INTRODUCTION. 7 
In the North Staffordshire Coal-field there are at least two well-recognised 
marine beds. The one “‘the Gin Mine,” or “ Golden Twist,’ containing— 
Goniatites excavatus, Phil. 
striatus, Phil. 
- multilobus, Phil. 
Cypricardia glabrata, Phil. 
Aviculopecten, sp. 
Euomphalus tuberculatus, Flem. 
Plewrotomaria, sp. 
Productus semireticulatus, Mart. 
Spirifer Urei, Flem. 
Axinus (Schizodus), sp. 
Orthoceras, sp. 
Solemya primexva, Phil. 
Chonetes Laguessiana, De Kon. 
Nucula gibbosa, Flem. 
» lineata, Phil. 
Machrocheilus Michotianus, De Kon. 
Bellerophon Dumontii, F. d’Orb. 
Leda clavata, M‘Coy. 
| Loxonema, sp. 
| Ctenodonta, sp. 
” 
| Discites subsuleatus, Sow. 
\ 
The other bed, occurring above the “ Knowles seams” and immediately 
overlying the ‘‘ Bay Coal,” was discovered by Mr. John Ward, of Longton, in a 
sinking at the Foley colliery, and he states in his work on the Geology of the 
North Staffordshire Coal-fields,' “‘ After a careful search I have failed to discover in 
the North Staffordshire Coal-field mollusca of a fresh-water type in direct associa- 
tion with those of a marine facies. In every instance where the two have 
approached each other the line of demarcation has been clear and distinct.” 
Even the beds over the Four-Foot coal of Wetley Moor and Biddulph, the beds 
containing Lingula and Goniatites are perfectly distinct from those containing 
Carbonicola, both in their horizon and lithological character—a fact I have been 
able to observe very recently in a sinking near the top of Eaves Lane, Wetley 
Moor. 
The following fossils occur in the Bay Coal band : 
Aviculopecten papyraceus, Sow. 
Ctenodonta, sp. 
Discina nitida, Phil. 
Lingula squamiformis, Phil. 
mytiloides, Sow. 
Machrocheilus, sp. 
Nautilus (Discites) faleatus, Sow. 
Productus, sp. 
Spirifer, sp. 
Another such marine band in the banks of the Tame at Ashton-under-Lyme 
was discovered by Prof. A. H. Green, and a list of the contents is given by 
Mr. Salter in the Memoir on the Country round Oldham,’ which I quote here. 
Calamites, narrow ridges. | 
Wood. 
Serpulites. 
Aviculopecten fibrillosus. 
» papyraceus, Goldf. 
Ctenodonta, sp. 
Nautilus prxcox. 
Discites rotifer. 
sp. 2. 
sp. 3. 
| Goniatites, sp. 
| Orthoceras, sp., thin. 
| Megalichthys Hibberti, Agass. 

1 «Trans. North Statts Institute of Min. and Mech. Engineers,’ vol. x, pt. 5, 1890, p. 49. 

* «Geol. Surv. Mem.,’ “‘ Geology of the Country round Oldham,” 1864, p. 64. 
