244 Geological Society, 



the important sections and isolated exposures in the Bristol area : — ■ 

 The Avon section, the Sodbury section, the Farlaad area, the 

 Tytherington section, the Clevedon and Portishead area, isolated 

 exposures, and the Backwell-Wrington mass. In each case there 

 is given (1) a description of the position at which each zone or sub- 

 zone is exposed and of its lithology ; (2) a list of the corals and 

 braehiopods found in the zone or sub-zone, with notes on their 

 abundance ; (3) a comparison with the same horizon in other parts 

 of the Bristol area, and notes on the peculiarities of the section 

 under discussion. In dealing with the Avon section an analysis is 

 given of' Stoddart's paper, and reference is made to his collection. 

 The details of this portion of the paper are next summed up in tables 

 and discussions of the ranges and maxima of the corals and braehio- 

 pods within the Bristol area. This is followed by a comparison 

 of the last-named area with that of the Mendips, resulting in the 

 conclusion that, when allowance is made for small variations (which 

 are tabulated), the palaeontological sequence agrees remarkably in 

 the two areas. 



The Author next gives a summary of M. Lohest's discussion of 

 the parallelism of the Belgian sequence with that of the Avon 

 section, and adopts the Belgian divisions of Tournaisian and Visean 

 for the lower and upper parts of the Carboniferous Limestone, A 

 comparison is also instituted with M. Mourlou's grouping, and it is 

 remarked that the braehiopods mentioned by M. Mourlon and 

 Prof. Dewalque occur in the same order in the Bristol area as in 

 Belgium, and are correspondingly characteristic of the beds. The 

 Author claims that in the area with which he deals, his table of 

 ranges is sufficient to enable any worker to zone any exposure 

 ■with a considerable degree of accuracy. In conclusion, notes are 

 given on all the important species and circuli dealt with ; and 

 descriptions of a number of new species, circuli, and mutations. 



2. ' On a small PlesiosaurusSkeleton from the White Lias of 

 Westbury-on-Severn.' By "Wintour Frederick Gwinnell, Esq., 

 F.G.S. 



The remains described were found on the beach, and had evidently 

 recently fallen from the cliflF ahove, which is made up of the Upper 

 Rhajtic Beds, including the Estheria-Bed and the White Lias Lime- 

 Btone. The matrix of the specimen corresponds with the White 

 Lias in colour, texture, and material, and it is similarly traversed 

 by fissures often coated with dendrites. The remains include more 

 than twenty small dorsal vertebrae, with spinous and transverse 

 processes, lying in natural sequence. A pseudomorph of the spinal 

 cord in calcite occurs also in position. Several slender ribs, and 

 indications of other bones probably from the pectoral or pelvic 

 arches, also occur in the slab, but are not yet worked out. Hitherto 

 only single vertebrae or fragmentary bones of Plesiosaurus have been 

 recorded from this horizon in Britain. At present, it has not been 

 found possible to assign the fossil to any existing species. 



