ON SOME NEW AND OLD SPECIES OF CARBONIFEROUS FOSSILS. By George H. Girty, Custodian of CarhonlfcrouH Fossils, U. 8. National Museum. The contents of the accompanying pai)er are of a misceUaneous character, but may be classified from one point of view into species "which I expect to discuss before long in other reports and which are not provided with illustrations in the present one, and those wdiich are not included in plans for the immediate future and are conse-quently illustrated in this place. These last group themselves into several categories. Several years ago when collecting in Kansas I obtained at a locality near Chanute some fossil sponges in unusual abundance and perfec-tion of preservation. A careful study of these forms seems to justify recognizing among them four new genera, five new species, and one new variety. Over half a century has elapsed since Isaac Lea published his brief paper on the occurrence of fossil mollusks in the anthracite seams of the Carboniferous at Wilkesbarre." Though our knowledge of the coal plants of the. anthracite region has since Ijecome very extensive, time has brought out few facts relating to the invertebrates of that place and period. The fauna of the IMill Creek ^ limestone has sub-sequently been discovered and partially described, but it is evident that this fauna is not the same as that which furnished Lea's speci-mens. It is unfortunate, therefore, that the last-named author does not state more precisely where and from what seam his material had its source, doubly imfortunate in view of the fact that even his poor figures show j^lainly that his species were in some cases based upon mere fragments. \^Tien a storage box containing miscellaneous and some unlabeled specimens was unpacked several years ago a small slab of black sandy "Acad. Nat. Sci. riiiladelpliia, Jour., 2 ser., II, 18.53, p. 203. & Wyoming Hist, and Geol. Soc, Proc. and Coll., II, 1SS6. p. 265 et seq., and 2d Geol. Surv. Pennsylvania, Ann. Kept, for 1885, 1886, p. 450. Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXXIV— No. 1614. 281
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