206 



up into the higher, though in the former 511 and in the latter 

 205 species have been recognised. 



Referring to the Foraminifera of the Lower Beds, Mr. Howchin 

 remarks : — " The occurrence of Nunimulites variolaria in very 

 great numbers in the Lower Bed is of special interest as showino- 

 uniformity of pal^eontological features between the Older Ter- 

 tiaries of Australia and rocks of a like age in Europe.""* 



2. Spring Creek. 



These beds were described and mapped many years ago by the 

 late Messrs. AVilkinson and Richard Daintree, when they were 

 members of the A'ictorian Geological Survey staff. Their original 

 report is now out of print, but extracts containing the major 

 part of it were given by the late Prof. Martin Duncan in his 

 description of the corals of the Australian tertiaries.f The 

 locality Avas again reported on, but more generally, by Mr. F. M. 

 Krause, in 1873. The surv^ey of the country by these gentlemen 

 occupied some months, and as there were no roads, and few if 

 any inhabitants, they had difficulties to contend with which by 

 ihe progress of settlement are now entirely removed. 



It will be found as we proceed that the reading of the Sj^ring 

 Creek beds offered by us differs materially from that given in the 

 Survey Reports. That these, as well as other tertiary sections, 

 were misunderstood by the first observers we attribute, not so 

 much to errors of observation, as to hasty generalisations on 

 slender palpeontological data. In the first place it was assumed 

 that the main mass of our tertiaries was Miocene instead of 

 Eocene. When their explorations were made, though the number 

 of fossils collected was large, very few were identified — indeed, 

 it is only within the last few years that the work of comparing 

 and naming them has been systematically carried out. The 

 attempt, therefore, to fix the horizon of the beds before analysing 

 their fossil contents was, it must be admitted, contrary to the 

 usual practice of geologists. As a fact, the percentage system 

 could not be applied, and the principle of classification relied on 

 seems to have been the resemblance of a few shells to some in the 

 European tertiaries ; whilst no account seems to have been taken 

 of the generic grouping, which is so distinctive of the Eocene- 

 fauna in comparison with that of the Miocene, and is, moreover, 

 largely cosmojDolitan in its distribution. 



Of twenty-seven species of mollusca from strata on the same 

 horizon as those now treated of, descriptions of which have been 

 published by the Victorian Geological Survey, thirteen are 



*lloy. Soc. of South Australia, vol. XII. 



t Fossil corals (Madreporaria) of the Australian Tertiary deposits ; 

 Q. J. G. S., vol. 26, 1S70. 



