LOWER SILURIC SHALES OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY 73 



(64) Miller, W. J. Geology of the Remsen Quadrangle. N. Y. 



State Mus. Bui. 126. 



(65) Grabau, A. W. Physical and Faunal Evolution of North 



America during Ordovicic, Siluric and Early Devonic 

 Time. Jour, of Geol. 17:231. 



(66) 1910 Miller, W. J. Geology of the Port Leyden Quadrangle, 



Lewis County, N. Y. N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 135. 



(67) Schuchert, C. Paleogeography of North America. Bui. 



Geol. Soc. Amer., v. 20. 



(68) 1911 Ulrich, E. O. Revision of the Paleozoic Systems, pts 1-3. 



Geol. Soc. Amer. Bui. v. 22, no. 3. 



PALEONTOLOGICAL NOTES 

 Sphenophycus nom. prop. 



The work in the Schenectady shales has brought to light a great 

 quantity of finely preserved algal remains. In part these are 

 identical with Sphenothallus latifolius, described 

 by Hall from the top beds of the formation at Schoharie, but the 

 greater part represents one or more different species, and many 

 exhibit important features not shown by the original material. We 

 should not have undertaken to describe these if we had not had the 

 authoritative advice and encouragement of Mr David White regard- 

 ing them, but we should have much preferred if Mr White would 

 himself have agreed to write a note on these Lower Siluric algae. 



Hall (title 3, p. 261) described the genus Sphenothallus as 

 follows : " Plant consisting of a stem, with diverging wedge-form 

 leaves, or of detached leaves having this form. Leaves apparently 

 succulent or thickened, and sometimes subcoriaceous." He cites two 

 species as belonging to it, viz, Sphenothallus angusti- 



f o 1 i u s and S. latifolius. The former has been found 







by us as a rather frequent fossil in the Utica shale of Dolgeville 

 and elsewhere and on reinvestigation (1897, N. Y. State Geol. 

 Rep't 15) was referred to as a " sessile Conularia." The stem of 

 the type specimen was found to be a cephalopod shell, to which 

 the " leaves " are attached by basal disks. While we no longer 

 consider this species as properly belonging to the genus Conularia 

 itself, there is no doubt in our minds of its taxonomic position with 

 the Conularidae. It therefore can not be retained in the same genus 

 with the other species, S . latifolius, if the latter is an 

 alga, and the question arises which of the two should retain 

 the generic name Sphenothallus. S. angustifolius is the 

 first species described under the diagnosis and moreover the latter is 



