THE BEARING OF THE STRATIGRAPHIC HISTORY 
AND INVERTEBRATE FOSSILS ON THE AGE OF 
THE ANTHRACOLITHIC: ROCKS OF KANSAS 
AND OKLAHOMA? 
J. W. BEEDE 
The present interest in this subject is such as to warrant a brief 
review of the broader features as determined by the preliminary 
survey of the data at hand with regard to the age of the Kansas- 
Oklahoma rocks, before completing the final work upon them, to 
give an idea of the present status of the problem and suggest some of 
the larger features to be worked out. 
I wish to acknowledge the assistance and co-operation of Peat 
fessor C. N. Gould and through him of the Oklahoma Survey, which 
have contributed much to both data and suggestion, as well as mate- 
rial aid in pursuing these studies. For the privilege of carrying on 
my Kansas studies I am indebted to Dr. Haworth and the Kansas 
Survey. This manuscript has been submitted to Professors Haworth, 
Gould, and Prosser for their suggestions and criticisms, which have 
been incorporated. The general considerations have been freely 
discussed with Professor Cumings, and he has also read the manu- 
script and offered valuable suggestions. 
In order to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the inverte- 
brate fauna of the rocks supposed to be of Permian age in the western 
Mississippi valley it is necessary to understand the stratigraphic 
history and the nature and range of the faunas of the underlying rocks 
as well. The discussion of this subject forms a necessary intro- 
duction to the Permian question. 
1 This term was introduced by Waagen and he has been followed by Diener of 
the Indian Survey; it is used to designate the Carboniferous and Permian deposits 
under a single head, when it is desirable to refer to them in that way. 
2 Published by permission of the state geologists of Kansas and Oklahoma. A 
portion of this paper was read at the Baltimore meeting of the Geological Society of 
America. 
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