58 Dr. T. Wright on Fossil Echinoderms 



Fossils of No. 3. 



FlSHES. ECHINODERMATA. 



Teeth of Myliobatis, Lanma, Car- Spatangus Desmarestii, Goldf. 

 charias, and Euphyllia, are abun- Pericosmus latus, Agass. 

 dant. 



MOLLUSCA. t CORALLIA. 



Megasiphonia zic-zac? (allied to the Fun S m ? 



London-clay species). 

 Scalaria, Pleurotoma, Mitra, Cassis, 



Rostellaria, Conus, 3 or 4 sp., 



Pecten, Ostrea, Cardita, Lucina. 



No. 4. The calcareous sandstone. "This bed covers the 

 greater part of the island of Malta. From it nearly all the build- 

 ing stone is procured, and it is likewise the rock from which the 

 Maltese vases are cut. The lower beds abound in Echinoderms. 

 Scutella and Schizaster are not unfrequent; but Hemiaster 

 Scilla is the most abundant species. These Urchins are often 

 seen standing out in relief on the beach, the sea having worn 

 away the surrounding rock. They are very serviceable in afford- 

 ing a foot-hold on the rocks, which otherwise would be danger- 

 ous to land upon." (Lord Dude.} This bed is subdivided by 

 Capt. Spratt into five strata, which he thus describes : 



" D. is a white calcareous sandstone, lying subjacent to the 

 marl, into which it quickly passes, and is from 20 to 30 feet in 

 thickness. 



" E. is a bed of fine-grained sandstone, 15 to 20 feet thick, 

 of a reddish-white, and sometimes gray colour. These contain 

 several species of Foraminifera. 



" F. a pale yellow calcareous sandstone, often containing flinty 

 nodules, from 30 to 50 feet thick. In some parts it is thinly 

 stratified, and separable into brittle plates of sandstone; but 

 more generally it assumes a closely bound and unstratified cha- 

 racter, when it is used for building; but it is very liable to 

 exfoliate on exposure to the weather. 



<e G. Chocolate-coloured nodules, irregular in figure and size, 

 in calcareous sandstone, with which are mixed casts of shells, 

 Caryophyllia, and other organisms ; also fishes' teeth, vertebra, 

 and coprolites are very abundant. All the nodules are of 

 organic origin ; it is, in fact, a bone-bed of considerable extent, 

 for it preserves a very uniform character throughout the islands ; 

 but in Gozo it is more developed, and contains more remains ; 

 especially in a flat ledge just above the sea-level, under the cliffs 

 of Fort Chambray, and at Marsa il Forno, on the north-east 

 coast, where its durability has checked the encroachment of the 

 sea. Its thickness is estimated at from 2 to 8 feet. 



" H . A close-grained, pale yellow sandstone, incapable of being 



