BY THE EEY. J. E. TEXISOX- WOODS, F.G.S. 381 



ing species, enables us to correlate tliem as follows : — They are 

 divisible into three basins. 1. The Murray Basin. 2. The 

 Aldiuga and Southern Yorke's Peninsula. 3. The Great Aus- 

 tralian Bight, or, to use the nomenclature o£ Professor Tate, the 

 Bunda Plateau. The Murray Basin not only includes the basin 

 of that river, but passes across into the colony of Victoria, 

 extending to the western side of Port Phillip and North Tasmania. 

 The second basin, according to Professor Tate, occupies discon- 

 nected areas on the east side of St. Vincent's Grulf, and the strata 

 are found across Yorke's Peninsula, and probably continue round 

 the shores of St. Vincent's Gulf. According to Professor Tate 

 (who has given much attention to the subject, and whose researches 

 I can confirm as far as an extended examination of the fossil 

 corals are concerned), the Lower Aldinga strata are Eocene, and 

 contain scarcely three per cent, of recent forms. Mount Gambler 

 limestones are the equivalents of these in the south-east, and so 

 is the greater portion of the lower beds of the Australian Bight. 

 The Murray basin, including the Hamilton (Muddy Creek), and 

 Geelong beds (Corio Bay), are Miocene. All the beds are rich 

 in fossils ; but in the Murray basin, in all places, extremely well 

 preserved. Prom a careful comparative examination of the 

 Miocene fauna of these rocks, I have come to the conclusion that 

 about 8 per cent, of the organisms are living at the present time. 



The Pliocene beds arenot so extensively or so richly represented 

 They are found generally as highly ferruginous outliers, with a 

 few fossils not easily identified. The Plemington series, near 

 Melbourne, are the best instances, some of the organic remains 

 of which have been illustrated by Professor M'Coy. The fauna 

 of all these deposits is characterised by its local character, which 

 though almost thoroughly distinct from the present Australian 

 fauna has still certain features in common. It has been stated 

 that the same tertiary fauna was found in New Guinea, as seen 

 in some fossil specimens brought by the Hon. AV. Macleay from 

 Hall Sound. I am enabled, however, to state that this is not the 



