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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 67, NUMBER 6 CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY IV No. 6.—MIDDLE CAMBRIAN SPONGIAE (With Plates 60 to 90) BY CHARLES D. WALCOTT (Publication 2580) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1920 Z$t Bovb Qgattimote (press BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY IV No. 6.—MIDDLE CAMBRIAN SPONGIAE By CHARLES D. WALCOTT (With Plates 60 to 90) CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 263 Habitat = 265 Genera and species 265 Comparison with recent sponges 267 Comparison with Metis shale sponge fauna 267 Description of species 269 Sub-Class Silicispongiae 269 Order Monactinellida Zittel (Monaxonidae Sollas) 269 Sub-Order Halichondrina Vosmaer 269 Halichondrites Dawson 269 Halichondrites elissa, new species 270 Tuponia, new genus 271 Tuponia lineata, new species 272 Tuponia bellilineata, new species 274 Tuponia flexilis, new species 275 Tuponia flexilis var. intermedia, new variety 276 Takakkawia, new genus 277 Takakkawia lineata, new species 277 Wapkia, new genus 279 Wapkia grandis, new species 279 Hazelia, new genus 281 Hazelia palmata, new species 282 Hazelia conf erta, new species 283 Hazelia delicatula, new species 284 Hazelia ? grandis, new species 285. Hazelia mammillata, new species 286' Hazelia nodulifera, new species 287 Hazelia obscura, new species 287 Corralia, new genus 288 Corralia undulata, new species 288 Sentinelia, new genus 289 Sentinelia draco, new species 290 Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 67, No. 6 261 262 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 6j Family Suberitidae 291 Choia, new genus 291 Choia carteri, new species 292 Choia ridleyi, new species 294 Choia utahensis, new species 295 Choia hindei (Dawson) 295 Hamptonia, new genus 296 Hamptonia bowerbanki, new species 297 Pirania, new genus 298 Pirania muricata, new species 298 Order Hexactinellida O. Schmidt (Triaxonia F. E. Schulze) 301 Sub-Order Lyssacina Zittel 301 Family Protospongidae Hinde 301 Protospongia Salter 301 Protospongia erixo, new species 353 Protospongia fenestrata Salter 304 Protospongia hicksi Hinde 307 Diagoniella Rauff 309 Diagoniella hindei, new species 310 Kiwetinokia, new genus 311 Kiwetinokia utahensis, new species 313 Kiwetinokia spiralis, new species 314 Kiwetinokia metissica (Dawson) 315 Sub-Order Dictyonina Zittel 316 Family Vauxininae, new family 3 ] 6 Vauxia, new genus 3 l 7 Vauxia gracilenta, new species 3 T 8 Vauxia bellula, new species 320 Vauxia densa, new species 320 Vauxia dignata, new species 321 Vauxia ( ?) venata, new species 322 Family Octactinellidae Hinde 322 Eiffelia, new genus 323 Eiffelia globosa, new species 324 Sub-Order Heteractinellida Hinde 325 Family Chancelloridae, new family 327 Chancelloria, new genus 327 Chancelloria eros, new species 329 Chancelloria drusilla, new species 331 Chancelloria libo, new species 332 Chancelloria yorkensis, new species 332 ILLUSTRATIONS Plates facing plates page 60, 61. Halichondrites elissa Walcott 334, 335 62, 63. Tuponia lineata Walcott 336, 337 64. Tuponia flexilis intermedia Walcott and Tuponia bellilineata Walcott. 338 65. Tuponia flexilis Walcott 339 NO. 6 MIDDLE CAMBRIAN SPONGIAE 263 66, 67, 68. Wapkia grandis Walcott 340, 341, 342 69. Hazelia palmata Walcott 343 70. Hazelia delicatula Walcott 344 71. Hazelia obscura Walcott, Hazelia ? grandis Walcott, and Hazelia nodulif era Walcott 345 72. Sentinelia draco Walcott, Corralia undulata Walcott, Hazelia con- f erta Walcott, and Choia carteri Walcott 346 73. Choia carteri Walcott and Choia ridleyi Walcott 347 74. Choia ridleyi Walcott 3-48 75. Choia utahensis Walcott and Choia carteri Walcott 349 76. Choia hindei (Dawson), Hazelia palmata Walcott, and Hamptonia bowerbanki Walcott 350 77. 78. Hamptonia bowerbanki Walcott 351, 352 79. Pirania muricata Walcott and Protospongia erixo Walcott 353 80. Protospongia f enestrata Salter and Protospongia hicksi Hinde .... 354 81. Diagoniella hindei Walcott and Vauxia dignata Walcott 355 82. Vauxia bellula Walcott and Vauxia gracilenta Walcott 356 83. Vauxia gracilenta Walcott 357 84. Vauxia densa Walcott 358 85. Vauxia ( ?) venata Walcott 359 86. Eiffelia globosa Walcott and Chancelloria eros Walcott 360 87. Chancelloria libo Walcott, Chancelloria drusilla Walcott, Chancelloria yorkensis Walcott, and Takakkawia lineata Walcott 361 88. Chancelloria eros Walcott 362 89. Kiwetinokia utahensis Walcott and Kiwetinokia spiralis Walcott .... 363 90. Tuponia lineata Walcott, Hazelia delicatula Walcott, and Hazelia mammillata Walcott 364 Text Figures figures 4, 4a. Pirania muricata Walcott 299 5, 6. Protospongia mononema Dawson 303 7. Diagoniella cyathiformis Dawson 309 8. 8a. Kiwetinokia metissica (Dawson) 316 9. Vauxia gracilenta Walcott 319 10. Eiffelia globosa Walcott 324 INTRODUCTION The sponges of the Burgess shale member of the Stephen formation of the Middle Cambrian of British Columbia comprise nearly all of the siliceous sponges known to me from Cambrian strata of America. Dr. G. F. Matthew has described a number of minute forms from the Cambrian rocks of New Brunswick that he has referred to the 1 Spongiae. All the species described are represented by minute 1 Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, Vol. VII, 1890, pp. 148-150. Trans. New York Acad. Sci., Vol. XIV, 1895, pp. 112, 113. 