140 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



(Euphorbia paralias), and Spring vetch (Vicia lathy- 

 roides) occur. At Solva in Pembrokeshire, a few miles 

 from the cathedral town of St. David's, the Vernal 

 squill (Scilla verna) and the Sea storksbill (Erodium 

 maritimum) are to be found ; while near St. David's 

 itself some years ago I discovered a plant of the rare 

 Erodium moschatum — T. W. Barker. 



New (?) Caterpillar Fungus.— As my name is 

 mentioned at page 98 in connection with some fungus 

 on the larvae of Melolontha, I may be permitted to 

 state that the specimens I had from Mr. D. Morris, 

 and which I presume are those alluded to, are not 

 a new, but a very old species, and the same which 

 Tulasne called Torrubia Melolontha:. This is probably 

 the same species as Torrubia Miquelii. I do not see 

 the slightest reason for considering it to be a distinct 

 species. I told Mr. Morris at once, immediately I 

 saw the specimens, the species to which it belonged, 

 and referred him to Fougeroux's figures. As far as I 

 know, he entirely concurred in this opinion. I am 

 afraid that we have already too many new species on 

 insufficient grounds. — M. C. Cooke. 



GEOLOGY. 



On the occurrence of the Starfish (Ophio- 

 lepis Damesii) Bed in the Irish Rh^etic 

 Strata. — In the March number of Science-Gossip 

 Mr. W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., gave a very interesting 

 account of the occurrence of a starfish bed in the 

 Rhaetic strata of England. It may perhaps be inter- 

 esting to our geological readers to know that the 

 same species of starfish (Ophiolepis Da?nesii, Wright) 

 has also been found in the Rhsetic strata of the Co. 

 Antrim, Ireland. In the fine section at Collin Glen, 

 near Belfast, I have found portions of this species in 

 a layer of sandy marl about 12 inches higher in the 

 section than the celebrated "bone bed," and about 

 9 inches below the first layer of argillaceous limestone 

 with Pecten Valo7iiensis, Avicula contorta, Trochus 

 Waltoni, Natica Oppelli, and scattered fish remains. 

 This marl is very friable, and does not bear removal. 

 In the section at Woodbum, near the Salt Mines, four 

 miles from Carrickfergus, there is another thin layer 

 of the same marl interlaminated with "paper shales," 

 containing Avicula contorta, Cardiitm rkaticum, 

 Trochus Waltoni, Natica Oppclli (mistaken by the 

 Geological Survey for Solarium Thomsoni (Tate), a 

 fossil which only occurs in the Lower Lias zone of 

 Ammonites angulatus, at White House, west coast of 

 Islandmagee, Co. Antrim), Gyrolepis Alberti,Gyrolepsi 

 tenuistriatus, Acrodus Tatei, Saurichthys apicalis, 

 &c. &c. In this marl, and associated with these fossils, 

 fragments of Ophiolepis Damesii occur. I have found 

 a joint and a portion of the disc. On the sea shore 

 at Waterloo, near Larne, Co. Antrim, there is a 

 section of the Rhsetic beds about 100 feet thick. 



And in a marly layer near the base there was found 

 a perfect specimen of Ophiolepis Damesii, as noticed 

 by Mr. W. H. Bailey, F.G.S., Palaeontologist to 

 the Geological Survey for Ireland (see Explanatory 

 Memoir to accompany sheets 21, 28, 29 of the maps 

 of the Geological Survey of Ireland, page 43). In 

 this locality, the starfish was found associated with 

 Cardium rhczticum, Pecten valoniensis, Avicula 

 contorta, Axmopsis Ewaldi, Natica Oppelli and 

 numerous fish remains. In the indurated Rhaetic 

 beds of the Cave Hill, Belfast, I have detected small 

 portions of the disc and joints mixed up among the 

 other fossils, viz., Mytilus Hillanus, Placunopis sp., 

 Pleurojnya crassa, Cardium rhccticum and Monotis 

 decussata. I quite agree with Mr. Harrison in his 

 opinion concerning the value of the discovery of this 

 starfish as attesting the undoubtedly marine origin of 

 the Rhretic strata, and I believe it will yet be detected 

 in the other localities in Ireland where beds of Rhsetic 

 age occur. — Wm. Gault. 



The Classification of the Tertiary 

 Period by means of the Mammalia. — A paper 

 on this subject was recently read at the Geological 

 Society, by Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, who pointed 

 out that the Mammalia become of especial value in 

 the Tertiary period as undergoing more rapid change 

 than the other classes, from their being, as it is 

 happily termed, en pleine evolution. Fie discussed the 

 characteristics of each of the great periods, as defined 

 and limited by their Mammalia, pointed out that 

 throughout the Eocene these frequently exhibit re- 

 lations more or less marsupial. Indeed, it is not till 

 the close of the Lower Miocene that the traces of this 

 relationship are lost. In the Middle Miocene, Sits, 

 Cervus, Autilope, Felis, Lutra, and Castor appear for 

 the first time, and the higher Apes are present in 

 European forests. In the Upper Miocene Camelo- 

 pardalis, Gazella, JPyicna, and Hystrix appear. 

 During the Pliocene several important genera disap- 

 pear from the world or from Europe — among the 

 latter the Apes, at the close of the Upper Pliocene. 

 Oxen, horses, bears, and elephants appear. Great 

 changes took place in the Pleistocene ; seven species 

 survived into it which are now extinct, and of new- 

 comers there were fourteen living and seven extinct 

 species. Cervus megaceros is the sole survivor from 

 the Pleistocene to the prehistoric period which has 

 since become extinct. The paper concluded with 

 some remarks on the latter part of the first and the 

 second period, which, however, as forming the sub- 

 ject of previous notices, was treated more briefly. 

 The author remarked that a study of the development 

 of the Mammalia renders it hopeless to expect to find 

 Man in the Eocene or Miocene, and improbable in 

 the Pliocene. 



The Animals of the Norfolk Forest Bed. 

 — A new and very interesting fossil animal has been 

 added to the collection already procured from the 



