BY A. J. SHEARSBY. 285 



at an angle of from 40 to 60° to the west, and contain the follow- 

 ing fossils :— P/i?'rt^??ioceras sn^^W^oni^m, McCoy, Favosites gold- 

 /ussi, d'Orb., Spirifera (Atrypa) reticularis, Linn., Chonetes aus- 

 trcdis, McCoy, Spirifera Icevicostata, Val., Stromatopora concen- 

 trica, Cy^tiphyllum, etc." 



Through the courtesy of Mr. F. Chapman, A.L.S., I have been 

 able to compare Spirifera yassensis with S. Icevicostata, at the 

 National Museum, Melbourne, with the result that I find these 

 two are very closely allied. Mr. Chapman is working on these two 

 brachiopods, and his report will come under notice shortly.* 

 Chonetes culleni and C.australis have also been compared, and they 

 also appear to be closely related, but in this case there are distinct 

 differences between the two forms, both in external shape and 

 ornamentation, to warrant their separation into two species. 

 Mr. A. W. Howitt, F.O.S., also states(6) "The age of the Snowy 

 River porphyries is fixed by the Silurian sediments, which are 

 inferior to them, and the Middle Devonian marine limestones, 

 which, for instance, at Gelantipy rest upon them." 



In reference to the reports of these two recognised authorities, 

 I cannot help noticing the similarity between the porphyries at 

 Cavan and the Victorian series, and am of opinion that the beds 

 are in direct communication with one another. The Snowy 

 River porphyries extend from the Victorian border to Mount 

 Kosciusko, and further search will, I think, show outcrops of the 

 same beds all along the country between Mount Kosciusko and 

 Yass. Further interesting comparisons may be made between 

 the Cavan porphyries and the Snowy River series by quoting 

 from Mr. Howitt in his paper "On the Devonian Rocks of North 

 Gippsland."(7) He states : — "The Snowy River porphyries may 

 be regarded as a great volcanic sheet, the lowest part of which is 



* Dealing with the identity of these two specified forms, Mr. F. Chapman 

 read a paper before the Eoyal Society of Victoria at Melbourne last June 

 (1905), in which he gave evidence proving the two were identical, i.e., 

 Spirifera yassensis, De Kon. This determination by Mr. Chapman will 

 tend to connect the Victorian beds in question with the Middle Devonian 

 beds of Cavan, N.S.W. 