264 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 6/ specimens in an unsatisfactory condition of preservation. With brief descriptions and diagrammatic illustrations, and only a hurried glance at the material fifteen years ago, I do not think I can comment upon the generic references of the several species named. Matthew de- serves great credit for the results he secured from the fragmentary and poorly preserved Cambrian material of New Brunswick, but his work will require careful revision with the type specimens before many of the more obscure forms can be satisfactorily identified and classified. 1 Dr. J. G. Bornemann has described cylindrical stems that are simple, branching and anastomosing, that occur in the Cambrian 2 rocks of Sardinia, as a sponge analogous to the living Axinella. He named it Palaeospongia prisca, gave a detailed description with many illustrations, and considered it probable that many so-called fossil algae such as Palaeophycus might be sponges somewhat similar to Palaeospongia. The small spherical form from the Upper Cambrian described by 3 Walcott as Hagnia sphaerica is probably a sponge, but in its present condition of preservation all traces of spicules have disappeared owing to the crystallization of the calcite ; it must await the study of the American Archaeocyathinae and allied forms before a decision can be made. There is also the Lower Cambrian Sponge Leptomitus zitteli Wal- 4 cott, which strongly resembles small specimens of Tuponia lineata Walcott described in this paper (see pis. 62, 63). The long longi- tudinal spicules are similar, and there appears to have been a compact dermal layer in which fine, short, simple spicules occur. It may be that better specimens of Leptomitus would show a structure similar to that of Tuponia, in which case the latter name would be a synonym of Leptomitus, which is now referred to the order Monactinellida. There were probably many other forms of siliceous and calcareous sponges of which only a few traces have been found. My object in this paper is to call attention to the sponges from the Burgess shale and to leave to future investigation the collecting of material and study of the sponges of the Cambrian. 1 Die Versteinerungen des Camb. Schichtensystems der Insel Sardinien, Pt. I, 1886, pp. 22-27, pi. 3, figs. 1-3, pi. 4, figs. 1-3. 3 Rept. Voyage H. M. S. Challenger, Zool., Vol. 20, p. 178. 3 Monogr. U. S. Geol. Surv., Vol. LXIII, Pt. II, 1899, p. 442, pi. LXIII, figs. 6, 6a. 4 Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 30, 1886, p. 89, pi. 2, figs. 2, 2a. Tenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1890, p. 597, pi. 49, figs. 1, la. * : NO. 6 MIDDLE CAMBRIAN SPONGIAE 265 Habitat.—The sponges found in the Middle Cambrian Burgess shale, like the algae, were probably carried into the Wapta pool by currents, as they are widely scattered in the shale and are not forms that would flourish in muddy water. A description of the habitat and mode of deposition of the Burgess shale fauna is given on page 219 of this volume in connection with the description of the associated algal flora. Manner of Preservation.—The sponge spicules and dermal layers are usually replaced by pyrite or coated with a thin black film. of occurrence of the sponges at Little The mode Metis led Sir. J. W. Dawson to the following conclusions : Originally rooted in the soft ooze of the sea bottom the specimens seem sometimes to have been buried in situ, so that when the shale is split they appear in transverse section or as round flattened discs ; but in most cases they seem to have drifted from their anchorage, either with or without their anchoring-rods, and to have been flattened laterally. When entire, they some- times present, when the shale is split open, a surface of dermal spines, masking the skeleton proper. In other cases the dermal spines come away with the matrix, leaving the skeleton spicules exposed. Thus the same species may present very different appearances under different circumstances. In most cases the body of the sponge has been more or less disintegrated or reduced to patches of loose spicules, and some large surfaces are covered with a con- fused coating of spicules and anchoring-rods belonging to several species. In some cases also the loose spicules, or fragments of them, seem to have been gathered in little oval or cylindrical piles and inclosed in pyrite. At first I was disposed to regard these as coprolitic; but Dr. Hinde doubts this, and regards them as merely loose spicules drifted together into hollows or wormburrows. ' Genera and species.—The classification is mainly that of Zittel with a few additions on account of forms unknown to him. The fol- lowing genera and species are described in this paper Sub-Class Silicispongiae Order Monactinellida Zittel Sub-Order Halichondrina Vosmaer Genus Halichondrites Dawson Halichondrites confusus Dawson Halichondrites elissa Walcott Genus Tuponia Walcott Tuponia bellilineata Walcott Tuponia flexilis Walcott Tuponia flexilis var.