855-56; L. N. 6, Taf. 18; L. N. 16, pp. 3-9; L. N. 41, pp. 475-478, and L. N. 25, pp. 2-6).
​243. Mesozoic Radiolaria.—From the Mesozoic or Secondary period numerous well-preserved Radiolaria have recently been described. They belong for the most part to the Jurassic formation (see notes A, B, C), whilst the more recent Chalk (see note D) and the older Trias (see note E) have hitherto yielded but few species. All the main divisions of the Jura, both the upper (Malm) and the middle (Dogger), and especially the lower (Lias) appear in certain localities to be very rich in well-preserved shells of fossil Polycystina. Most of these are aggregated together in coprolites and quartzites (jasper, chert, flint, &c., § 248). The majority are Cyrtoidea, the minority Sphæroidea and Discoidea in almost equal proportions; a few Beloidea (Sphærozoum) and Phæocystina (Dictyocha) are also found among them. The general morphological character of these Jurassic Radiolaria is very different from that of the nearly related Tertiary and living forms. In general, their siliceous shells are firmer and more massive, usually also somewhat larger, but of simpler structure. The manifold delicate appendages (spines, bristles, feet, wings, &c.) which are so richly developed in the living Spumellaria and Nassellaria, and are also well shown in the Tertiary species, are entirely wanting in the majority of the Jurassic Polycystina. The Sphæroidea and Prunoidea are all simple spherical or ellipsoidal lattice-shells (Monosphærida); concentric lattice-shells (Polysphærida) are entirely wanting. The Cyrtoidea are, for the most part, devoid of radial processes or basal feet (Eradiata); triradiate and multiradiate forms, such as are found abundantly in the recent and Tertiary formations, are very rare. The large number of many-jointed forms (Stichocyrtida) and of Cyrtoidea with latticed basal opening is very striking.
   ​B. Jurassic Radiolaria from Italy, also found in jasper, which are closely related to the forms from Germany and Switzerland described by Dr. Rüst, were made known so long ago as 1880 by Dante Pantanelli in his treatise I Diaspri della Toscana e i loro Fossili (Rome, 1880, 33 pp. 60 figs.). Pantanelli believes, however, that this jasper is for the most part of Eocene origin; but from his description, and especially from the morphological character of the forms which he figures, it appears very probable "that these Tuscan jaspers from Galestro, like those of the Swiss conglomerates, are found in a secondary locality and belong to the Jurassic period" (Rüst, L. N. 51, p. 3). Unfortunately the figures of Pantanelli are so small and incomplete that a reliable determination of the species is hardly possible; for example, the lattice-work is only given in ten of the sixty figures. Among the 32 recorded species 15 are Spumellaria (6 Sphæroidea and 9 Discoidea) and 17 Nassellaria (4 Stephoidea and 13 Cyrtoidea); many of which seem to be identical with the forms more accurately described by Dr. Rüst (compare p. 1762).
   C. From the Lias of the Alps and more particularly "from the lower Liassic beds of the Schafberg near Salzburg," Dr. Emil von Dunikowski in 1882 described 18 species of fossil Radiolaria (L. N. 44, pp. 22-34, Taf. iv.-vi.); most of these are Sphæroidea and Discoidea and appear to have been more or less altered by petrological changes; their spongy structure is probably secondary.
   D. Cretaceous Radiolaria have been hitherto described only in very small numbers; quite recently Dr. Rüst has found a larger number chiefly in flints from the English chalk, but they have not yet been published. In 1876 Zittel described 6 very well-preserved species from the upper chalk of North Germany (L. N. 29, pp. 76-96, Taf. ii.); among them were 1 Sphæroidea, 1 Discoidea, 1 Dictyocha, and 3 Cyrtoidea.
244. Palæozoic Radiolaria.—The number of Radiolaria which are known from the Palæozoic or Primary formations is much less than from either the Mesozoic or Cainozoic periods. Here, however, the investigations of recent times have yielded important information; a few species, at all events, of Polycystina (mostly Sphæroidea) are now known from various Palæozoic formations, and not only from the Permian ("Zechstein") and the Coal-measures, but also from the older Devonian and Silurian systems. Even in the still older Cambrian rocks a few fossil Radiolaria have been found. All these Palæozoic Radiolaria are Polycystina of very simple form and primitive structure, mostly simple Spumellaria (latticed spheres, ellipsoids, lenses, &c.), but partly also simple Nassellaria.
