260 Prof. W. King's Notes on Permian Fossils. 



when engaged with my 'Catalogue' in 1847*, and my ' Mono- 

 graph' in 1850, I was under the necessity of diagnosing about 

 fifty-three species, none of which had, at the date first 

 named, been met with out of England. The late researches of 

 Dr. Geinitz of Dresden and Baron von Schauroth of Coburg 

 have, however, brought to light about thirty-three of my new 

 species as equally indigenous to Germany. The twenty not yet 

 met with out of England seem to be balanced by about as 

 many species which have not been discovered anywhere except 

 in Germany. Those which I have determined as occurring at 

 Cultra and Ardtrea amount to about thirteen species, all of 

 which, however, are characteristic of both the English and Ger- 

 man Permians. The facts just noticed have mainly induced 

 me to publish in the 'Annals' an occasional paper, which, 

 although nominally on Permian fossils, will enable me to dis- 

 cuss a few matters of somei mpoi'tance in palaeontology. 



Family Productidae, J. E. Gray. 



Genus Productus, J. Sowerby. 



P. Geinitzianus, De Koninck. PI. XII., figs. 1 & 2. 



As I was unacquainted with this species except through the 

 figures and description in De Koninck's ' Monographic ' of the 

 genus Productus \ [vide pi. 15. fig. 3 a, b, c, d, p. 156 & 157, 

 1847) ; and as Geinitz was induced to unite it in his ' Ver- 

 steinerungen ' [vide p. 14, 1848), though not positively, with his 

 previously described Orthis excavata, I was led to adopt this 

 identification in my Monograph ; but having recently fallen in 

 with a specimen by accident, mixed with some examples of Pro- 

 ductus Imrridus lately received from Dr. Krantz, I now perceive 

 that De Koninck w as correct in regarding it as an undescribed 

 species. 



The figures in the ' Monographic ' are doubtless faithful copies 

 of the specimens they represent; but the example before me 

 shows that the species is more variable than De Koninck sus- 

 pected. It is described as having the large valve " divisee dans 

 son milieu par un sinus large et pen profond prenant naissance 

 Jl une petite distance du crochet ;" but this valve can scarcely be 

 said to possess a median depression in the specimen which I have 

 represented under figures 1 & 2 in Plate XII. 



* It is well known in Newcastle that this ' Catalogue,' although pub- 

 lished in 1848, was ready for publication by theTyneside Naturalists' Field 

 Club in July 1847. 



t I feel it necessary to express my obligations to Dr. de Koninck for 

 presenting me with a beautiful copy of this invaluable work. 



