Mr Etheridge on Fossils from Bowen River Coalfield. 327 



In a Presidential address delivered to the Eoyal Society 

 of Victoria on the 25th of April 1864,* Professor M'Coy tells 

 us that in a discussion which took place at the reading of a 

 paper by Mr Daintree, the latter mentioned, '* in the course 

 of the discussion a fact of the highest importance, and whicli 

 may be found in some measure to reconcile the view of Mr 

 Clarke and myself, namely, that Mr Clarke in making his 

 original collections for determination had mixed together the 

 fossils of the upper and lower beds. Now, as a portion of 

 the fossils could be identified with European species, and 

 there were among them two species of Trilobites {Phillipsia 

 and BracJiymctopus), characteristic of the Mountain Limestone 

 as found in Ireland and Eussia, the clearly marked age of 

 these would have determined the age of the whole, if, as was 

 supposed, they came from the same beds ; and in this indirect 

 way the Pacliydomi and other new generic and specific forms, 

 which from their novelty could not afford any indication of 

 age of themselves, came to be considered as Palseozoic forms 

 from their supposed associations with those which certainly 

 were of that age. It is obviously, therefore, necessary to 

 collect and investigate the evidence afresh from each bed by 

 itself with care. . . . etc." These remarks, although 

 undoubtedly sound in principle, will not apply in this case, 

 for we have here careful collecting, showing that Glossopteris 

 does actually exist in a deposit with a Marine fauna, amongst 

 which is at least one specimen of Productus or Strophalosia. 



Further, the same species of Polyzoa, which are found in 

 abundance in the Coral Creek deposit with the Glossopteris, 

 are also met with at Pelican Creek, where the characteristic 

 fossil is Strophalosia Clarhei. 



Taking all these facts into careful and unbiassed consi- 

 deration, it appears to me impossible, if the Coral Creek 

 fauna is admitted to be of Permio-Carboniferous age, or at 

 any rate of Upper Palaeozoic age, equally must it be admitted 

 that we now have a tangible demonstration of the occurrence 

 of Glossopteris in actual company with such a fauna."!* 



* Trans. R. Soc, Victoria, 1865, vi., p. Ixvi. 



i On this head, see Dr 0. Feistmantel, " Palaeontographica, " 1878, suppl. 

 iii., Liefemng. iii., Heft. 2, p. 67. 



