Palceozoic Fossils. 34^ 



South African species HoDinhmotus hersclwli and Leptocoelia 

 fiahellites ; above these come sandstones, with Lepldodenclvon 

 lycopodioides, Sternb,, L. ohovatum, Ster-nb., and possibly Oni- 

 j/hah)phloios cwglicus, Sternb.. all forms of upper Carboniferous 

 age.* If my determination of an upper Devonian or lower Car- 

 boniferous age for our Witteberg beds is confirmed, there will be 

 established a very important difference between the North Central 

 and South African beds succeeding the lower Devonian. 



There is another point which is brought out by the Witteberg 

 fossils. In the lower Devonian species there are many identical 

 with North and South American forms, but none comparable with 

 those occuring in the Australian Devonian. In the Witteberg beds, 

 on the other hand, the resemblances to South African species are 

 to be looked for in Australia, Europe and North America. The 

 unsatisfactory nature of the South African Witteberg fossils 

 prevents us, however, from drawing definite conclusions from this 

 fact in regard to the shifting of the barriers between ocean 

 basins. 



The forms with which we have to deal are in the following 

 list, and I place beside them the species most nearly allied that I 

 can find in Europe, America, and Australia. The list must be 

 understood to refer only to specimens I have actually handled and 

 examined. There are a large number of other forms mentioned by 

 Feistraantel^ with which I am unable to deal, owing to want of 

 access to literature. When the Kowie plant beds are properly 

 investigated, I have no doubt that a large number of additional 

 forms will be discovered ; I have already obtained from a new 

 locality some Knorria stems, and some true Si(/inari(is, but I have 

 not yet sufficient material to deal with them satisfactorily. 



■'Comptes Rendus, 19iio, CXL., p. 957 



' Uebersichtliche Darstellung der Geologisch-palaeontologischen Ver- 

 haltnisseSud-Afrikas, Abh.d. Kouigl. Bohm. Ges. d.Wiss, VII , Bd. 3, p. 25. 