245. Abundance of Radiolaria in the Various Rocks.—The relative quantity of well-preserved or at all events recognisable Radiolaria in the different rocks is very variable. In this respect three different degrees may be distinguished, which may be called shortly "pure, mixed, and poor" Radiolarian formations. The pure Radiolarian rocks consist for the greater part (usually much more than half, sometimes even more than three-quarters) of closely compacted often calcined masses of siliceous Polycystine shells. To this category belong the pure Miocene Polycystine marls of Barbados (§ 246), the Tertiary Polycystine clay of the Nicobar Islands (§ 247), and the Polycystine quartz of the Jura (§ 248). All these pure Radiolarian rocks may be regarded as fossil Radiolarian ooze (§ 237), and are certainly of deep-sea origin, having probably been deposited at depths greater than 2000 fathoms. Their palæontological character also is in favour of this view, for the abyssal Osculosa (§ 235) are more abundant and richer in species than the pelagic Porulosa (§ 233). The elevation of this deep-sea layer above the surface of the sea appears to have taken place but seldom; it has only been observed on a large scale at Barbados and in the Nicobar Islands. The mixed Radiolarian rocks are much more common; they were probably deposited at much less depths, or perhaps are not true deep-sea formations at all. The siliceous shells of Polycystina always constitute less than half (sometimes less than one-tenth) of their mass, and are less prominent than other siliceous remains (Diatoms), or calcareous remains (Foraminifera), or in some cases than the mineral constituents (pumice, &c.). To this group belong many of the above-mentioned Tertiary marls and clays (especially the Mediterranean Tripoli), also many flints, cherts, and other quartzites from Mesozoic strata (especially from the Jura), and probably also some palæozoic quartzites. The marine ooze from which they have originated may have been deposited at very various, even at slight, depths of the ocean. Formations poor in Radiolaria, which contain only a few species of Spumellaria and Nassellaria mingled with other fossil remains and mineral particles, occur in all formations and are probably very widely distributed. Further careful examination of thin sections (especially of coprolites) will yield here a rich harvest of new forms. Both the mixed and the pure Radiolarian formations may be divided according to their petrographic characters into three groups, which, however, are connected by intermediate varieties—(1) soft, chalky marl (§ 246), (2) plastic clay (§ 247), and (3) hard, flinty quartz (§ 248).
​246. Radiolarian Marl.—Those soft, friable rocks, which contain a large quantity of calcareous matter, but consist for the most part of the shells of Spumellaria and Nassellaria, are called Radiolarian or Polycystine marl, often more correctly Polycystine tripoli; the best known example of them is the chalky marl of Barbados in the Antilles (§ 242). The Tertiary mountain system of this island, which in Mount Hillaby rises to a height of 1147 feet and includes about 15,800 acres, consists almost exclusively of these remarkable masses of rock. Most of it appears as a soft, earthy, often chalky marl, with a considerable but variable amount of calcareous matter. Those specimens, the greater half of which is composed of well-preserved siliceous shells of Polycystina, and which contain little lime, approach the tripoli and "Kieselguhr." Those specimens, however, which contain the largest amount of calcareous matter resemble common writing chalk in consistency, and consist for the most part of shells of Foraminifera and their fragments; of these there are only few species but large numbers of individuals, generally in small fragments with a fine calcareous powder between them. They may be regarded as fossil Globigerina ooze (§ 238). In a third group of specimens from Barbados the quantity of fragments of pumice and other volcanic matters predominates; the amount of clay is also very considerable; these deposits pass over partly into actual clay partly into volcanic tuff. A fourth group exhibits relations to a coarser often ferruginous material, and although the shells of Polycystina are less abundant in it, still it may be shown to be composed largely of fragments and metamorphosed remains of them. The colour of this deposit, which in some places passes over into sandstone, in others into clay, is usually rather dark, grey, brown, sometimes red and occasionally black (bituminous). The Radiolarian marls of the first two groups, which sometimes approach the white chalk, sometimes the Kieselguhr, are grey, or even pure white (see note A). The same constitution is exhibited by the yellowish or white, very light and friable Polycystine marls of Sicily, which in Caltanisetta approach the chalk, and in Grotte the Kieselguhr. In Greece (Ægina, Zante, &c.), on the other hand, they pass over into plastic clay, and the same occurs in the Baden marl of the Vienna basin. In North Africa, however, on the Mediterranean shores of which the Radiolarian marl seems to be very widely distributed (from Tripoli to Oran), it sometimes becomes changed into actual firm polishing slate, sometimes into pulverulent Kieselguhr or tripoli (Terra tripolitana, see note B). Most of these Radiolarian marls appear to date from the middle Tertiary (Miocene) period, and to be deep-sea formations.
