Davis—On the Fossil Fishes of the Chalk of Mount Lebanon. 463 
about three-fifths of the number were obtained from the soft chalk of Sahel Alma 
and the remaining two-fifths from the hard chalk at Hakel. 
The earliest available description of the districts in Mount Lebanon from 
which the fossil fishes have been obtained is given by M. P. E. Botta in his 
‘Observations sur le Liban et l’anti-Liban,” in the ‘‘Mémoirs de la Société 
Géologique de France,” tome 1., part 1., 1833. He divides the strata of the district 
into three groups. The lowest is the Upper Jurassic, on which rests the green 
sand, and above that the inferior chalk. The latter is formed of alternations of 
chalk and chalky marl. It is in one of the middle beds of the inferior chalk 
that the fishes from Hakel are obtained. As to those of Sahel Alma, continues 
M. Botta, they appear to be in the same group, but are a little lower in the 
series. 
In order to reach Hakel, it is necessary to go to Djebail, the ancient Byblos, 
a small village situated on the sea-coast, about 17 miles north of Beyrout. 
Hakel is about 6; miles E.N.E. from Djebail. M. Botta describes the locality 
as being in a deep valley, situated at a great height above the sea level. The 
beds containing the fish remains are upon the slope of the hill on the right in 
ascending towards the village of Hakel. The beds are considerably displaced 
and vary much in their direction and inclination ; the sides of the mountain are 
covered with débris, and it is in this débris that the fishes are found. The débris 
is in the form of thin foliated slabs, exhaling, when struck, a strong odour of 
sulphuretted hydrogen; these contain irregular beds of flint, or more properly of 
siliceous limestone, which enclose the fish. Aggregations of carbonate of lime are 
also found. The locality of these fishes differs in all its characters from that of 
Sahel Alma, and appears to be superior to it, the latter being found nearer to the 
sandy rocks; the species of fishes are quite different in the two localities. 
M. Humbert, who visited the locality in 1860, states that the strata in which 
the Hakel fish-beds occur are in a deep ravine, at the bottom of which is a small 
rivulet. A short distance below the fish-bearing locality the valley becomes 
wider, the slopes are somewhat less abrupt, and evidences of cultivation appear. 
The village of Hakel is situated on the left flank of the valley, a few hundred 
paces below the wider part referred to above. A series of alternating beds of 
chalk and marl, which extend up the valley from the village, serve as a datum 
line for the determination of the relative ages of the fish-beds. At the place 
where the valley becomes wider, chalk strata, resting on a bed of marl, extend 
horizontally round the upper part of the valley and form a series of steps, over 
which the water of the rivulet falls in a cascade. These beds furnished a few 
fossils characteristic of the Cenomanian formation, amongst others Arca taille- 
burgensis, Cardium hillanum, Natica difficilis, and Ostrea flabella are found in 
the chalk, and Hemiaster saulcyanus, d’Orb. and Psuedodiadema sinaica, Cotteau, 
in the marl. M.Humbert’s investigations led him to believe that the fish-bed 
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