26 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 
The name Mesa Verde Group was applied by W. H. 
Holmes (U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr., 1875, page 
244) to the series of sandstones and shales which form 
the Mesa Verde. He included in the Group three divi- 
sions, viz., 
The lower Escarpment, sandstone.............. 120 feet. 
The middle Coal Group; shale, marl, and coal 800-900 feet. 
Upper Escarpment, massive sandstone ........ 190 feet. 
This complex included the variable series, largely of 
sandstone, occurring between two strong shale formations 
—clearly the Mancos and Lewis Shales. 
The fossil evidence presented by Cross (Folio No. 
60, U. S. Geol. Surv.) shows that the Mesa Verde Forma- 
tion is but a part of the Pierre division of the Montana 
Group. The following fossils were found by him in this 
formation. 
Leda sp. Callista pellucida. 
Ostrea pellucida. Corbicula sp. 
Ostrea inornata. Baculites anceps var. ob- 
Cardium speciosum. tusus. 
Cardium bellulum. Baculites compressus. 
_Inoceramus cripsii_ var. Placenticeras placenta var. 
barabini. intercalare. 
Mactra alta. Pinna sp. 
According to T. W. Stanton, these forms range through 
both the Pierre and Fox Hills formations of the Montana 
Group of the Cretaceous. The list does not contain any 
exclusive Fox Hills species and there is, therefore, no ground 
from this fossil evidence to assign the Mesa Verde to the 
Fox Hills as was done by the Hayden Survey. 
I shall now take up the faunas of the two series as 
collected by myself and identified by T. W. Stanton. First, 
I shall compare the faunas as found in southwestern Colo- 
rado where the succession is clearly shown from the Mancos 
Shale through the Mesa Verde and Lewis Shale to the 
Laramie. Then compare these with those found in Utah 
from the Beckwith Plateau to Ivy Creek. 
