Journal articles on the topic 'Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. Library'

A new cockroach genus and species,Africalolampra ehrmanni(Epilamprinae) from Kenya, and the previously unknown male ofParaplecta parvaShelford (Perisphaeriinae) from Uganda, are described.A new genus and species,Africalolampra ehrmanni, an ovoviviparous cockroach from Kenya, is described. It is related toCalolampraand several other genera, and is placed in the Epilamprinae. The previously unknown male of AfricanParaplecta parvaPrincis is described, and its female is redescribed. All of the specimens on which this paper is based are housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ).

While working on a revision of Triorophus LeConte, 1851 we examined type material for the genus. One species, Triorophus punctatus LeConte, 1851 (Figs. 1a–1e), was described from a dead, partial specimen (Type 4475, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University) collected at “Vallecitas,” California in October or November of 1850 (LeConte, 1851). The locality likely refers to Vallecito, a contemporary United States Army depot and stage station (Roberts, 1988) located on the western edge of the Colorado Desert in eastern San Diego County (32.9755°, -116.35°).

The Canadian National Collection (OTTAWA) has one of the largest, if not the largest collection of neotropical Amiseginae in the world. In a sample of about 700 unidentified specimens sent to me by Lubomir Masher from this collection there were many new taxa, including representatives of a new genus. In addition, material was borrowed from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (J. M. Carpenter), Cambridge, Massachusetts, the American Entomological Institute, Gainesville, Florida (H. Townes, GAINESVILLE), and the U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C. (K. V. Krombein, WASHINGTON). The new species of Adelphe are described separately (Kimsey 1986). The remaining new taxa are included below.The following abbreviations are used: F = flagellomere, MOD = midocellus diameter, PD = puncture diameter and T = gastral tergum.

The type material of Caudofoveata (Aplacophora) deposited in the molluscan collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM), and of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ), USA, are listed. An extensive analysis of the databases and a curatorial revision of all lots from both collections were made, including an examination of material from Dr. Amelie Scheltema’s personal collections, recently donated and under curation in the MCZ. A total of 2313 specimens from 378 type lots representing 33 nominal species group taxa was found. Of these, 2275 specimens from 358 lots representing 27 species are held in the USNM (22 holotypes, 2 syntypes and 334 paratypes) and 38 specimens from 20 lots representing 7 species are in the MCZ (5 syntypes, 9 paratypes, 3 paralectotypes, 3 doubtful paralectotypes). Some taxonomical notes about these species and their type-materials are provided.

Echinoderms from the Museum of Zoology from the Universidad de Costa Rica. The Museum of Zoology, Universidad de Costa Rica (MZUCR) was founded in 1966 and houses the most complete collection of vertebrates and invertebrates in Costa Rica. The MZUCR currently has 24 collections containing more than five million specimens, and more than 13 000 species. The earliest collections date back to 1960 and include fishes, reptiles, amphibians, polychaetes, crustaceans and echinoderms. For the latter group, the MZUCR has a total of 157 species, in 1 173 lots and 4 316 specimens. These 157 species represent 54% of the total species of echinoderms from Costa Rica. The remaining species are distributed in the following institutions: California Academy of Sciences (CAS) (4.8%), Scripps Oceanographic Institute (SIO) (5.2%), National Echinoderm Collection “Dr. Ma. Elena Caso” from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (ICML-UNAM) (12.7%), the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute (USNM) (35.1%), and the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (19.2%). There may be material from Costa Rica in the Natural History Museum of Denmark (NCD) and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (LACM), however, there was no access to such collections. There are 9.6% that do not appear in museums, but are reported in the literature. Based on this revision, the taxonomic list of echinoderms for Costa Rica is updated to 293 species, 152 genera, 75 families, 30 orders and 5 classes. The Pacific coast of Costa Rica has 153 species, followed by the Isla del Coco with 134 and the Caribbean coast with 65. Holothuria is the most diverse genus with 25 species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65(Suppl. 1): S272-S287. Epub 2017 November 01.

Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) is regarded as one of the founders of glacial geology and the originator of the ice-age theory. His public lectures and popular writings included those topics. In 1860-61 he gave a series of class-room lectures on glacial geology to his students at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Excerpts have been made to show his explanation for the formation of glaciers, their movements, seasonal advancement and retreat, and their eventual covering of much of the earth. Also included were the structure of the glacier, its production of moraines, and its action on bedrocks and the landscape. He gave credit to his predecessors and colleagues, especially de Saussure, Venetz, and de Charpentier, for their pioneering work on glaciers. Brief attention was given to the effect of glaciers on the fauna, according to his interpretation, following the catastrophism theory of Cuvier.

Along with his distinguished research career as a biological oceanographer and marine biologist and his inspiring service as a teacher, advisor, and mentor to students and junior colleagues at Harvard University, Jim McCarthy has been a scientific statesman of the first order, bringing insights from his research and his deep understanding of the role of science in society into the arenas of management of scientific enterprises and public and policy-maker education about the science relating to some of the greatest challenges of our time. His roles at the intersection of science with public issues have included stints as director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, cochair of the Working Group II (Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability) for the Third Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, chair of the Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists, chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, vice chair of the New England Climate Impact Assessment, and member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, among others. In all of these roles, he has been a model of insightful leadership, selfless service, integrity, and commitment to science and the public interest.

A new species of the freshwater crab genus Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838, is described from Ivindo National Park in Sofala Province, Gabon, Central Africa. Potamonautes nheenae n. sp. is morphologically distinct from the other species of this genus found in Gabon and nearby countries in Central Africa, and is most closely related to P. paecilei (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886) from the Lower Congo River basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new species is recognised by a unique combination of morphological characters of the adult male first gonopod, anterior sternum, mouthparts, and major cheliped. Illustrations of P. nheenae n. sp. are provided and differences with congeners found in Central Africa are discussed. In addition, the male gonopods, pleon, and sternum of the unusual freshwater crab Erimetopus brazzae (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886), are illustrated for the first time since its description in 1886, following the discovery of the first known male specimen of this species in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

During the editing of the paper “In memory of Pietro Doderlein” (Massa et al. 2018), consulting Doderlein’s bibliography, and highlighting some interesting documents and the material preserved in the Museum of Zoology of the University of Palermo (MZPA) (today named after Doderlein), a taxonomic anomaly was noticed about a grouper collected more than one hundred years ago. The aim of the present statement is to prove that the name Cerna sicana Doderlein, 1882 (presently as Epinephelus sicanus [Doderlein, 1882]) should be considered a valid species unless it is demonstrated that it is a synonym of another valid species. In 1882 Doderlein described Cerna sicana from a single specimen (Fig. 1). The holotype is a female, composed of three parts: MZPA-P/46 comprising the stuffed specimen bearing the external anatomical features (Fig. 1), MZPA-AN/440 comprising the dry gill arches and the heart (Fig. 2), and MZPA-AN/1233 comprising the vertebral column (Fig. 3). The eyes and the digestive and reproductive organs, originally stored in liquid, are lost. The specimen was collected in the central Mediterranean Sea along the coast of northern Sicily (Palermo), southern Italy, in December 1882 and deposited at the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein” of the University of Palermo. Later Doderlein (1889) moved the species to the genus Epinephelus Bloch, 1793. About his new species, Doderlein (1882) wrote (translated from Italian): “Serranus Cernioides, Brito Capello, and Serranus Caninus, Val., are those most related to this … It should be established if its characters could allow it to be described as a new species or if they could be anomalies of one of the previously cited species. In order to highlight the peculiar characters, I tentatively decide to name it Serranus or Cerna Sicana, after the locality where it was caught”. Doderlein (1889) wrote about the new species to D.S. Jordan[1] then at the Indiana University of Bloomington (USA), who replied that he considered E. sicanus as a valid species, and that Jordan noted two other adults and a third young specimen collected in Brazil, in 1865, in the Louis Agassiz collection, preserved in the Museum of Cambridge (presently Museum of Comparative Zoology—MCZ, Harvard University, USA) that he considered as possibly conspecific with E. sicanus. According to A. Williston (MCZ curator, pers. comm.) two likely candidates for these Jordan-Doderlein specimens are still present in the museum (voucher codes MCZ 9787 and MCZ 9788), identified as “Epinephelus (allied to nigritus, perhaps new)”. Soon after, Jordan & Eigenmann (1890) synonymized Cerna sicana with Epinephelus merus (Poey, 1868). Subsequently, Boulenger (1895) synonymized Epinephelus merus and E. sicanus with Epinephelus nigritus (Holbrook, 1855), apparently without observing the holotype of C. sicana as argued by Tortonese (1956). [1] Jordan (1891) described Symphodus doderleini with the following etymology: “We have given to it the new name of Symphodus doderleini, in honor of our excellent friend Prof. Pietro Doderlein of the University of Palermo”; this is a proof of the esteem that he had for him.

