Palaeozoic Corals from Northern Queensland. 217 



United-States Exploring Expedition, under Capt. Wilkes, 

 U.S.N.'*; Prof. F. M'Coy's paper "On the Fauna and 

 Flora of the Rocks associated with the Coal of New South 

 Wales " f, containing descriptions of Cladochonus tenuicollis 

 and Strombodes australis. These, with Prof, dc Koninck's 

 ' Recherches sur les Fossiles paleozoi'qucs de la Nouvelle- 

 Galles du Sud ' |, comprise the more important publications 

 bearing on Australian Palaeozoic corals, although there are a 

 number of minor papers which need not now be referred to. 



2. Geological Notes. 



The published information in connexion with the localities 

 or horizons from which the corals about to be described come 

 may be summed up as follows : — 



The Broken-River Limestone, represented by the specimens 

 collected by Mr. Daintree, is considered by Mr. R. Etheridge, 

 F.R.S., as the lowest fossiliferous deposit in Queensland. 

 He says, " There cannot now be any doubt that the Broken- 

 River Limestone beds, containing Favosites &c. &c, are the 

 lowest fossiliferous deposits in the Queensland area ; and their 

 age is undoubtedly Lower Devonian or ' Siluro-Devonian ' " §. 

 On this subject Mr. Daintree, who probably had the best 

 knowledge of North- Australian geology, says, " In the lime- 

 stone bands which form the lower portion of the series " («'. e. 

 the Devonian) " corals are very numerous ; in fact the lime- 

 stones, where little alteration has taken place, are a mass of 

 aggregated corals " ||. In addition to these remarks, Mr. 

 Daintree gives a woodcut view of a " Section of Devonian 

 Coral Limestone, Terrible Creek, near Messrs. Cunningham's 

 Cattle Station, Burdekin River, Northern Queensland " ^[, in 

 all probability the very locality from which his corals came. 



Two specimens in the Daintree collection are from the 

 Gympie gold-field, in the characteristic green chloritic rock 

 of that district. These beds are also considered by Mr. 

 Etheridge to be of Devonian age**; but Prof. M'Coy is more 

 inclined to regard them as Carboniferous |f. 



We now come in due course to the specimens forwarded by 

 Mr. R. L. Jack. From the Bowen-River coal-field there arc 

 two species of Stenopora from beds which have been shown 



* New York, 4to, pp. 711, 712. 

 t Ami. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1847, xx. p. 227. 



\ Bruxelles, 1876, pts. 1 and 2, pp. 140 and 133; 1877, pt. ;{, 

 pp. 143-1 r>7. 



§ Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 1872, xxviii. p. 324. || Ibid. p. 290. 



f Loc.cit. p. 290, fi ? . 12. ** Ibid. p. 324. 



tt Prodromus Pal. Victoria, 1*74, i. p. 38. 



