724 CHARLES SCHU CHERT 



beginning in the lower Devonic, and, on the other, with the breaking- 

 down of the old Atlantic- Ethiopean continent. This hypothetic 

 event, which separated the probable great continents of younger 

 Paleozoic time — Atlantis and Gondwana of Suess^ — gave rise to a 

 sea transverse to the present Atlantic, and this apparently occurred 

 at the beginning of the Upper Devonic, [This is the mediterranean 

 named by Suess "Tethys."] The shallow sea then retreated from 

 northern and middle South America. 



It must therefore be concluded that toward the end of Devonic 

 and the beginning of Carbonic time the greater part of South America 

 was land. 



In the southeast there was apparently a continuous elevation of 

 land; in the west (Chile), partial elevation; and in the northern 

 region — i. e., Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil — there was a widespread 

 sinking which led to another transgression of the sea. 



In these countries of South America the marine Carbonic is that 

 of the Upper Carbonic. It is worthy of note that this sea occupied 

 about the same area as that of the Devonic. The transgression begins 

 with sandy deposits with traces of plants, as Lepidodendron and 

 Calamites, but there are no beds of coal. 



All undoubted marine deposits of the Carbonic of South America 

 appear to be closely interrelated, but the fossil evidence outside of the 

 Amazon region is scanty and in the main depends upon brachiopods. 

 Upper Carbonic fossils are known from the east base of the Cordillera 

 Oriental, Peru; Lake Titicaca at Yarbichambi and Yampopata; 

 Arque in the province La Pag, vicinity of Cochabamba, and Santa 

 Cruz, Bolivia; Choapa valley, at La Ligua, Chile; in Brazil, other 

 than the Amazon region, in southern Matto-Grosso and the adjoining 

 regions of Parana and Sao Paulo. Katzer regards this distribution 

 as indicating that toward the end of Carbonic time there were flat 

 and swampy islands and peninsulas separated by comparatively deep 

 marine bays and straits. This peculiar distribution made it possible 

 for the South American sea to have communication in all directions, 

 but the author wisely adds that the great similarity of these faunas 

 with those of Europe and Asia may be due to a loose identification 

 of the species. 



I Antlitz der Erde, Vol. I, p. 516; Vol. II, p. 317. 



