Griffith Collection

Type	Fossil
Geological Age	Carboniferous
Location	Ireland/Northern Ireland
Donation Date	March 1848
Specimen Records	https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?accn_number=2023-03

This fossil collection formed part of the cabinet of Sir Richard Griffith which Frederick M‘Coy used as the basis for his Synopsis of the Characters of the Carboniferous Limestone Fossils of Ireland, published in 1844.

A 16 page folio catalogue in the collection contains information relating to specimens, which were donated by Sir Richard Griffith to Robert Ball of the Dublin University Museum in March 1848.  These specimens represented approximately half of his cabinet.  The other half which contained the bulk of the figured material of M‘Coy (1844) is now housed in the National Museum of Ireland.

The entries are handwritten in a number of different coloured inks.  Black is used for the bulk of the entries while red is used to denote genera which were newly described by M‘Coy (1844).  New species of M‘Coy are highlighted by a dot above the left-hand side of the specific name.  Each entry consists of a Generic and specific determination together with a list of localities and the numbers of specimens found at each site.

Specimen Lists

Catalogue of the Sir Richard Griffith Collection (donated in 1848) of Lower Carboniferous invertebrate fossils described in Frederick M‘Coy (1844) in the Geological Museum, Trinity College, Dublin.

• Bryozoa
  • Fenestella carinata M‘Coy, 1844
  • TCD.315
  • Hook Head, Co. Wexford
  • Courceyan/Chadian, Lower Carboniferous.
  • SYNTYPE (of F. carinata)
• Cnidaria
  • Diphyphyllum fasciculatum (Fleming, 1828)
  • TCD.41460
  • Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
  • Lower Carboniferous.
  • [labelled Lithodendron fasciculatum]
• Brachiopoda
  • Atrypa acuminata
  • see Pugnax acuminata (Martin, 1809)
  • Atrypa pugnus
  • see Pugnax pugnus (Martin, 1809)
  • Producta flexistria M‘Coy, 1844
  • TCD.*****, *****
  • one no locality; one from Ardagh
  • SYNTYPES
  • Pugnax acuminata (Martin, 1809)
  • TCD.14891
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Little Island, Co. Cork
  • Pugnax acuminata (Martin, 1809)
  • TCD.9548
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • No locality.
  • Pugnax pugnus (Martin, 1809)
  • TCD.14895
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • No locality
  • Spirifer clathrata M‘Coy, 1844
  • TCD.14916(1); 14916(2); 38987 [CHECK].
  • Lisnapaste, Ballintra
  • SYNTYPES
• Mollusca: Bivalvia
  • Modiola divisa M‘Coy, 1844 = Leiopteria divisa (M‘Coy, 1844)
  • TCD.41461
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Mullaghtinny, Clogher, Co. Down.
  • PARALECTOTYPE
• Mollusca: Cephalopoda
  • Apheleceras mutabile (M‘Coy, 1844)
  • TCD.11301
  • Carboniferous
  • Srah, Lower Woodford.
  • SYNTYPE
  • Apheleceras mutabile (M‘Coy, 1844)
  • TCD.11304
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Fortanebeg, Co. Tyrone.
  • SYNTYPE
  • Apheleceras mutabile (M‘Coy, 1844) [CHECK – is this TCD.11304?]
  • TCD.49156
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Fontanbeg, Benburb, Co. Tyrone
  • PARALECTOTYPE
  • Discites discors M‘Coy, 1844
  • see Maccoyoceras discors (M‘Coy, 1844)
  • Discites mutabilis M‘Coy, 1844
  • see Apheleceras mutabile (M‘Coy, 1844)
  • Goniatites ovatus
  • TCD.8405a
  • Lower Carboniferous.
  • Tankardstown, Kildorrery, Co. Cork.
  • Goniatites reticulatus Phillips, 1836
  • TCD.*****
  • Lower Carboniferous.
  • [In Goniatite cupboard]
  • Loxoceras incomitatum M‘Coy, 1844
  • TCD.17872-17876
  • Castle Slate, Courceyan, Lower Carboniferous.
  • Cobh, Co. Cork.
  • SYNTYPES
  • Maccoyoceras discors (M‘Coy, 1844) [CHECK]
  • TCD.9607
  • Lower Carboniferous.
  • Locality unknown, Ireland.
  • S.
  • Vestinautilus cariniferatus
  • E451 Check K. Histon thesis and monograph TCD.11250 [CHECK]
• Mollusca: Gastropoda
  • Euomphalus crotalostomus M‘Coy 1844
  • TCD.41387
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Benburb, Ashgill, Ordovician. [CHECK M‘Coy 1846, p. 13]
  • Chair of Kildare, Co. Kildare.
  • SYNTYPE
  • Trochella prisca M‘Coy 1844
  • TCD.45295
  • Lower Carboniferous
  • Locality unknown
  • SYNTYPE
• Echinodermata: Crinoidea
  • Platycrinus laciniatus
  • TCD.306
  • Hook Head, Co. Wexford.

