150 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



According to Duncan,^ the Bowden corals (his Miocene) comprise 

 forms common to the Miocene of Europe and species peculiar to the 

 Indian seas, while many of the genera now exist in the Pacific Ocean. 

 He said that one species of Montlivaltia is found fossil at Travanocore.^ 

 He also states : ^ " Corals from Vere, Bowden, and Navy Island off Port 

 Antonio have no general resemblance to those from the Eocene and 

 Cretaceous strata, but present the appearance of the common speci- 

 mens of the various Miocene shales and marls of San Domingo and the 

 European Miocene ; and all are absent from the existing coral fauna of 

 the West Indies. The comparative absence of compound corals from 

 the Jamaican Miocene is very remarkable ; and equally interesting, in 

 reference to the deep sea nature of a part of the coral fauna, is the 

 abundance of Foraminifera which crowd amongst and fill up the inter- 

 stices of the specimen." 



Etheridge states * that twelve of the nineteen species worked out by 

 Duncan are common to the Miocene (old usage) of Jamaica and Europe, 

 while eleven of the species are said to be still living, but Gregory and 

 Vaughan cast doubt upon the validity of Duncan's conclusion, as he 

 seems to have confused species from the elevated reefs with those from 

 entirely different horizons. It may not be out of place to add that this 

 fauna is totally distinct in genera and species from another West In- 

 dian " Miocene " coral fauna described by Duncan from Antigua. Dun- 

 can has also stated that a majority of these species indicate deep water.^ 

 This fact seems to be borne out by the studies recorded in the " Three 

 Cruises of the Blake." 



It is an important fact that only three closely related compound 

 species of corals, such as composed the elevated and modern reefs of the 

 Caribbean region, were found by me in the Bowden beds, and these may 

 have been pieces of recent beach debris. This indicates that true reef 

 building corals had not made serious appearance in Jamaica at the time 

 of the deposition of these beds. The Bowden corals have been fre- 

 quently cited as reef making forms. 



Moore recognized ^ seventy-one species of marine MoUusca from these 

 beds, twenty-eight of which were alleged to occur in the San Domingo 

 beds, and twelve of which are living in the adjacent seas. 



1 Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, 1863, Vol. XIX. p. 454. 



2 Ibid., p. 456. 



8 Ibid., 1805, Vol. XXL p. 14. 



* Jamaican Reports, p. 309. 



^ Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, 1868, Vol. XXIV. p. 12. 



6 Ibid., 1863, Vol. XIX. p. 611. 



