207 



existing vegetation of Australia, nor any having been found 

 in a fossil state previously in this part of the giobc, although 

 South-Eastern Australia and ISTew Zealand possess — as well- 

 known — the co-ordinal genus Fagus. This announcement of 

 the occurrence of an Alder in the Tasmanian Travertin is all 

 the more to be appreciated, as Mr. Johnston was fortunate 

 enough to detect a fruit, amentum of this plant ; a fact like 

 this should encourage Tasmanian geologists to persevere in 

 further searches after carpologic specimens in the rich and 

 very accessible beds of fossils in their island. Schimper in 

 1872 enumerated 30 fossil species of Alnus, but only seven of 

 these were any amenta procured by the several finders, the 

 rest were described from leaves alone, and must therefore 

 remain doubtful as regards generic and specific limits. 



The prospect of Dr. Barnard settling professionally in his 

 native city, holds out much additional hope for revelations in 

 the fossil flora of the vicinity, after that talented gentleman 

 has aided already so much in elucidating the pliocene 

 vegetation of Gulgong. 



It remains to confirm the systematic position now given to 

 the above-mentioned Tasmanian pliocene plants by searching 

 for fruit traces, irrespective of the likelihood of future in- 

 vestigations, proving that in Tasmania, as in many other 

 parts of the world, the pliocene vegetation to which Alders 

 were immixed, was also one of great richness in specific forms, 

 few of them as yet known to us. 



NOTES OF A CEITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE 

 MOLLUSCA OF THE OLDEE TERTIAEY OF 

 TASMANIA, ALLEGED TO HAVE LIVING 

 EEPEESENTATIYES. 



By Professor Ealph Tate, F.G.S., F.L.S., Etc., Core. Memb. 



[Bead June 9, 1884.] 



Mr. E. M. Johnston, in Proc. Eoy. Soc, Tasmania, 1880, p. 

 31,fgives a list of Table Cape fossils, which have been referred 

 to existing species. As I think that some of them have been 

 incorrectly identified I am desirous to give explanatory reasons 

 for the adoption of other names. Before doing so, I may 

 remark that in my presidential address to the Eoyal Society 

 of South Australia, vol. ii., p. Ivi., 1879, I gave a list of 24 

 living species of various classes which existed in the Australian 



