Geological Society. 515 



PllOCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



GEOLOGICAL SOClETi'. 



June 23rd, 1915.— Dr. A. Smith Woodward, E.R.S., President, 



in the Chair. 

 The following communications were read : — 



1. 'On a Xew Eurypterid from the Belgian Coal Measiu'es.' 

 By Prof. Xavier Stainier. 



In this paper the Author records the discovery of a specimen of a 

 new Eu7'ypterus in the cores of a trial-boring for coal in Belgimn. 

 He describes the fossil, which is in a very satisfactory- state of pre- 

 servation. To allow of comparisons, a short description of the eleven 

 Carboniferous species known up to the present is appended. The 

 nearest form to the Belgian fossil seems to be a Pennsylvanian 

 JEurypterus, which nevertheless is not identical with the former. 

 The Author then discusses the geological range and the evolution 

 in time of the twelve Cai'boniferous Eurypterids. The paper ends 

 A\ ith a short Uter'ature of the subject. 



2. ' On a Fossiliferous Limestone from the Xorth Sea.' By 

 Eichard Bullen Xe^\i:on, F.G.S. 



The material on which this paper is based was ti'awled from the 

 floor of the Xorth Sea, some 100 miles X.E. \ X. of Buchan Xess, 

 and was forwarded to the British Museum (Xatui-al History) by 

 Mr. R. D. Thomson, of Aberdeen. It presents no appearance of 

 glaciation, so that its occuiTcnce in situ seems to be highly probable. 

 There is no record of a similar limestone from either England or 

 Scotland. It is of highly siliceous character and full of marine 

 shells, of which the Pelecypoda are the more prominent ; there are, 

 also, occasional fragments of wood in contact with the limestone 

 Avhich, from a preliminary examination, appear to show coniferous 

 characters. Some 23 species of mollusca have been detemiined, all 

 of which exhibit a southern facies, including 10 gastropods and 

 13 pelecypods: the latter embrace a new Dosinif orm shell belonging 

 to the genus Sinodia, the relationships of which are entireh' confined 

 to the Indian Ocean regions of Southern Asia. Eighteen of the 

 species, or about SO per cent., trace then- origin from the Vindobonian 

 stage of the Miocene ; ten, or about 40 per cent., may be regarded 

 as extinct; whereas twelve, or 50 per cent., still exist in recent 

 seas. The majority of the species are fairly evenly distributed in 

 both the Coi-alUne and the Ked Crag formations of East Anglia, 

 although, on account of so large a number being extinct, and bearing 

 in mind theu* southern facies, it is thought that the rock must be of 

 older age than Red Crag. Additional support is given to this view, 

 because such shells as Arcoperna sericea, Tellina benedeni, and 

 Panop<sa menardi are not known of later age in this country than 

 the Coralline Crag. The occurrence also of the extinct gastropods 

 Streptochetus sexcostutus and Ficus [Pi/rula^ simplex, which are 

 particularly cluiracteristic of the L'^pper Miocene or Messinian 

 deposits of Xorthern Germany, constitutes furthei- evidence in 

 favour of a gi-eater antiquity for this limestone than that of the 

 Ked Crag : it is, therefore, considered to be of Coralline Crag age. 



