Fauna and Stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series. 491 



yielded the Stereospondyls Capitosaurus and Tremafosaums, lorins 

 which ;ire found in the Bunter (L. Triassic) of Germany. 



Among the Archosauria the crucial Nofochampsn isMann has been 

 shown to be not crocodilian but a Thecodont lying apparently be- 

 tween Aetosaurn* and the Crocodilia. The former occurs in the 

 Keuper of Germany, the latter first appear in the Lower Jurassic; 

 this would denote a Rhaetic age for the Cave Sandstone which has 

 yielded the intermediate form. 



Erythrochampsa from the Red Beds has a crocodilian pelvis: but 

 too little is known of the form to be certain of its affinities, and it 

 has thus no bearing on the discussion. Sphenosuchits from the Red 

 Beds is a Pseudosuchian of somewhat specialised form. It is pro- 

 bably somewhat later than A^csaitrus (Keuper), although it should 

 be noted that the highly specialised Schleromochlus is found in the 

 Lettenkohle (Upper Muschelkalk) of Scotland. 



In Europe, TliccortonlnsiHriis ranges from the Lower Muschelkalk 

 to the Middle Keuper: the larger Grfsslyosaurus and Plateosaurus 

 occur in the Upper Keuper and Rhaetic. In South Africa the order 

 of appeal-since is reversed. The larger Euslfdrs<mrus and Plateosaurm 

 are lower Red Bed forms while the lighter-limbed T1iec r >(1ont r saunis, 

 Massosponrfylus, (!i//><>s<t/(rnH and the like occur in the Upper Red 

 Beds and Cave Sandstone. MnssosponJylus has been shown to have 

 retained a primitive form of shoulder-girdle; and it seems probable 

 that these light-limbed animals migrated to the Stormberg region 

 only when conditions became sufficiently arid for them in the south. 

 In spite of the slight differences between the detailed succession of 

 the Saurischia in the European and South African regions there is 

 no doubt as to the general similarity of the fauna : and since none 

 of the European genera survived beyond the Rhaetic additional 

 weight is lent to the theory that the Stormberg Series is not later 

 than Rhaetic. 



The occurrence of Geranosaurus is paralleled by that of the Pre- 

 dentate Nanosaiint* in the Rhaetic of North America; while the 

 Cave Sandstone fish Sfmionotus occurs in the Keuper of Europe. 



Finally, the general aridity which, as we have seen, prevailed 

 increasingly through Stormberg times is a characteristic of the 

 Triassic epoch ; and in the absence of any evidence to support the 

 theory of the Jurassic age of part of the Series we must conclude 

 that Stormberg sedimentation began in Middle Triassic time and 

 ended in the Rhaetic. 



Professor Schwarz considers that the Stormberg Beds should be 

 divorced entirely from the Karroo System and that, if they are not 



