201 



PAL>EONTOLOGY 



AND 



GEOLOGY. 



FOSSIL MOLLUSCA FROM THE REEF-LIMESTONES 

 OF CHRISTMAS ISLAIs^D. 



By R. Bttllen Newton, F.G.S. 



The reef-limestones of Christmas Island have been referred to in 

 general terms by the few writers who have visited the region, but 

 we are indebted to Mr. C. "W. Andrews, through collections made 

 in 1897-98, for our first knowledge of the palaeontology of this 

 formation. 



Among the specimens brought home from these deposits were 

 a small number of shells, which, although of rather bad preserva- 

 tion, and many of thorn not specifically determinable, are more 

 or less important as a contribution to the Quaternary history of 

 this area. 



The identifications that have been possible appear to prove 

 conclusively the modern character of these rocks, the species being 

 inhabitants of the surrounding seas at the present day. 



MOLLUSCA : GASTEROPODA. 



Genus TECTUS, De Montfort, 1810. 

 Conchyliologie Systematique, 1810, vol. ii, p. 186. 



Type. — Tedus pagodalis, De Montfort = Trochus mauritianus, 

 Gmelin. 



Synonyms. — Fy rami's, Schumacher, 1817; Pyramidea, Swainson, 

 1840. 



