From Eocene to Recent Time 237 



But as Cope and Lesquereux emphasized, there seems 

 to have been a remarkable community both In organisms 

 and In physical phenomena, between Western Europe and 

 Western America during long periods of the Eocene, and 

 even on Into early Miocene time. Thus the latter, in com- 

 paring his results (z//: 127) with those of Saporta for 

 the g>'pses of AIx says: "Besides the general characters of 

 the Flora, the peculiar compounds of the formation, the 

 laminated shales mostly formed of ashes, the Immense 

 number of Insects and freshwater fishes preserved in a 

 succession of thin layers of greyish shale, are repeated in 

 the upper part of the gypses of AIx precisely as they are 

 found at Florissant." Says Saporta: "Entire shoals of 

 fishes were surprised and burled In the muddy clay of the 

 bottom. Even insects, suffocated In large numbers, from 

 the smallest kind of mosquitos to ants, bees, butterflies, are 

 preserved In the thin shales with the minutest of their 

 organs and even the color of their wings." Later he adds: 

 "The evidence of synchronism of the flora of Florissant 

 with that of the Ollgocene of France appears confirmed 

 by the characters of the fauna. At least Professor Cope 

 {i/S: 6'j) identifies the White River Group" in which are 

 the Florissant beds, "with the Aqultanlan and Tongrian 

 of Europe, — formations which close the Eocene, or are 

 partly referable to the Eocene partly to the Miocene, and 

 considers the Green River and the Wasatch as Suessonian 

 or Palaeocene. This agrees with the observations of 

 Saporta, who considers the gypses of Aix as a long series 

 of formations continuous through the different periods 

 Intervening between the Palaeocene and the Miocene, 

 the upper part even partaking of the character of this 

 last epoch." Cope's observations are equally apropos 



A great part of the deposits thus referred to compose 

 the formation that is now known as Ollgocene, and which 

 connects upper Eocene with typical Miocene strata. But 

 the special interest is that a very close connection, and 

 even a direct continuity, in physical and biological pheno- 

 mena, Is thus set forth between Europe and Western 

 America. It confirms also the observations made above 