Eight species of squat lobsters of the genus Uroptychus are reported from the western Atlantic based on the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, the Smithsonian Institution and Texas A&M University. Uroptychus nitidus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) is reviewed and redescribed, with a syntype taken at Blake Station 200 off Martinique designated as the lectotype. Uroptychus alphonsei n. sp. is named for U. nitidus variety C Chace, 1942, U. fenneri n. sp. for U. nitidus variety A Chace, 1942, and U. janiceae n. sp. for U. nitidus variety B Chace, 1942; U. lindae n. sp. is described on the basis of specimens collected by the Alaminos in the Caribbean Sea off northern Columbia; U. rafai n. sp. is described based on a sole specimen taken from the Straits of Florida; U. reedae n. sp. is described from among the syntypes of U. nitidus; and U. uncifer (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) is redescribed to elaborate on its specific status, with the designation of lectotype from Blake Station 299 off the coast of Barbados. The number of species of Uroptychus from the western Atlantic now stands at 21. A key to these species is provided.

During April 1996, the Hofstra Cultural Center organized an internationalinterdisciplinary conference that focused upon the role of inscriptionin Islamic art. The conference included diverse areas of inquiry. Forinstance, it accepted a paper that addressed the usage of Arabic script asinscription in different parts of the world and provided an opportunity to listento papers that considered inscription as an icon as well as its context,function, and comparative features. In addition, the coordinators organizedan exhibition of the works of several artists who were invited specificallyto talk about their works. This exhibition started with the opening of theconference and continued into May. On display was a unique blend of traditionaland modem uses of Arabic calligraphy--objects from the seventhcentury as well as those produced via contemporary technology.Habibeh Rahim, who is attached to Hofstra University's department ofphilosophy, and Alexej Ugrinsky of the Cultural Center, were the conferencedirector and coordinator, respectively. The former initiated the ideaand, with a committee of individuals, hosted the conference and exhibiteda selection of Islamic art. This exhibition was supported further by permanentdisplays in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, theBrooklyn Museum, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the New York PublicLibrary.The conference opened with prayers from each of the major religioustraditions and two brief addresses by Habibeh Rahim and DavidChristman, the dean of New College and current director of HofstraMuseum. The first session, chaired by Sheila Blair (Harvard Univeristy),consisted of the following scholars and presentations: Valerie Gonzalez(Ecole d'Architecture Provence-Mediterrainee Centre Habitat etDeveloppement, Marseille, France), "The Significant Esthetic System ofInscriptions in Muslim Art"; Peter Daniels (University of Chicago),"Graphic-Esthetic Convergence in the Evolution of Scripts: A FirstEssay"; Solange Ory (Universite de Provence at Aix-Marseille, France),"Arabic Inscriptions and Unity of the Decoration"; Sussane Babarie (NewYork University), "The 'Aesthetics' of Safavid Epigraphy: AnInterpretation"; Ali al-Bidah (Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyah), "Aesthetic andPractical Aspects of a Hexagonal Emerald in Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyah";and Howard Federspiel (McGill University, Canada), "Arabic Script on ...

