147 



ON THE OCJCUKRENCE (IF OTOZAMITES IN AUSTRALIA, WITH 

 DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIMENS FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 



By A. B. Walkom, D.Sr. 



([•late X.) 



Last year a collection of fossil plants from near Mina:enew, W.A., was made 

 available to me for examination through the kindness of Dr. W. G. Woolnough. 

 Almost all the specimens in the collecti(m represent species of Otozamites, a 

 genus of rather limited occurrence in Australia, and this opportunity is taken, 

 while describing these species, of gatliering together the few records of the 

 scattered occurrence of the genus in this Continent. 



Among the Western Australian collection there are no new species, but 

 some of the specimens are different from those jirevioiisly described from Aus- 

 tralia. 



Tiie only description of specimens of Olo^amiles from Western Australia is 

 that by Arber (1910) who described U. Feistmanteli Zigno from about three miles 

 south of Mingenew, at an altitude of about .500 feet above the town. He called at- 

 tention to the possibility of identity between the Western Australian fronds and 

 specimens from the Lower Oolite of Germany figured by Kurr a.s 0. MandeMahi ; 

 and also pointed out that examples figured under the same name by Sal fold 

 (1907, PI. xvi., figs, la, Ih, \c) from the Lias of Wurtemburg do not apjiear 

 to be identical with the Australian fronds. 



The specimen from the Talgai ('oaltield, Queenslancl, which Feistmaiit<'l 

 (1890, p. 147, PI. 28, fig. 9, 9a) had referred to 0. Mandelslohi is, as Arber 

 suggested (1910, p. 20), identical witli some of the Western Australian examples. 

 and should be referred to O. F ei.it manteli Zigno. The original of Feistmantel's 

 figure is in the collection of the Geological Survey of New South Wales, and, 

 through the courtesy of 'Mr. W. S. Dun. Palaeontologist, ! have been al)le to 

 examine it. 



In addition to Olozamites Feistmaiiteli, Arber also recorded the occurrence 

 of indeterminable fossil wood fragments, of coniferous fragments, and of small 

 seed-like bodies from the same locality. He suggested that the coniferous frag- 

 ments might be c(jnjpareu with such forms as Paf/iojihijllum Kiini 

 Schimper, Araucaria (PagidphijUnm) peregrina Kurr or the fragment 

 figured by Tenison-Woods (1883, p. 105, pi. 4, fig. 1) as Cayuiinrjliamitex aiis- 

 tralii. 



In drawing up a table of fossil plants recorded from Western Australia, L. 

 Glauert, unfortunately enters all three of these species (1910, p. 110) so that 

 this single indeterminate fragment is represented in Iiis table by three separate 

 entries. 



