[MATTHEW] ON SOME NEW SPECIES Of DEVONIAN PLANTS 198 
Almost as abundant in the Gaspereau shales as this fern is a 
Lepidodendron which Sir William has described as Z. corrugatum. 
The author of the species has given a very full description of it, and in 
the work above cited, with his description gives a profusion of figures 
showing the plant, and especially its trunk in various stages of growth 
and conditions of preservation. Lesquereux has thought, and the opin- 
ion seems reasonable to the writer, that more than one species are 
included under this name; but, however this may be, all the forms 
figured give support to- Sir William’s statement that the Devonian 
Lepidodendra are characterized by slender stems and small areoles, or 
leaf cushions.! 
But the above species is not the only Lepidodendron, occurring in 
the Gaspereau shales, for L. Gaspianum is found not infrequently, and 
may be distinguished from the preceding by its more pointed and con- 
tiguous areoles, and. by having the leaf scar in the centre of the areole. 
This species is recorded by Sir William from the Middle Devonian of 
Gaspé; it also occurs on the Kennebecasis near St. John, and is found 
in the Middle and Upper Devonian of New York. 
Another characteristic Devonian species occurring at Gasperean 
is L. Chemungense; this is less common in good examples than the 
preceding, though the Knorria type is more frequently met with. It 
is a small species and may be known by its small, narrow, areoles; it 
is an Upper Devonian species in New York, and is also found in the 
Kennebecasis valley. 
A Lepidodendron which is not rare at Gaspereau is L. Sternbergu, 
recognizable by its larger, wider and more rhombic areoles. L. rimo- 
sum occurs less frequently. These two species have a wider range in 
time than the preceding, as they extend up into the Carboniferous. 
A single example of a Lepidodendroid, which appears to be Lepi- 
dophloios antiquus of Dawson, was met with here, and the species, 
according to this author, characterizes the Middle Devonian of Gaspé; 
he contrasts it with the larger-areoled species of the Carboniferous. 
It would appear that in the whole range of this flora from the 
Gaspereau shale we find nothing that necessarily relegates it to the 
Lower Carboniferous, but on the contrary, the facies is decidedly 
Devonian. 
However, there are more exact horizon markers than fossil plants, 
these are marine organisms and especially those of the open ocean (and 
in a lesser degree estuarine animals may be considered) ; if these should 
be found to be in contradiction to the plant remains, opinions based 

“Fossil plants of the Devonian and Upper Silurian formations of Canada, 
p. 36. 
