81 



A TASMANIA^ SPECIES OF HALYSTTES. 



(By E. Etheridge, Juisr., Curator of the 

 Australian Museum, Sydney.) 



Mr. Thomas Stephens, M.A., F.G.S., has been kiud enough 

 to afford me the opportunity of examining a Tasmanian 

 species of Haly sites from the River Mersey, between Liena 

 and Mole Creeks. Unfortunately, it has undergone so much 

 alteration by secondary replacement that specific ideutincation 

 is rendered verv difficult and uncertain. 



In 1862 the late Mr. Charles Gould jDublished a report on 

 " Macquarie Heads," giving a list of fossils from the Gordon 

 Eiver Limestone, and mentioned, amongst others, a species of 

 the genus in question. 



Mr. Stephens has favoured me with the following extract 

 from the report in question — '' The following are the 

 observations* which I made at the last meeting of the Royal 

 Society with, regard to the fossils contained in this limestone : — 

 ' In these rocks fossils are abundant ; they are only con- 

 spicu'.ms, however, in that portion of the beds exposed to the 

 action of running water. It is exceedingly difficult to ascer- 

 tain their presence on a fractured surface, although they may 

 be abundantly concealed in the specimens, and tbe ordinary 

 atmospheric agencies appear to simply disintegrate the rock 

 without causing the specimen to be exposed in relief , as is the 

 case with many of those upon the table. Hence it follows 

 that the ground for collecting fossils is limited to the surface 

 of the rocks, between the level of tbe water and about 30ft. 

 above it, the greatest h^aghts to which floods attain — as might 

 be anticipated. The different beds or zones in the formation 

 are not equally fossiliferous, nor do they contain identical 

 species, one part being conspicuous ior the abundance of 

 corals, another of univalve shells, while a third is characterised 

 by ccmtaining abundant fragments of large chambered 

 orthocerata, etc. I shall briefly t-numerate a few of the 

 most striking, chaiacteristic, and best preserved forms: — 

 Ortboceratites ... ... ... ... 2 



Lituites ... ... ... ... ... 1 



Haly sites ... ... ... ... ... 1 



Favosites ... ... ... ... ... 2 



Raphistoma ... ... ... ... ... 1 



Orthis 1 



Rhynchonella ... ... ... ... 1 



Euomphalus... ... ... ... ... 2 



Murchisouia... ... ... ... ... 3 



* Macquarie Harbour— Report of the Government Geologist to Parliament, 29th 

 July, 1862. Tasmanian Parliamentary Papers, 1S62, 



