- l."? - 



2. 3eological Aiaalysis. 



The tiident of recent marine faunt-o u±oou!oly would 

 view with grave : ' ' ' an attempt to recorustrac t environ- 



mental conditions on the basir of the testimony fiirnished hy 

 8 oingle element of a fa.ima o.ii\ it must he •r-'''''^" '■ted that Guch 

 an aVcempt is e-:tremely hazardous, the natural tendency heing to 

 overburden the scant evidence in the -^.es: formnl^.te more 



0.: lecG definite concl ..;_, io:.;:. . i.i.u ciL- c^j-in^ ■Jiii.i^uxs are 



augmented b; isfactorj" condition of the available' in- 



forma,tion coneerj. he actual and relative importance of the 



factors conditioning the ut'^j.-fc ".s.tion o::. ii.-^t.les, of which the 

 three moot importajit are t::e cliaracter of the bottom, tempera- 

 ture anc' depth; it . :e remembered, however, ': ot'n.cr 

 factors may have a pote.-b influence on the distribution oi a 

 certain form and that the several elements ma.y be intercorrel- 

 aterf or may include subordiriS.te considerations of greater or 

 less moment imder different c o.-aitioiiS. The paleontologist who 

 desires to deduce conclusions concerning the ecological condi- 

 tions that determined the chcracter of a ■~r-e-e:Ki stinr fr.una 

 is at the very outset disherirtcned by the serious dearth oi in- 

 formation concerniTig the actual coiistitution of existi _:] 1- 



ow-water fau^ias, to ^'Sy nothing of the effect of different 



numb e r 

 bottoms, for by far t -e greater of fauns s that receive his con- 



