

370 ABIETINEAE [CH. 



Heer 1 as Pinus (Cedrus) Lopalini may belong to a true cedar cone, 

 but the evidence is hardly convincing. It is not too much to say 

 that even Tertiary records of Conifers seldom enable us to dis- 

 criminate between individual genera. In the absence of anatomical 

 data the needle-like leaves scattered through Mesozoic and Tertiary 

 strata cannot be identified with reasonable certainty. From Upper 

 Pliocene beds in Germany Geyler and Kinkelin 2 described a cone as 

 Abies Loehri, and this has more recently been identified as Keteleeria 

 (fig. 786, C, p. 394) by Engelhardt and Kinkelin 3 on the strength 

 of its external resemblance to K . Davidiana. The reference to Abies 4 

 of some leaves enclosed in the Baltic amber affords an example of 

 the assistance afforded by characters recognisable in well preserved 

 material, and it is probable that a fuller knowledge of the epidermal 

 characters of recent Conifer leaves may supply a useful aid to more 

 precise identification. 



PITYITES. Gen. nov. 



Endlicher 5 employed the name Pinites for leaves, male flowers, 

 and cones considered to be closely allied either to recent species of 

 Pinits or to some other genus of the Abietineae, such as .Abies, 

 Larix, or Picea. Many authors have adopted the generic name 

 Pinus in cases where the evidence appears to them sufficiently 

 strong to indicate identity with the existing genus, but it is only 

 cones and foliage-shoots from Tertiary and Pleistocene beds that 

 can as a rule be definitely assigned to such a position. It may, 

 perhaps, be carrying consistency too far to restrict Endlicher's 

 designation to such specimens as there is good reason for connecting 

 with the recent genus Pinus ; but the more restricted use of Pinites 

 has the merit of being less likely to mislead the student and, 

 chiefly on that account, I propose to adopt the genus Pityites for 

 Abietineous fossils which cannot with confidence be referred to a 

 more precise position. In practice this designation will not often 

 be employed as in most cases cones and vegetative organs occur 

 as separate fossils and are most conveniently described under the 



1 Heer (78) i. PI. ix. figs. 68. 



2 Geyler and Kinkelin (90) p. 16, PI. i. figs. 1315. 



3 Engelhardt and Kinkelin (08) p. 216, PI. xxvi. fig. 7. 



4 Goeppert and Menge (83) A. PI. xm. figs. 107110. 



5 Endlicher (47) p. 283. 



