OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME XV, 1913 125 



are very abundant and the modern genus Tipula is very rich in 

 species. No recognizable Culicidse have been seen, except a single 

 egg which certainly appears to belong to this group. Among the 

 bees, some of the genera are extinct, but most are still represented 

 in Colorado in marked contrast with the bee fauna of amber which 

 is considered to be much older. Some of the wasps greatly resem- 

 ble living species, and the same is true of the sawflies. There are 

 however some remarkable extinct types of sawflies. The sawfly 

 fauna as a whole is found by Mr. Rohwer to resemble that of the 

 eastern United States, herein agreeing with the flora, which has 

 much in common with that of the uplands of the southeastern 

 states. Thousands of specimens of ants have been collected, but 

 they have not been described. They are in the hands of Dr. W. M. 

 Wheeler. The beetles are being worked up by Prof. H. F. Wick- 

 ham, who visited Florissant last year and made a large collection. 

 Weevils are extraordinarily abundant, and include some very curi- 

 ous extinct generic types. Certain families are unaccountably 

 absent or at least have not been found ; perhaps the most notewor- 

 thy being the Histeridae, which would be readily recognizable. It 

 at first seemed that small beetles were scarce, but Professor Wick- 

 ham has gone over a quantity of the best shale with a lens, and has 

 discovered a number of minute things which would be overlooked 

 in the field. Perhaps the most interesting discovery among the 

 Coleoptera is a genus with two species, apparently referable to the 

 Paussidse. On the whole it seems that the Florissant shales were 

 laid down at a time when Bering Strait was dry land, and the old 

 world fauna was invading North America; but the Isthmus of 

 Panama was still under water, so that there is no clear indication 

 of any strictly neotropical fauna or flora in the shales. 



The Miocene beds at (Eningen, or rather Wangen, in Baden, ap- 

 pear to be approximately of the same age as those of Florissant, and 

 carry a very similar fauna. These beds were visited by the speaker 

 some years ago, and while some good plants, molluscs and fish were 

 collected, it was found impossible to get at the good insect-bearing 

 beds, which are covered with earth and rock on which vegetation 

 is growing. The fossils were obtained when the rock was quarried, 

 and the quarries have been neglected for about thirty years. It is 

 evident that there are vast beds of fossils at AYan^-en still untouched, 

 just as there are at Florissant and it is surprising that no one has 

 taken enough interest to continue the work of Heer. It would not 

 cost any very great sum to open up the beds and collect more fossils, 

 especially since labor is cheaper than in Colorado, and more easily 

 obtained. The locality is a charming one overlooking the north 

 bank of the Rhine. Heer's (Eningen fossils are mostly in the Mu- 

 seum of the University in Zurich where the speaker examined them. 