Diversity, distribution patterns and hotspots of the irregular equinoids (Echinoidea: Irregularia) of Mexico.Irregular echinoids can be found in almost all marine habitats, from the polar to the equatorial regions, and from the intertidal zone to great depths; some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, but most are geographically restricted, and all live in very particular habitats to a greater or lesser degree in Mexico has 153 species distributed within the coastal limits. Geographic barriers (terrestrial barriers and large ocean basins) and ocean current patterns act as primary modulators of the distribution of echinoids; however, there are factors that define the local distribution. The purpose of this work is to analyze the diversity of irregular echinoids in Mexico, as well as to explain the patterns of distribution and to explore the hotspots through panbiogeography as units of high richness. The study area covers all the territorial waters of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. To obtain the geographical coordinates we used the distribution data of 68 species of irregular echinoids recorded at different depths. We reviewed the specimens deposited in five scientific collections, in addition to the revision of other records from online databases: 1. National Collection of Echinoderms “Ma. Elena Caso Muñoz” of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (ICML), of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); 2. Regional Collection of Invertebrates of the Academic Unit Mazatlán, ICML, UNAM. 3. Invertebrate Zoology Collection, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., United States of America, (USA); 4. Invertebrate Collection, Museum of Comparative Zoology, University of Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts; 5. Invertebrate Zoology, Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; National Information System on Biodiversity (SNIB-CONABIO) and Global Biodiversity Information (GBIF). The generalized tracks were performed by the analysis of endemicity based on the optimization method, using the NDM/VNDM program with a 2° x 2° latitude/longitude grid. Hotspots were obtained by overlapping the generalized tracks using the ArcView program. The best represented was family Brissidae, with 15 species, most of them belonging to the genus Brissopsis, followed by the family Mellitidae (with 12 species), half of them belongs to the genus Encope. The families of irregular sea urchins with a smaller number of species were: Echinoneidae, Plexechinidae, Palaeotropidae and Paleopneustidae, each represented by a single species. The following general patterns of distribution were recognized: 1) groups of widely distributed species and 2) restricted species living in the first few meters of depth (0-20m). Nine consensus areas or generalized tracks were obtained in the Endemicity Analysis and 47 hotspots were recognized. Three areas with high specific wealth were obtained: West Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Bank of Campeche/Mexican Caribbean and Gulf of California. The Gulf of California area has the highest diversity of irregular echinoids. This is the first approximation in the study of the panbiogeography of echinoderms of Mexico. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65(Suppl. 1): S42-S59. Epub 2017 November 01.

Deep-sea echinoderms (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) from the Mexican Pacific. The coastal strip of the Mexican Pacific and Gulf of California includes 11 states, and considering Isla Guadalupe and the Revillagigedo archipelago, Mexico has 2 364 200 km2 of marine extension in the Pacific Ocean. Studies of deep benthic macroinvertebrates for this area began with the Albatross, which traveled from the Guadalupe Islands to Guaymas in 1891. To date, 26 species of echinoids have been reported, with a bathymetric range that exceeds 200 m. In the present work, the previous bibliographic records for echinoids that were collected within the limits of the Mexican Pacific were corroborated. The taxonomic identity of the 26 species reported was also corroborated by 11 689 specimens deposited in four scientific collections: two Mexican collections (3 322 specimens in the National Collection of Echinoderms “Dra. M. E. Caso” of the ICML, UNAM and 6 673 specimens deposited in the Invertebrate Reference Collection of the Mazatlán Station - ICML, UNAM) and two international collections (1 420 specimens deposited at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, and 140 specimens deposited at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University). No collection records were found at depths greater than 200 m for the species Lytechinus pictus (Verrill, 1867), Clypeaster europacificus H.L. Clark, 1914, Dendraster excentricus (Eschscholtz, 1831), Lovenia cordiformis A. Agassiz, 1872 and Brissus obesus Verrill, 1867. No records were found for Kamptosoma asterias (A. Agassiz, 1881), Araeolampas fulva (A. Agassiz, 1879) and Nacospatangus depressus H.L. Clark, 1917, which belonged to specimens collected within the limits of the Mexican Pacific. Within the material examined in the scientific collections specimen records were found only for 18 of the 26 species of sea urchins that were collected at a depths greater than 200 m in the Mexican Pacific. No bibliographic record or specimens were found to validate geographic or bathymetric distribution for eight species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65(Suppl. 1): S244-S252. Epub 2017 November 01.