   | Ehrenberg-Rammelsberg (Fragment from Hillaby). | Ehrenberg-Rammelsberg (Fragment from Hillaby). | Weber I. (Chalk-like Fragment). | Weber I. (Chalk-like Fragment). | Weber II. (Tripoli-like Fragment). |
   | Silicate of alumina, | 59.47 | Silica, | 52.2 | 71.3 |
   | Alumina and oxide of iron, | 1.95 | Alumina (with traces of oxide of iron), | 12.3 | 11.2 |
   | Calcium carbonate, | 34.31 | Alumina (with traces of oxide of iron), | 12.3 | 11.2 |
   | Water, | 3.67 | Lime and magnesia, | 31.9 | 14.8 |
   | | | Carbon dioxide, | 3.2 | 02.7 |
   | —— | —— | —— | —— | ——0 |
   | Total, | 99.40 | Total, | 99.6 | 100.00 |
   For further comparison I here add the three different analyses of Miocene Tripoli-marls from Sicily, given by Stöhr on the authority of Fremy, Schwager, and Mottura (Tagebl. d. fünfzigsten Versamml. Deutsch. Naturf. u. Aertzte in München, 1877, p. 163).
   | Composition. | Composition. | Tripoli from Licata (Fremy). | Tripoli from Grotte (Schwager). | Tripoli from Grotte (Schwager). | Tripoli from Caltanisetta (Mottura). | Tripoli from Caltanisetta (Mottura). |
   | Silica, | Silica, | 30.98 | 58.58 | 58.58 | 68.6 | 68.6 |
   | Alumina, | Alumina, | 17.54 | 11.51 | 11.51 | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 3.6 |
   | Oxide of iron, | Oxide of iron, | 0.33 | 1.84 | 1.84 | | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 3.6 |
   | Lime, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 38.09 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 8.49 | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 12.1 |
   | Magnesia, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 38.09 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 0.41 | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 12.1 |
   | Water and organic matter, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 13.06 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 11.26 | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 15.2 |
   | Carbonic acid, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 13.06 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 7.12 | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | 15.2 |
   | | | 100.00 | 99.21 | 99.21 | 99.5 | 99.5 |
247. Radiolarian Clays.—Among the Radiolarian or Polycystine clays we include the firm, often plastic, formations, which contain a larger proportion of Radiolaria than of other organic remains. The first of these to be mentioned is the Cainozoic formation of the Nicobar Islands in Further India, which rises to a height of 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and consists for the most part of coloured masses of clay of varying constitution; on Car Nicobar these are mostly grey or reddish, on the Island of Camorta they are partly strongly ferruginous and red and yellow (e.g. at Frederickshaven), partly white and light, like meerschaum (e.g. at Mongkata). The latter varieties appear to pass over into pure loose Polycystine marl like that of Barbados, the former into calcareous sandstone. Although the Polycystine clays of the Nicobar Islands are as yet only very incompletely known, it may be concluded with great probability that they are true deep-sea formations and nearly allied to those recent forms of red clay, which by their abundance in Radiolaria most nearly approach the Radiolarian ooze, such for example as the red clay of the North Pacific between Japan and the Sandwich Islands (Stations 241 to 245, compare §§ 229 and 239). With this view agrees also the greater or less quantity of pumice dust and other volcanic products. Probably Radiolarian clays like those of the Nicobar Islands occur also in other Tertiary rocks; part of the Barbados marl passes by gradually increasing content of clay into such; and in this case also the amount of included pumice is often considerable. Many mixed Radiolarian marls of the Mediterranean (e.g., of Greece and Oran) also appear to pass over at certain points into Radiolarian clay.
​248. Radiolarian Quartzes.—Under the name Radiolarian or Polycystine quartzes are included those hard, siliceous rocks, which consist for the most part of the closely compacted shells of Spumellaria and Nassellaria. To these "cryptocrystalline quartzes," or better, quartzites, belong more especially the pure Radiolarian formations of the Jura, which have been described as flint, chert, jasper, as well as other cryptocrystalline quartzites. Most of the rocks of this nature hitherto examined are from Germany (Hanover, South Bavaria), Hungary, Tyrol, and Switzerland; others are known from Italy (Tuscany). They occur both in the upper and middle, but especially in the lower Jurassic formation (also in the lower layers of the Alpine Lias). A small part of them has been examined in their primary situation (the red jaspers of Allgäu and Tyrol), the greater part, however, only as loose rolled stones in secondary situations (thus in Switzerland in the breccia of the Rigi, in the conglomerate of the Uetli-Berg, and in many boulders of the Rhine, the Limmat, the Reuss, and the Aar). The greatest abundance, however, of Jurassic Radiolaria has been yielded by the silicified coprolites from the Lias of Hanover. These "Radiolarian coprolites" are roundish or cylindrical bodies, which may attain the size of a goose-egg; they probably originated from Fish or Cephalopods, which had fed upon Crustacea, Pteropoda, and similar pelagic organisms, whose stomachs were already full of Radiolarian skeletons. Next to the coprolites the richest is the red jasper, whose colour varies from bright to dark red; it constitutes a true "silicified deep-sea Radiolarian ooze." The "Aptychus beds" also of South Bavaria and Tyrol are very rich, and have furnished about one-third of all the Radiolaria known from the Jura; most of the species too are very well preserved (compare § 243).
