50 Mr. F. A. Bather on Pentacrini zn 
Bathonian in the canton of Basle and reaches a thickness of 
40 metres. It consists mainly of an oolitic freestone very 
poor in fossils, and these, even in the more fossiliferous lower 
beds, are much worn. Little attention therefore has been 
paid to it by geologists. M. Greppin, however, has dis- 
covered among the lower beds, which correspond more 
exactly with our Great Oolite, thin lenticular bands of organic 
débris. By heating fragments to a high temperature and 
dropping them into cold water he split up the calcareous 
cement and extracted the shells in the beautiful condition 
shown by his illustrations. These bands are due to depres- 
sions in the original sea-floor, which became filled with shells. 
One would naturally suppose that this was caused by the 
action of currents after the death of the animals. M. Greppin 
notes, however, that, while the genus Cerithiwm is most abun- 
dant at Muttenz, at Bubendorf, 3 kilometres distant, it is 
replaced by Hmarginula and Rimula on the same horizon. 
He therefore considers that the animals lived where their 
remains are now found. The truth probably lies between the 
two opinions. 
As the result of his researches M. Greppin recognizes 154 
species, of which 30 are new ; some score remain to be deter- 
mined when better material shall have been found. Gastro- 
poda are in the majority with 79 species ; of these 24 are new ; 
of the rest 39 are found also in England, and 8 of these were 
previously unrecorded out of Britain. The Lamellibranchiata 
are represented by 59 species, 10 of which are described for 
the first time ; of the 49 that remain 41 are known in Eng- 
land, 8 of them being hitherto unknown elsewhere. The 
Cephalopoda are practically absent, the only example being 
an ill-preserved Belemnite referred to Hastites Jfustformis. 
The Brachiopoda, though only of 5 species, are extremely 
numerous in certain parts, especially /erebratula maxillata. 
Fragments of a Glyphea ornata are all the Crustacean re- 
mains. ‘Two species of Serpula are recognized. Fragments 
of Echinoidea may be referred to 5 known species, while the 
Crinoidea number 2 species. 
This fauna, as M. Greppin points out, is more akin to the 
Great-Oolite fauna of England than to that of other 
foreign countries. ‘This may indeed be due to the fact that 
the beds of Basle are more exactly synchronous (or should we 
say homotaxial ?) with those worked by Morris and Lycett, 
than are those continental beds which have hitherto afforded 
the most numerous fossils. 
Perhaps the most interesting character of this fauna is the 