Ernst Walter Mayr was a person of the twentieth century, having missed only a few years at the beginning of that century and lived into a few years of the twenty–first. He was a naturalist all of his life which established the foundation for his career as an evolutionary biologist. Often called the ‘Darwin of the twentieth century’, Ernst Mayr was clearly one of the best–known evolutionary biologists of his time, being one of the major architects of the modern evolutionary synthesis of 1937–48 and serving as the major founder of the Society for the Study of Evolution and of its journal Evolution . Although he was born and educated in Germany, Ernst was an American scientist, having worked at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, for 74 of his 100 years. Almost all of his publications were in the area of evolutionary biology; he published very few papers in functional biology. The most technical tool that he used was a Dictaphone. Ernst was truly a non–technical person and complained in his later years about libraries putting their catalogues in an electronic form because he did not know how to type – he did not even know the location of the keys on the keyboard – which delayed him greatly finding books he did not know. Computers were out of the question. He was outgoing, sought out interesting people whether they were important or not, talked to them, listened to what they said, read intensively, and thought deeply about what he took in. He had an amazing memory, but more importantly he could readily put the bits of knowledge together into new and significant ideas. He was a real teacher and simply could not allow someone to someone to leave with wrong ideas. Ernst had strongly held ideas and was firm in them; hence many people considered him to be overly dogmatic. He was interested in what was correct and not necessarily who was correct. He would argue strongly for his ideas, but he would change his position readily if he was convinced of the opposing stance. One had to be certain of one's facts and logic in any discussion with Ernst, which prevented many students and co–workers from discussing controversial ideas with him, something that made him sad. I can recall clearly his statement that ‘My bark is worse than my bite.’

