Marshall. — The Wangaloa Beds. 459 



Malletia is commonly regarded as a Tertiary genus, but Wilckens records 

 species from the Cretaceous of Quiriquina, Patagonia, and Seymour Island. 

 Suter quotes von Ihering to the effect that the genus originated in South 

 America in the Cretaceous and migrated to New Zealand in the Miocene. 



The specimens are not in very good condition. The species is evidently 

 closelv related to M. peneana Wilckens, Phil, of Quiriquina. 



Type in the Otago Museum. 



Glycymeris concava n. sp. (Plate XXXVI, fig. 42.) 



Shell attaining a large size : the largest measures 65 mm. by 65 mm. 

 Shell thick and solid, strongly convex, almost equilateral, convex at both 

 ends ; beaks distant, strongly incurved ; dorsal margin straight. Sculpture 

 consists of rather sharply rounded radiating ribs, about 40 in number ; they 

 are continuous to the margin, but become rounder towards the ventral 

 margin. Teeth somewhat oblique, apparently 10 on each side, 11 in large 

 specimens. Ligamental area moderate, with few grooves. Growth-lines not 

 well marked except near the margin. 



Several specimens fairly complete. Type in the Otago Museum. 



This species is very similar to an undescribed form from the Selwyn 

 Rapids. 



As thus classified the collection is obviously one of great interest. The 

 species of Pvgnelhis* and of Perissolax suggest that the age of the strata is 

 Senonian, at the latest. Heteroterma, Gilbertia, and Nucleopsis are appa- 

 rently restricted to the Lowest Eocene. The following genera are entirely 

 of post-Eocene age : Struthiolaria, Ampullina, Architectonica, Heliacus, 

 Omalaxis, Phos, Daphnella, Drillia, Haminea. In addition, Cominella has 

 a single Cretaceous species in South America. 



Struthiolaria and Malletia are of special interest, for both are supposed 

 to have originated in South America in late Senonian or early Tertiary 

 time, and to have subsequently migrated to New Zealand. It is now, how- 

 ever, clearly seen that they were in existence in New Zealand before some 

 characteristic Cretaceous species had become extinct. The Cretaceous com- 

 plexion of these beds is still more strongly maintained by the occurrence 

 of belemnites at Brighton in beds that are admittedly of the same age 

 as those at Wangaloa. Some years ago I sent some specimens of this 

 belenmite to Wilckens for identification. He replied as follows: "I sent 

 the fossils to Professor Stolley, of Brunswick, who has worked much on the 

 belemnites. After examination he says as follows : k The little belemnites 

 from New Zealand do not allow of palaeontological nor stratigraphical 

 determination. They belong to Hibolites, and can be from Upper Jurassic 

 or Lower Cretaceous beds. It seems that older and younger beds are 

 excluded.' Further, I had an opportunity of showing the belemnites to 

 Professor Steinmann, of Bonn, and Professor Holzapfel, of Strassburg, who 

 both said that an exact determination was impossible because of the bad 

 preservation. They regarded it as a similar form to Belemnites minimus 

 of the Chalk." Park had much the same experience with a specimen sent 

 to Bather. Recently further specimens have been sent to Cossmann, who 



* Cossmann now states, " Or, en examinant bien les figures assez fideles et en 

 m'aidant des specimens que leur auteur a bien voulu m'envoyer, je constate que 

 PugneUus australis appartient tres probablement au genre Struthiolaria.'''' {Rev. Crit. 

 de Paleozool., No. 2, 1917, p. 64.) 



