90 



As three species of fossils ave coiniiion to the Queen Charlotte Tslands 

 and to the " Shasta Gh'oup " of CJalifornia, it will be curious to note 

 whether there are any other points of resemblance between the knowni 

 faumB of the two localities.. An analysis of the fossils of the Shasta 

 G-roup, as calalogued in Yd. II. of the " Pahuontology of C'alifornia," 

 gives the following results: — Crustacea, one species; Cephalopoda, 

 nineteen; Gasteropoda, fifteen; Lamellibranchiata, eleven; Brachi- 

 opoda, one. The proportion of Cephalopoda to Gasteropoda in the 

 Queen Charlotte Island collection is as fourteen to six, and there are no 

 exclusivel}' Cretaceous genera in an}'- of the three classes of mollusca. 

 In the Shasta beds there are nineteen S])ecies of Ceplialopoda to fifteen 

 of Gasteropoda, and the only exclusively Cretaceous genera or sub-genera 

 are Crioceras, Anisomyon, Thetis and Ndthea.^ 



The writer happens ^o have exceptionally favourable opportunities for 

 a comparison between the invertcbrata of the Coal-bearing rocks of the 

 Vancouver and Qneen Charlotte groups. For the past five years, from 1871 

 to 18*75 inclusive, Mr. Eichardson has been engaged ina critical examina- 

 tion of the geology of the Nanaimo and Comox districts of Vancouvei-, 

 together with that of many of the smaller islands of the Strait of Georgia. 

 One of the results of his labours in this region has been the collection 

 of an extensive and interesting series of fossils, consisting of about 

 seventy or eightj^ species of mollusca proper, two of brachiopoda 

 one cyclostomatous polj^zoon, and a turbinolian coral. These have only 

 been partly studied so far, but twenty-nine of the shells are identical with 

 as many species which have been already described from these islands by 

 Meek, Shumard and Gabb : about fifteen more ar^ also conspecific with 

 fossils either of the Chico Group of California or else of the Upper Cre- 

 taceous of 'I'exas or New Jersey : the rest appear to be new. So fjir as 

 the number of genera and species are concerned. Gasteropoda decidedly 

 predominate over Cephalopoda in the Vancouver Cretaceous, and the 

 same thing hold^ true with regard to rocks of the same age in other 

 localities. Thus, in Mr. Gabb's catalogue of the fossils of the Chico 

 Group from Oregon and California, f there are as many as forty-eight 

 species of Gasteropoda to fifteen of Cephalapoda. In the Vancouver 

 rocks each of the three divisions of the mollusca is represented hj very 

 characteristic Cretaceous genera, as in the following list : — 



Cephalopoda. Baculites, Hamites, Heteroceras or Helicoceras. 



* According- to Stoliczka, Vola is an older name than either Neithea or Jaiiira, 

 t '■ Pateontology of California," Vol. II., pp. 208—254. 