Abstract Since the 19th century, the Campanian and Maastrichtian continental deposits of southern France have yielded numerous dinosaur remains [Le Loeuff, 1991; 1998; Buffetaut et al., 1997; Laurent et al., 1991; Allain and Suberbiola, 2003]. The ornithopod remains that have not been referred to the hadrosaurids have been systematically attributed to Rhabdodon [Buffetaut and Le Loeuff, 1991; Buffetaut et al., 1996; Garcia et al., 1999; Pincemaille-Quillévéré, 2002]. This genus, initially named by Matheron [1869] after its discovery in the lower Maastrichtian of La Nerthe (Bouches-du-Rhône), belongs to the Euornithopoda [sensu Sereno, 1999]. Rhabdodon represents the most common element of the dinosaur assemblages from the late Cretaceous of southern France [e.g. Allain and Suberbiola, 2003]. Nevertheless, since the localities have only provided some fragmentary material [Pincemaille-Quillévéré, 2002], the global morphology of this dinosaur and its phylogenetic placement within the euornithopods are still debated. The cranial morphology of Rhabdodon is particularly poorly understood due to the rarity of cranial remains preserved in the localities of southern France [Matheron, 1869; Garcia et al., 1999; Buffetaut et al., 1999; Pincemaille-Quillévéré, 2002]. Buffetaut et al. [1999] first mentioned the discovery of a braincase (M4) referred to Rhabdodon, at Massecaps, a locality close to the village of Cruzy (Hérault, France). More recently, a new braincase (MN25) has been discovered at Montplô Nord, another locality close to Cruzy (specimens M4 and MN25 are conserved in the Museum of Cruzy). Both these localities have revealed a diverse and abundant vertebrate fauna suggesting a late Campanian to early Maastrichtian age [Buffetaut et al., 1999]. These braincases are described here in an attempt to detect potential autapomorphic characters in Rhabdodon, and compared to a more complete braincase of Tenontosaurus, an euornithopod from the Lower Cretaceous of North America, considered as the sister group of Rhabdodon [Weishampel et al., 1998; 2003; Garcia et al., 1999; Pincemaille-Quillévéré, 2002], in order to determine the potential differences and synapomorphies between the occiputs of the two genera. Finally, the braincases from Cruzy are compared to those of the other euornithopods described in the literature. Specimen M4 (figs. 1–4) is incomplete but exceptionally well preserved. This braincase belongs to a juvenile individual, as shown by the numerous visible suture lines between the different cranial elements. Specimen MN25 (fig. 5) is badly deformed and attributable to an adult individual. Until now, all the ornithopods from the Upper Cretaceous of southern France have been referred either to hadrosaurs or to Rhabdodon. The Hadrosauridae show a low nuchal crest and their exoccipitals meet and form a bar on the dorsal border of the foramen magnum, excluding the supraoccipital from this border. Specimens M4 and MN25 do not present any nuchal crest and the supraoccipital participates in the dorsal border of the foramen magnum. Both braincases M4 and MN25 are therefore attributable to Rhabdodon. Specimens M4 and MN25 have been compared to the occiput of a juvenile Tenontosaurus tilletti (fig. 6 : MCZ 4205, conserved in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University). This reveals that Tenontosaurus and Rhabdodon share numerous characters : (1) the exoccipitals form the lateral borders of the foramen magnum, its ventral border being occupied by the basioccipital; (2) the occipital condyle is partly constituted by the exoccipitals, and in the same proportions; (3) the supraoccipital is rostrally oriented; (4) the suture line located between the prootic and the laterosphenoid shows the same outline; (5) the cresta prootica starts within the paroccipital process and extends onto the opisthotic; (6) the cresta prootica is transversal and non-horizontal; (7) the distribution of the cranial nerves is homologuous along the lateral surface of the braincase. Nevertheless, the braincase of Tenontosaurus differs from that of Rhabdodon in several significant respects : (1) the exoccipitals are dorsally connected, excluding the supraoccipital from the dorsal border of the foramen magnum; (2) two small dorsal humps are present at the level of the suture of the exoccipitals; (3) the supraoccipital is excluded from the dorsal border of the foramen magnum, which gives it a triangular shape; (4) the paroccipital processes are short, laterally flattened, and wing-shaped, and are more mediodorsally oriented than in Rhabdodon; (5) the cresta prootica follows a concave line and ends up on the prootic, at the level of the opening of the trigeminal nerve; (6) the external curve of the laterosphenoids is stronger; (7) the suture between the basioccipital and the opisthotic is very clear. The first of these unshared characters suggests that Rhabdodon belongs to Norman’s [1984] ‘hypsilophodontoid’ clade and Tenontosaurus to the more evolved ‘iguanodontoid’ clade. The fusion of the exoccipitals on the dorsal border of the foramen magnum, together with other cranial adaptations, may have reduced the stress caused by a more elaborate mastication. Rhabdodon appears to have had a more primitive type of mastication. The strip formed by the reunion of the exoccipitals is less expanded dorsoventrally in Tenontosaurus tilletti than in the ‘iguanodontoid’ and ‘hadrosauroid’ clades. Tenontosaurus may therefore represent an intermediate group between the ‘hypsilophodontoid’ and ‘iguanodontoid’ clades.

Abstract Two cupressocrinitids (Crinoidea, Eucladida) from the famous crinoid collection of Dr. Ludwig J.T. Schultze deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) are revised in the present study: Cupressocrinites hybridus n. comb. and Halocrinites minor n. comb. The rare C. hybridus has a stratigraphically and regionally restricted occurrence at the Eifelian–Givetian boundary of the Hillesheim Syncline (Eifel, Rhenish Massif, Germany), but the more common H. minor occurs supraregionally from the Eifelian to the Frasnian (Middle to Upper Devonian). Both cupressocrinitids are redescribed on the basis of the type material stored in the MCZ. In addition, the rare Halocrinites heinorum n. sp. from the Eifelian–Givetian boundary beds and lower Givetian of the Eifel (Rhenish Massif, Germany) is described, and Encrinus townsendi (König, 1825) is questionably reassigned to Robustocrinites: R.(?) townsendi n. comb. Pre- and postmortem ossicular modifications of the studied cupressocrinitid skeletons are also discussed. UUID: http://zoobank.org/4598e1fa-8ca5-4160-8fee-6e8c6d444115