30 THE MEDALS OF CREATION. Cuap. IT. 
Obs.—To this formation belong the principal deposits in Leices- 
tershire and other midland counties of England. Fossils are not 
generally abundant, but some localities yield highly interesting 
remains. The shelly limestone of Germany, called Muschelkalk, which 
contains the Lily Encrinite, &c. does not occur in England. Remains 
of Conifers allied to the Yew and Araucaria, are found near Coventry ; 
and peculiar reptiles (Labyrinthodons) near Warwick 
BPalacojoic Cypochs. 
THe Permian Formation. (Wond. p. 533). The sepa- 
ration of the strata now termed Permian from the Triassic, 
with which they were formerly classed, was first proposed 
by Sir Roderick Murchison, and is based on the fact that 
the fossils hitherto discovered are entirely distinct from any 
that occur in the Trias and subsequent formations ; it is, 
therefore, inferred, that after the deposition of the so-called 
Permian strata, a complete change took place in the faunas 
and floras of the lands and seas, and the Trias:is at present 
regarded as the dawn of a new system of organic beings. 
The strata comprised in this group are variegated blue 
and red marls and sandstones, like those of the Triassic; 
magnesian or dolomitic limestones ; and conglomerates more 
or less coloured with peroxide of iron. 
Subdivisions :— 
1. Red and white marls. 
2. Yellow magnesian limestones, and dolomitic conglomerates of 
Yorkshire and Durham. 
3. Marl-slate in thin layers, containing reptiles and fishes. The 
Keuper schiefer or copper-schist of Mansfeld. 
4, Marls and variegated sandstones, sands, and clays. 
Obs.—This group includes the Lower Bunter, Zechstein, and Roth- 
liegendes,* of the German geologists. The Permian comprises all the 
* Signifying Red-dead-layer ; it is a German mining term denoting 
that the copper of the upper bed has died out; this layer not being 
metalliferous, 
