. Relics of primeval life, beginning of life in the dawn of geological time. usly no suspicion. Life, which hadhitherto been supposed to have first appeared inthe Primordial division of the Silurian period, isnow seen to be immeasurably lengthened beyondits former limit, and to embrace in its domain themost ancient known portions of the earths would almost seem as if organic life had beenawakened simultaneously with the solidification ofthe earths crust. Gumbel has described from limestones of Lauren-tian age in various parts of Europe forms referable 212 RELICS OF PRIMEVAL LIFE to Eo
. Relics of primeval life, beginning of life in the dawn of geological time. usly no suspicion. Life, which hadhitherto been supposed to have first appeared inthe Primordial division of the Silurian period, isnow seen to be immeasurably lengthened beyondits former limit, and to embrace in its domain themost ancient known portions of the earths would almost seem as if organic life had beenawakened simultaneously with the solidification ofthe earths crust. Gumbel has described from limestones of Lauren-tian age in various parts of Europe forms referable 212 RELICS OF PRIMEVAL LIFE to Eozoon or to Archaeospherinae, and I have foundfragmental Eozoon in specimens collected by Favrein the supposed Archaean nucleus of the Alps. Giimbel also found in the Finnish and Bavarianlimestones knotted chambers, like those of Went-worth above mentioned (Fig. 55), which he regardsas belonging to some other organism than Eozoon ;and flocculi having tubes, pores, and reticulationswhich would seem to point to the presence ofstructures akin to sponges or possibly remains of. Fig. 55.—ArchiEospherin-x from Pargas in Finland. (After Giimbel.) (Magnified.) seaweeds. These observations Giimbel has ex-tended into other localities in Bavaria and Bohemia,and also in Silesia and Sweden, establishing theexistence of Eozoon fossils in all the Laurentianlimestones of the middle and north of Europe. Giimbel has further found in beds overlying theolder Eozoic series, and probably of the same agewith the Canadian Huronian, a different species ofEozoon, with smaller and more contracted cham-bers, and still finer and more crowded canals. This, CONTEMPORARIES OF EOZOON 213 which is to be regarded as a distinct species, or atleast a well-marked varietal form, he has namedEozoon Bavariciim (Fig. 56). Thus this early intro-duction of life is not peculiar to that old continentwhich we sometimes call the New World, butapplies to Europe as well, and Europe has fur-nished a successor to Eozoon in the
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