BARBWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



163 



GEOLOGY. 



The Pre-Cambrian Rocks of Caernarvon.— 

 A paper on this subject lias just been read by Professor 

 T. M 'Kenny Hughes, in which the author divides 

 these rocks into (1) the volcanic series, (2) the felsitic 

 series, (3) the granitoid series. He traces the former 

 of these, consisting of coarser and finer varieties, from 

 Caernarvon to near Port Dinorwig. Beyond these 

 comes the felsite series, which is overlapped by grits 

 and conglomerates as far as the Bangor road, north- 

 east ofBrithdir. Above the latter comes the "volcanic 

 series," well developed in the neighbourhood of 

 Bangor. The author is of opinion that the Cambrian 

 conglomerate, with associated grits, may be traced in 

 the edge of the older massif from Twt Hill, Caer- 

 narvon, to Garth Point, Bangor, and that the beds in 

 each of these places and near Brithdir, recently de- 

 scribed as separate, are identical ; also that the bed 

 with purple fragments near Tairffynnon and the 

 Bangor Poorhouse are only Cambrian conglomerate 

 faulted down. Further, he considers that the strata 

 of the above three series are fairly parallel throughout, 

 and that they only form three subdivisions of one 

 great series. 



The Geological Society. — The following were 

 among papers recently read at the monthly meeting : 

 " On a fossil Squilla from the London Clay of High- 

 gate, part of the Wetherell Collection in the British 

 Museum." ByH. Woodward, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. 

 The specimen described is preserved, as usual, in a 

 phosphatic nodule, and exhibits five well-preserved 

 abdominal segments (xiv.-xvm.), a portion of the 

 carapace, traces of the thoracic appendages, and the 

 appendages of the twentieth segment preceding the 

 telson. The abdominal segments increase in breadth 

 posteriorly as in modern Squillse. The species is most 

 nearly allied to a recent Australian Squilla (unnamed) 

 related to S. Desmarcstii. The author proposed the 

 name of Squilla Wetheretti for the London-clay fossil. 



" On A T ecroscilla Wilsoni, a supposed Stomatopod 

 Crustacean from the Middle Coal-measures, Cossall, 

 near Ilkeston, Derbyshire." By H. Woodward, Esq., 

 LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. The specimen described was 

 found by Mr. E. Wilson, of Nottingham, in a nodule 

 of clay-ironstone. It consists of the four posterior 

 abdominal somites and the telson. The author dis- 

 cussed its zoological characters, which led him to 

 regard it as approaching the Stomatopoda rather 

 than the Isopoda. He thought it probable that Dr. 

 Dawson's Diplostylus is allied to this newly discovered 

 form, for which he proposed the name of Necroscilla 

 Wilsoni. 



"On the Discovery of a fossil Squilla in the 

 Cretaceous Deposits of Hakel, in the Lebanon." By 

 H. Woodward, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. This fossil 

 Squilla occurs in a collection, chiefly consisting of 



fossil-fish, but also including several Crustacea and 

 some beautifully preserved Cephalopods, obtained in 

 the Lebanon by Professor E. R. Lewis, of Beirut. 

 The specimens are in a compact cream-coloured lime- 

 stone, most of the slabs of which contain examples of 

 Clupea brcvissima and C. Bottcv, fragments of Eury- 

 pholis Boissieri, and other fishes. Like the London- 

 clay form, the species seems to be most nearly allied 

 to the Australian species collected by Professor Jukes, 

 and the segments are not ornamented with spines and 

 ridges. The author proposed for it the name of 

 Squilla Lewisii. 



"On the Occurrence of a Fossil King-Crab 

 (Limulus) in the Cretaceous Formation of the 

 Lebanon." By H. Woodward, LL.D., F.R.S., 

 F.G.S. This was another of Professor Lewis's 

 discoveries, and was of much interest as helping to 

 bridge over the interval between the Jurassic Limuli 

 of Solenhofen and those now living. The author 

 described the characters presented by the single 

 specimen, for which he proposed the name of Limulus 

 syriacus. 



Gigantic Reptiles of Colorado. — Professor 

 Cope describes the bones of a species of Camarasaurus, 

 which he says represent a most gigantic animal. The 

 transverse diameter of the neck vertebra; is fifty-six 

 inches, and the diameter of the distal end of the 

 femur is twenty-one inches. This reptile is found in 

 the Oolitic formation of Colorado. 



The Midland Union of Natural History 

 Society, held their second meeting at Leicester, on 

 May the 20th and 21st, and the proceedings were of 

 a most satisfactory character. The societies in the 

 union number about 3000 members. An address was 

 delivered by Mr. George Stevenson ; field excursions 

 were conducted under the able leadership of Mr. W. J. 

 Harrison, F.G.S., the energetic curator of Leicester 

 Museum, and Mr. F. J. Mott ; and conversaziones 

 were held in the evenings. Next year the annual 

 gathering will take place at Northampton. 



Remains of Iguanodon in the Kimmeridge 

 Clay. — Professor Prestwich has just described the 

 occurrence of part of the skeleton of an Iguanodon 

 found in the Kimmeridge clay near Oxford. The 

 remains are evidently those of a young animal. The 

 occurrence in this stratum proves that the Iguanodon 

 was not confined to the lower Cretaceous and Wealden 

 period as has been supposed, but that it existed 

 during Oolitic times. 



The Physical History of the English Lake 

 District. — When the fittest man can be got to do 

 required work, the result must be satisfactory. The 

 Rev. J. Clifton-Ward, F.G.S., has just concluded a 

 series of articles on the above subject in the "Geo- 

 logical Magazine," and they unquestionably form the 

 best geological history of the Lake District which has 

 yet been written. 



