164 



Scientific Proceedings^ Royal Dublin Society. 



side of Fair Head from which Baily obtained tlie fern-like fronds described 

 here. These are perhaps the most interesting plants known from this coal- 

 field. His record of the locality is not, however, very explicit, and, even if 

 I located the beds, I failed to find any trace of similar specimens. 



2. Previous Eecoeds. 



The earlier accounts of the geology of the Ballycastle coalfield do not 

 contain any records of fossil plants having been found, with the exception of 

 the mention of " f ucoids and ferns from Bunatraher, Ballycastle," by Grriffith' 

 in 1862. Before 1871, however, some plant-remains had been collected, 

 chiefiy by Mr. W. H. Baily and Mr. A. M'Henry, of the Irish Geological 

 Survey, and these were described in an appendix to Professor Hull's^ paper, 

 published in that year. The following species were then recorded by 

 Baily :— 



Baily's Names. 



Bigillaria reniformis (Brongn.) 

 Stigmaria ficoides (Brongn.) 



,, ,, var. undiilata 



Aspidiaria quadrangularis (Presl) 

 Lepidostrobus variabilis (Lindley) 

 Sagenaria dichotoma (Sternberg) 

 Sagenaria aculeatum (Sternberg) 

 Sagenaria Veltheimiana (Sternberg) 

 Sagenaria rimosa (Presl) 



Modern Names. 



Sigillaria reniformis (Brongn.) 

 Stigmaria ficoides (Sternb.) 



„ ,, var. undulata (Groepp.) 



Lepidodendron sp. (decorticated state). 

 Lepidostrohus variabilis, L. & H. 

 Lepidodendron dichotomum, Sternb. 

 Lepidodendron aculeatum, Sternb. 

 Lepidodendron Veltheimi, Sternb. 

 Lepidodendron rimostim, Sternb. 



1 have not seen these specimens, but, in the light of the other plants from 

 this coalfield which I have examined, I have very little doubt that some of 

 them were wrongly determined. Anyone glancing through this list would 

 imagine that the flora was of Upper Carboniferous age, for all the species of 

 Lepidodendron indicated, except Lepidodendron Veltheimi, Sternb., are confined 

 to the rocks of that period ; and further, Sigillaria is very rare in the Lower 

 Carboniferous sequence. However, the plants which I have examined from 

 Ballycastle indicate a flora of Lower Carboniferous age, and I suspect that, 

 as regards the species, some fossils have been confused with those which are 

 abundant in the Coal Measures, which are not perhaps, at first sight, very 

 dissimilar. It must also be remembered that at the time this list was drawn 

 up, very little was known on the subject of the Lower Carboniferous flora, 



' Griffith (1862), p. 54. 



= HuU (1871), p. 270. 