   Regarding the remarkable composition and manifold varieties of the Jurassic Radiolarian quartz, the very full treatise of Dr. Rüst may be consulted (L. N. 51). The very interesting Radiolarian coprolites, which that author has discovered in the lower and middle Jura of Hanover, occur in astonishing numbers in the iron mines at the village of Gross-Ilsede, four and a half miles south of the town of Peine. They constitute from 2 to 5 per cent. by weight of the Liassic iron ore; of this latter, in the year 1883 alone, not less than two hundred and eighty million kilograms were excavated. It is very probable that the careful microscopic examination of thin sections of coprolites, as well as of flints, chert, jasper, and other quartzites, would yield a rich harvest of fossil Radiolaria in other formations also. In Italy Dante Pantanelli has discovered interesting Polycystine jaspers in Tuscany (L. N. 36, 45); these also appear to occur in the Jura (compare § 243, and L. N. 51, pp. 3-10).
249. Fossil Groups.—The preservation of Radiolaria in the fossil state is, of course, primarily dependent on the composition of their skeleton. Hence the Acantharia, whose acanthin skeleton although firm is readily soluble, are never found fossil. The same is true of the skeletons of the Phæodaria, which consist of a silicate of carbon; here, however, a single exception is found in the Dictyochida, a subfamily of the Cannorrhaphida, the isolated parts of whose skeletons appear to consist of pure silica, and ​are often found fossil. Of the two other legions those families which possess no skeleton are of course excluded; the Nassellida among the Nassellaria, and the Thalassicollida and Collozoida among the Spumellaria. Thus of the 85 known families there remain scarcely 55 of which the skeletons may be expected in the fossil state; and of these scarcely half have been actually observed in this condition. Of the 20 orders of this class enumerated in § 155, the following 9 may be, for palæontological and geological purposes, completely excluded:—(A) The 4 orders of Acantharia (1, Actinelida; 2, Acanthonida; 3, Sphærophracta; 4, Prunophracta); (B) 3 orders of Phæodaria (5, Phæosphæria; 6, Phæogromia; 7, Phæoconchia); (C) 1 order of Nassellaria (8, Nassoidea); (D) 1 order of Spumellaria (9, Colloidea). From a geological point of view the following 6 orders, although occasionally found fossil, are of quite subordinate importance:—(A) Among the Spumellaria (10, Beloidea, and 11, Larcoidea); (B) among the Nassellaria (12, Plectoidea; 13, Stephoidea; 14, Botryodea); (C) among the Phæodaria (15, the Phæocystina). On the other hand the following 5 orders, which are the main constituents of Radiolarian rocks, are of pre-eminent geological importance:—(A) Among the Spumellaria (16, Sphæroidea; 17, Prunoidea; 18, Discoidea); (B) among the Nassellaria (19, Spyroidea, and 20, Cyrtoidea). The numerical relation in which the different families of these orders appear in the Radiolarian formations may be seen on consulting § 157.
250. Fossil and Recent Species.—The fact that there are many Radiolaria living at the present day, whose shells are found fossil in Tertiary rocks, is of great phylogenetic and geological significance. This appeared to be the case even from the older observations upon the Polycystina of the Barbados marl (see note A), but more recent and extensive observations both upon these and upon the Miocene Radiolaria of Sicily, have shown that the number of these "living fossil" forms is much greater than was previously supposed (see note B). Among the Miocene Radiolaria numerous species, both of Spumellaria (especially Sphæroidea and Discoidea) and of Nassellaria (especially Spyroidea and Cyrtoidea) are not to be distinguished from the corresponding still living forms (see notes C, D). On the other hand, those genera, which are rich both in species and individuals (recent as well as fossil), present continuous series of forms which lead gradually and uninterruptedly from old Tertiary species to others still living, which are specifically indistinguishable from them. These interesting morphological facts are capable of direct phylogenetic application, and furnish valuable proofs of the truth of the theory of descent.
   ​B. Stöhr, in his list of Miocene Radiolaria from Grotte (L. N. 35, p. 84, 1880), records 118 species, of which 29 are still living.
   C. Teuscher, who at my request has made a large number of comparative measurements and drawings, both of fossil and living Radiolaria, comes to the conclusion that numerous Spumellaria and Nassellaria from Barbados are to-day extant and unchanged in the Radiolarian ooze of the deep Pacific Ocean (compare § 242A, and p. 1760, Note).