74 Geological Society : — 



apparently belonging to a reptile, found by Mr. Martin in the same 

 sandstone-quarries of Lossiemouth, in which the scales or scutes of 

 the Staffonolepis, described as belonging to a fish by Agassiz, had 

 been found. On visiting these quarries, Mr. G. Gordon and himself 

 fortunately discovered other bones of the same animal ; and these, 

 having been compared with the remains in the Elgin collections, 

 have enabled Professor Huxley to decide that, with the exception of 

 the Telerpeto7i, all these casts, scales, and bones belong to the Reptile 

 Stagonolepis Rohertsoni. 



Sir Roderick, having visited the quarries in the Coast- ridge, from 

 which slabs with impressions of reptilian footmarks had long been 

 obtained, induced Mr. G. Gordon to transmit a variety of these, 

 which are now in the Museum of Practical Geology ; and of which 

 some were exhibited at the Meeting. 



After reviewing the whole succession of strata from the edge of 

 the crystalline rocks in the interior to the bold cliffs on the sea- 

 coast, the author has satisfied himself that the reptile-bearing sand- 

 stones must be considered to form the uppermost portion of the Old 

 Red Sandstone, or Devonian group, — the following being among the 

 chief reasons for his adherence to this view. 



1st. That these sandstones have everywhere the same strike and 

 dip as the inferior red sandstones containing Holoptychii and other 

 Old Red Ichthyolites, there being a perfect conformity between the 

 two rocks, and a gradual passage from the one into the other. 

 2ndly. That the yellow and light colours of the upper band are seen 

 in natural sections to occur and alternate with red and green sand- 

 stones, marls, and conglomerates low down in the ichthyolitic series. 

 Srdly. That,whilst the concretionary limestones called "Cornstones " 

 are seen amidst some of the lowest red and green conglomerates, 

 they reappear in a younger and broader zone at Elgin, and re-occur 

 above the Telerpeton- sandstone of Spynie Hill, and above the Sta- 

 gonolepis-sandstone of Lossiemouth ; thus binding the whole into 

 one natural physical group. 4thly. That, whilst the small patches of 

 so-called " Wealden " or Oolitic strata, described by Mr. Robertson 

 and others as occurring in this district, are wholly unconformable to, 

 and rest upon, the eroded surfaces of all the rocks under considera- 

 tion, so it was shown that none of the Oolitic or Liassic rocks of the 

 opposite side of the Moray Frith, or those of Brora, Dunrobin, Ethie, 

 &c., which are charged with Oolitic and Liassic remains, resemble 

 the reptiliferous sandstones and " Cornstones " of Elgin, or their repe- 

 titions in the Coast-ridge, that extend from Burgh Head to Lossie- 

 mouth. 



Fully aware of the great difficulty of determining the exact boun- 

 dary-line between the UppermostDevonian and Lowest Carboniferous 

 strata, and knowing that they pass into each other in many coun- 

 tries, the author stated that no one could dogmatically assert that 

 the reptile-bearing sandstones might not, by future researches, be 

 proved to form the commencement of the younger era. 



Sir Roderick concluded by stating that the conversion of the 



