56 The Irish Naturalist. February, 1903. 



remains to the National Museum in Dublin. His beautifully illustrated 

 article in the Irish Naturalist {yo\. xi., J902), on the Gobbins Cliffs, still 

 remains vividly impressed on our minds, and many of us have been 

 induced thereby to visit the magnificent cliflfs, which, due to the enter 

 prise of the Northern Counties Railway, have now been made easily 

 accessible to the tourist. 



The age of the remains found in the cave cannot be accurately 

 determined, as the contents had been removed by the workmen before a 

 scientific survey of the deposits had been made. But from the nature of 

 the bones and to judge from the species they belong to, they may have 

 been deposited within the last few centuries. 



There was the greater part of the 5-keleton of a small Fox ; the bones 

 being uninjured. Hence it probably inhabited the cave and died a 

 natural death there. The remainder of the bones are mostly such as 

 might have been dragged into the cave by a Fox. The presence of the 

 Red Deer is indicated by the occurrence of a fragment of a large antler 

 which, at the time it met with its death, was still attached to the 

 skull. All the Sheep remains, and there are many of all ages, are 

 fragmentary, and had apparently been gnawed at. Then there were 

 a few long bones of the Irish Hare, the Rabbit and Rat, and some 

 fragments of an Ox and a Calf, and also of a Dog about the size of a 

 shepherd's dog. The numerous bird remains have not yet been 

 identified. They probably belong to sea-birds frequenting the coast, 

 and which, occasionally, brought portions of their food into the cave, 

 such as the Sea-bream, of which part of the head was discovered. 

 Mixed up with the bones were the marine shells of Littorina rudis, 

 Helcion pellucidum, and Hydrobia ulvce, as well as a few specimens of 

 Hyalinia alliaria, a species common in the district. 



There is no reason to suppose that the caves were at any time 

 inhabited by man. 



R. F. SCHARFK. 



' Dublin Museum. 



GEOLOGY. 



Lower Lias Reptilian remains at Belfast. 



Northern readers of the Irish Natw-alist may be interested to know that 

 the heavy raiu in September of the present year has exposed several new 

 sections of Lower Lias rocks at Carr's Glen. This stream runs between 

 the Cave Hill and Squire's Hill, and cuts through the Lower Lias and 

 Upper Cretaceous rocks The force of the mountain torrent has cleared 

 the bed of the stream of boulders, and exposed splendid sections of 

 Secondary rocks. In the zone of Amtnonites planorbis (Sow.) I discerned 

 three large vertebrae of a Reptile. This is the nearest locality to Belfast 

 where Lower Liassic rocks are to be found. 



R. B^hh. 



Belfast 



