172 REPORT—1905. 
well-defined marine bands occurring in them, characterised by Glyphioceras 
reticulatum, 
Some facts of great interest came out of the investigation. The forms 
of Gastrioceras diadema which occur at Lisdoonvarna are exactly like 
those which occur in the Chokier beds of Belgium, beds which come on. 
immediately above the Viséan stage of the Carboniferous Limestone. In 
both localities this species is accompanied by a peculiar variety, character- 
ised by a large open umbilicus and strong, moderately distant transverse 
ribs. It seems to me that in this form early characters persisted into the 
adult stage. The presence of the two forms side by side gives the fossil 
a time value, and leads to the view that the Chokier and Lisdoonvarna 
deposits were contemporaneous as well as homotaxial. 
The thickness of the series in County Clare (80 feet) and at Chokier, 
or Clavier, in Belgium (probably not much more), compared to the thick- 
ness at Pendle Hill, 1,200 to 1,500, indicates the east and west edges of 
the basin in which the deposit took place. 
The Upper Limestone Shales (Pendleside series) of the West of Ireland 
are succeeded by a series of grits and flags, in which are slate bands con- 
taining a marine fauna, the common fossils being Pterinopecten papyraceus, 
Posidowella laevis, Gluphioceras reticulatwm, and in this band is a Zaph- 
rientoid coral aff 7. Phillipsi. 
In conjunction with Mr. J. T. Stobbs, we presented a paper to the 
Geological Society on the Marine Bands of the North Staffordshire Coal- 
field, which will be shortly published. 
These marine bands, of which several have been discovered in the North 
Staffordshire coalfield, are of great importance as indices of horizon in 
sinking and other mining operations, and we contend that we are able by 
these marine bands, and by the presence of certain species of Carbonicola, 
Anthracomya, and Naiadites to accurately determine the exact horizon of 
any seam of coal. 
In fact, the whole of the Upper Carboniferous rocks, from the base of 
the Pendleside series to the top of the coal measures, is now fairly accu- 
rately zoned in detail by the Mollusca. In addition, the flora is of assist- 
ance in determining the main divisions of that series. But the great 
faunal change took place before the floral. That is, the flora of the Pendle- 
side series is of Lower Carboniferous type, while the Mollusca have an 
Upper Carboniferous facies, The great difficulty has always been to esta- 
blish any zones in the Lower Carboniferous, either where this sub-division 
consists of massive limestone, as in Derbyshire, or where it has assumed 
the Yoredale phase, as in North Yorkshire and Scotland. 
Last year I quoted the scheme of life-zones worked out by Dr. A. 
Vaughan for the Carboniferous Limestone of the Bristol area. He and 
Mr. Sibiy have since then demonstrated that the same faunal succession 
is fairly constant throughout the Mendip and South Wales areas. I 
have had the privilege of going over the ground with Dr. Vaughan, and 
have examined the Carboniferous Limestone of the Bristol area at the 
Avon Gorge ; Failand Section, Flax-Bourton, Wickwar, Chipping Sod- 
bury, Wrington, Burrington Coomb (Mendip), and Weston-super-Mare, 
and I have no doubt that, for that area, the distribution of the corals and 
Brachiopods is as he states, and that, so far as this district and South 
Wales are concerned, the Carboniferous Limestone has been accurately 
zoned. The fact that a definite sequence of corals and Brachiopods exists 
