During Triassic and Jurassic Periods i8i 



water, for while Newberry speaks of "estuaries," no trace 

 of a marine organism, nor of a mixture of freshwater and 

 marine organisms has been demonstrated. 



But Newberry says "the Connecticut area includes layers 

 of nearly black shale charged with carbonaceous matter, 

 containing many remains of fishes and plants, and even some 

 thin films of coal. Also a small part of the series in New 

 Jersey consists of dark or dove-colored shales charged with 

 organic matter, sometimes crowded with the remains of 

 fishes and exhaling a marked bituminous odor when struck 

 with a hammer" (p. 4). In connection with the possible 

 origin of petroleum and natural gas the last statement is 

 most suggestive, as is also the following (p. 21): "The 

 layers of the shale which contain the largest number of 

 fishes are impregnated with bituminous matter, burning 

 for a time when thrown into the fire, and when struck with 

 a hammer giving off a peculiar odor. Similar fish-beds are 

 known to exist at Pompton, Plainfield, and beneath the trap 

 of the Palisades above Hoboken, and it seems probable that 

 the great mortality which strewed the bottom of the basin 

 at times with dead fishes was the result of some phase of 

 the volcanic action which poured out the trap-masses of 

 the Palisades and Newark mountains." 



Lull (^55:397) in treating of "The Life of the Con- 

 necticut Trias" points out that the fishes all occur in two 

 bands of black bituminous shale, the lower of which rests 

 on a sheet of volcanic rock about 250 feet thick. The 

 shale is 50 feet to 100 feet thick and includes both plants 

 and fishes. Above it is a zone of shale 1000 feet thick with 

 dinosaur foot-prints. This is covered by a second sheet of 

 volcanic trap about 500 feet thick, and it again is covered 

 by a shale about 1200 feet thick with dinosaur footprints. 

 Above it is the second black bituminous shale about 100 feet 

 thick and enclosing plant also fish remains. Over this is 

 another trap sheet about 150 feet thick. Here, as in other 

 similar cases, we would suggest that the bituminous shales 

 represent volcanic dust deposits laid down in a shallow, but 

 extensive lake; that this ensured the fine preservation of 

 the fishes as shown by Eastman's illustrations, and that 

 the abundant petroleum oil resulted from destructive trans- 