Catalogue of the Sir Richard Griffith Collection of Lower Palaeozoic invertebrate fossils in the Geological Museum, Trinity College, Dublin.

• Trilobita
  • Encrinurus stokesii M‘Coy, 1846
  • TCD.12963
  • Kilbride Fm., Telychian, Llandovery, Silurian
  • Boocaun, Cong, Co. Galway
  • SYNTYPE
  • Encrinurus stokesii M‘Coy, 1846
  • TCD.12964
  • Kilbride Fm., Telychian, Llandovery, Silurian
  • Boocaun, Cong, Co. Galway
  • SYNTYPE
• Mollusca: Gastropoda
  • Naticopsis concinna M‘Coy, 1846
  • TCD.45265
  • Kildare Limestone, Rawtheyan, Ashgill, Ordovician.
  • Chair of Kildare, Co. Kildare.
  • SYNTYPE
• Echinodermata: Crinoidea
  • Myelodactylus hibernicus Donovan and Sevastopulo, 1989
  • TCD.17381
  • Kilbride Fm., Telychian, Llandovery, Silurian
  • Lettershanbally, Maam, Co. Galway
  • Donovan and Sevastopulo 1989, p. 702, pl. 82, figs. 1, 3, 4
  • HOLOTYPE

Original numbers of Carboniferous brachiopod syntypes of M‘Coy (1844) presented to Trinity College, Dublin by Sir Richard Griffith, March 1848 – most are not traced.

• Orbicula quadrata (1)
• Orbicula trigonalis (1)
• Crania vesiculosa (1)
• Producta corrugata (22)
• Producta costellata (6)
• Producta elegans (12)
• Producta flexistria (2) 2 located: one no locality; one from Ardagh
• Producta intermedia (?)
• Producta laciniata (4)
• Producta maxima (1)
• Producta tortilis (4)
• Leptagonia multirugata (2)
• Leptaenia crassistria (1)
• Leptaenia lata (1)
• Leptaenia multidentata (1)
• Leptaenia papyracea (1)
• Leptaenia perlata (1)
• Leptaenia serrata (1)
• Orthis bechii (5)
• Orthis caduca (1)
• Orthis circularis (2)
• Orthis cornata (1)
• Orthis cylindrical (2)
• Orthis divaricata (2)
• Orthis kellii (9)
• Orthis latisima (4)
• Orthis quadrata (1)
• Orthis sulcata (1)
• Orthis tuberculata (1)
• Spirifer clathrata (3) 3 located: TCD.14916(1); 14916(2); 38987. Lisnapaste
• Spirifer ornithoryncha (1)
• Spirifer princeps (3)
• Spirifer quinquelacea (1)
• Cyrtia dorsata (1)
• Cyrtia laminosa (16)
• Cyrtia linguifera (13)
• Cyrtia mesogonia (1)
• Martinia rhomboidalis (1)
• Martinia stringocephaloides (3)
• Reticularia reticulata (4)
• Reticularia striatella (3)
• Brachythyris planicostata (14)
• Athyris despressa (14)
• Athyris triloba (5)
• Actinoconchus paradoxus (7)
• Atrypa gnegaria (3)
• Atrypa isoryncha (2)
• Atrypa laticliva (2)
• Atrypa nana (1)
• Atrypa obtusa (4)
• Atrypa semisulcata (1)
• Atrypa triplea (1) Seminula pisum (2)

Species described by Frederick M‘Coy (1841) from the collections of the Geological Society of Dublin that were presented to Trinity.

• Arcania leachii (Crustacean)
  • Folkstone, Kent
• Paradoxides forcipata
  • Silurian
• Plagiostoma intermedium
  • Cornbrash, Scarborough
• Pectin noduliferous
  • Millochellotti
• Pectin gibbosus
  • Millicent, Co. Kildare (Carboniferous)
• Isocardia corrugata
  • Millicent, Co. Kildare (Carboniferous)
• Spirifer laminosa (Carboniferous)
• Spirifer princeps
  • Ardpodien (Carboniferous)
• Spirifer ornithorynchus
  • Millicent, Co. Kildare (Carboniferous)
• Trigonia angulifera
  • Blackdown

Labels

Collection Documents