THE PERMIAN PERIOD. 193 
of iron, and often accompanied by beds of gypsum or deposits 
of salt. In strata of this nature few or no fossils are found ; 
but their shallow-water origin is sufficiently proved by the 
presence of the footprints of terrestrial animals, accompanied 
in some cases by well-defined “ ripple-marks.” Along with 
these are occasionally found massive breccias, holding larger 
or smaller blocks derived from the older formations; and these 
have been supposed to represent an old “ boulder-clay,” and 
thus to indicate the prevalence of an arctic climate. Beds of 
this nature must also have been deposited in shallow water. 
In all regions, however, where the Permian formation is well 
developed, one of its most characteristic members is a Mag- 
nesian limestone, often highly and fantastically concretionary, 
but containing numerous remains of genuine marine animals, 
and clearly indicating that it was deposited beneath a mod- 
erate depth of salt water. 
It is not necessary to consider here whether this formation 
can be retained as a distinct division of the geological series. 
The name of Permian was given to it by Sir Roderick Murchi- 
son, from the province of Perm in Russia, where rocks of this 
age are extensively developed. Formerly these rocks were 
grouped with the succeeding formation of the Trias under the 
common name of “New Red Sandstone.” This name was 
given them because they contain a good deal of red sandstone, 
and because they are superior to the Carboniferous rocks, 
while the Old Red Sandstone is inferior. Nowadays, how- 
ever, the term “New Red Sandstone” is rarely employed, 
unless it be for red sandstones and associated rocks, which 
are seen to overlie the Coal-measures, but which contain no 
fossils by which their exact age may be made out. Under 
these circumstances, it is sometimes convenient to employ the 
term ‘‘ New Red Sandstone.” ‘The New Red, however, of the 
older geologists, is now broken up into the two formations of 
the Permian and Triassic rocks—the former being usually con- 
sidered as the top of the Paleozoic series, and the latter con- 
stituting the base of the Mesozoic. 
In many instances, the Permian rocks are seen to repose 
unconformably upon the underlying Carboniferous, from which 
they can in addition be readily separated by their lithological 
characters. In other instances, however, the Coal-measures 
terminate upwards in red rocks, not distinguishable by their 
mineral characters from the Permian; and in other cases no 
physical discordance between the Carboniferous and Per- 
mian strata can be detected. As a general rule, also, the 
Permian rocks appear to pass upwards conformably into the 
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