Coquand— Fossils of the Aptien Stage of Spain. 215 

 in. — ^NoTE ON A Bed of Fossils in Haute-Loire. 



By M. BERTRANtf DE LoM. 



THIS stratum, called " Coupet," properly belonging to the neigh- 

 bouring volcano, merits particular attention from geologists ; 

 for, independently of the Pozzuolana,^ which is there fomid in 

 inexhaustible quantities, and of the corundums and gems also 

 met with, it yields a considerable number of bones of large and 

 small mammals — pachyderms, ruminants, carnivors, and rodents — • 

 belonging, for the most part, to extinct species. The bones of the 

 mastodon, and those of the elephant, are found there imder condi- 

 tions so similar as to lead to the conclusion that these animals lived 

 contemporaneously, an opinion contrary to that held by most palaeon- 

 tologists. — Comptes Bendus, Feb, 26, 1866. 



IV. — Fossils of the Aptien Stage of Spain. 

 By Prof. H. Coquand. 



[MoNOGRAPHiE Paleontologique db l'etage Aptten DE L'EspAGNE, par H. 

 Coquand, Professeur de Geologie et de Mineralogie. 8vo., Marseilles, 1866, 

 pp, 221, 28 plates.] 



THE Aptien stage, of D'Orbigny, is one of the lower members of 

 the Cretaceous series, and the volume before us, describing its 

 (invertebrate) fauna, is of the highest value. In his preface the 

 author tells us that he has spared neither his time nor his money to 

 render the work as perfect as possible, and the truth of this remark 

 is well borne out in the manner in which it has been executed. It 

 is the result of study during three months in the provinces of Teruel 

 and Castellon de la Plana (Aragon), where the Aptien stage is best 

 developed. Prof. Coquand confines himself to the Palasontology of 

 the district he examined, reserving the Geology for another work. 

 He commences by reviewing the previous labours of Greologists in 

 this field, amongst whom MM. de Verneuil, CoUomb, and Alcibar 

 are foremost. He then gives short accounts of the Aptien, Gardo- 

 nien, and Carentonien stages of the Cretaceous series, as an intro- 

 duction to the more complete descriptions he intends to publish 

 afterwards. He describes 231 species of Fossils from the Aptien 

 beds, comprising 3 Annelids, 25 Cephalopods, 52 Gasteropods, 121 

 Conchifers, 9 Brachiopods, 14 Echinoderms, 6 Corals, and 1 Fora- 

 minifer ; and gives lists of the Aptien Fossils of Switzerland, of the 

 Aptien Fossils common to Switzerland and Spain, of those species 

 common to Yonne and Spain, of those common to Provence and 

 Spain, to England and Spain, to South America and Europe, and 

 lastly, those common to North Africa and Spain. — H. B. W. 



1 Volcanic ash, used as mortar for building puposes. It derives its name from the 

 town Pozzuoli, in the Bay of Naples. 



