Mesozoic Coal Strata.} TALyEONTOLUGY OF VICTORIA. [I'lauts. 



Geelong, in search of coal, which he found in small quantity. 

 As far as the specimens go, they present tlie characters of Podo- 

 zamites ; but I think in them we have an additional link between 

 the Cycads and Firs. Lindley points out that the cones of Dion 

 amongst the Cycads, and Araucaria amongst the Firs, can scarcely 

 be distinguished ; and I would point out that the peculiar foliage 

 of an Australian Araucaria, the A. Bidwilii, if fossilised, could 

 not he distino-uished in fragments as lara;e as our fossils from 

 Zamites. As our present specimens are unbranched, and with two 

 rows of pinna?, T am bound to i-efer them to Zamifes ; but I have 

 another plant from the same beds, with nearly identical pinna? in 

 four rows, and branched, which I shall shortly figure imder the 

 generic name Bunyalites, showing an insensible blending between 

 tlie two great sections of Gynmosperms as far as foliage is 

 concerned. 



In these Bellarine beds the Pecopteris Australis also occurs, a 

 species which is to be seen with the Glosxopteris Browniana of 

 the Newcastle coal beds, on one bit of stone in the survey 

 collections from Tasmania, thus carrying our Gymnospermous 

 plants of Bellarine to the Pal^eontological account of both the 

 Tasmania!! and N. S. Wales coal seams. 



There is some slight variation in the amount of alternation or 

 opposituess of the pinnules in different specimens ; but I attach 

 no specific importance to this, as I observe in the recent Zamia 

 Preissi the pinnules occasionally opposite near the tip of the frond, 

 but perfectly alternate towards the base. Also, as in the recent 

 examples, the upper surface is more nearly smooth, and the lower 

 surfoce of the pinnules more distinctly ridged. 



At first sight, in size and shape, this nearly I'csembles the 

 common Zamia hastula of the Yorkshire Oolitic coal beds, but is 

 easily distinguished by its smoother surface and the contracted 

 base of the pinn£e or leaflets. 



Kxrr.ANATTOX OF FiCtlRKS. 



Plate VIII. — Fig. 1, specimen, natural size of the var. yracilis. Fii^. 2, portiun of rather 

 larger frond, natural size, with somewhat broader pinnules. Fifj. 2a, magnified section, showing 

 tlio thickness of the pinnules. Fig. 24, pm-tion of surface, with many ridges magnified, showing 

 the superficial stria". F'ig. 2c, one of the pinnules less magnified, showing <mly two or three 

 ridges. Fig. .'>, portion, natur.al size of the var. latior, F^ig. 5«, iiortion of pinnule beyond the 

 middle, showing the superficial striie and only three ridges. Fig. 56, base of s.ame pinnule, 

 showing twelve ridges. 



C 34 ] 



