80 Upper Cretaceous Fauna from Tennessee [278 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



The well-preserved fossils of the Eipley formation attracted 

 the attention of the early geologists and impressed them very 

 much. In 1856 Conrad X1 described fifty-six new species from 

 Owl Creek and made the following observations about the 

 fauna : 



"The Cretaceous strata of Mississippi have long been ob- 

 served and partially noted by geologists and the lamented 

 Professor Tuomey has described a number of their fossil con- 

 tents. I now introduce quite a distinct group of shells, which 

 are imbedded in a different matrix compared with the preva- 

 lent cretaceous marls, green sands and limestones. The dis- 

 covery of these beautiful organic remains is due to the inde- 

 fatigable exertions of Dr. W. Spillman, of Columbus, who 

 has forwarded a collection of specimens more or less perfect, 

 consisting of nearly sixty species, all of which appear to be 

 unpublished except Scaphites conradi. The appearance of 

 these shells is like that of eocene species which have merely 

 lost their animal matter, and in this respect are very unlike 

 the condition of similar genera in the contiguous rocks of the 

 same era. The fossils are imbedded in a sandy marl of a 

 dark gray color, the principal constituents of which are fine 

 scales of mica and grains of quartz mixed with fragments of 

 small shells; and though some of the very thin species are 

 distorted, the stronger retain their original shapes and are 

 generally very perfect. Species of Crassatetta, Nucula and 

 Meretrix have the valves united as in life, as well as a few of 

 the extremely thin Inocerami, though the latter are more or 

 less distorted by pressure. The numerical proportion of 

 species of Cephala and Acephala is nearly equal. The external 

 sculpture of all is as sharply defined as in existing species. 

 Besides Scaphites and Baculites, there is only one shell in the 

 collection which resembles a species of the green sand or lime- 



11 Conrad, T. A., Jour. Acad. Nat. 8oi., Philadelphia, 2d ser., vol. 

 iii, pp. 323-336. 



