298 F. R. Cowper Reed — Ocean Island. 



Fig. 2. — Olenoides, sp. ? Walcott, Fauna of tlie Lower Cambrian or Olenellus Zone r 

 10th Eep. U.S. GeoL Surv., 1899, p. 752, etc., pi. xciv, fig. 1. This 

 genus is represented by an imperfect pygidium, in size equalling Olenoides 

 Fordi, "Walcott. The border is wanting, but a single spine lies near the 

 left anterior margin, which may have been a marginal spine of the 

 pygidium or a detached median spine. 



Fig. 3. — Helenia bella, "Walcott. Two or three elongate, narrow, flattened, curved 

 tubes may be seen upon the surface of the same slab, one of which is 

 reproduced in Fig. 3. It resembles a specimen figured Ijy C. D. Walcott 

 (Fauna of the Olenellus Zone: 10th Ann. Eep. U.S. G-eol. Survey, 

 1889, pi. Ixxviii, fig. 4), which he names Selenia bella and refers pro- 

 visionally to the Dentalidse. 



11. — Notes on Ocean Island (Ban aba). 

 By F. E. CoAVPER Ebed, M.A., F.G.S. 



OCEAN ISLAND, which is also known as Banaba or Paanopa, 

 lies in the Pacific west of the Gilbert group, in lat. 0° 52' S., 

 long. 169° 35' E. Our knowledge of it is but scanty; Darwin^ 

 briefly mentioned it, and it is not the same Ocean Island as Dana ^ 

 described, for the latter lies in lat. 28° 25' N. and long. 178° 25' W. 

 It may be therefore of some interest to record a few notes on a small 

 collection of specimens of phosphatic and coral rocks made on it by 

 Capt. E. Tupper, E.N., of H.M.S. " Pylades," who hoisted the British 

 flag there in the year 1900. I am also indebted to him for 

 a description of the island, and to the Pacific Islands Company, Ltd., 

 for kindly furnishing me with further particulars of its physical 

 features and analyses of the phosphatic rocks. 



The island is of subcircular shape, with a circumference of about 

 six miles at high- water mark; along its southern side there is a 

 shallow concavity known as Home Bay, bounded on the west by 

 Lilian Point, and on the east by the longer and more prominent 

 headland known as Sidney Point. Except along a small portion 

 of this bay the island is surrounded by cliffs from 12 to 30 feet 

 high, and soundings show that very deep water extends close up to 

 them. The interior forms an elevated tableland rising to a height 

 of about 260-270 feet, with a few surface depressions. The whole 

 island consists entirely of coral formation, and is covered with 

 extensive phosphatic deposits worked by the above-mentioned 

 company. The coral-rock is much weathered, rising in places 

 into high pinnacles and prominent masses of peculiar shapes, and 

 is seamed by deep gullies and fissures in which the phosphatic 

 deposits attain their greatest thickness. A boring of 29 feet in 

 one place failed to pierce them. It is stated that there is a sharp 

 line of demarcation "between the phosphatic material and the under- 

 lying coral-rock, but some of the specimens submitted to me show 

 that the former has infiltrated and impregnated the latter. The 

 rocks are in many cases of detrital origin, being composed of 

 fragments of calcareous rocks cemented together into a more or 

 less compact mass. One specimen is a coarse breccia ; another is 



1 Darwin: " Coral Eeefs," 3rd ed., 1889, p. 217. 



2 Dana : " Corals and Coral Islands," 3rd ed., 1890, p. 361. 



