JReviews — Prof. A. von Koenen — N. German Oligocene. 325 



lost their lives, fifteen thousand were wounded, and one hundred 

 thousand houses were levelled with the plain, whilst almost every 

 building in the Meozoseismal area was shattered. From the effects 

 that have been produced upon huge engineering structures we must 

 conclude that the earth-movements in Mino at the time of the great 

 earthquake were at least equal to any movements recorded in the 

 annals of seismology." 



A glance at the fine series of plates, reproduced from actual 

 photographs (all executed in Japan by native artists), conveys a 

 wonderful and realistic idea of the destruction wrought by this 

 earth-movement on the works of man, and one can more easily 

 realise what would be the effect of even a slight earth-movement to 

 such a city as London with its thousands of houses, crowded upon 

 one comparatively small area, and its vast and complex system of 

 drainage, and gas and water-mains, to say nothing of its under- 

 ground railways burrowing even beneath the Thames ! How thank- 

 ful ought we to be to the Japanese Government who have, by their 

 earnest efforts to do honour to Prof. Milne, succeeded in detaining 

 him upon their hospitable, though tremulous, shores ; for had he 

 decided to pay the same careful attention to the seismology of this 

 country, our lives would have been passed in a continual state of 

 anxious unrest, hoping for the best, yet fearing the worst continually. 

 H. W. 



II, — Das Norddeutsche Unter-Oligocan und seine Mollusken- 

 Fauna, Von A., von Koenen. Lieferung III. (Abh. Geol. 

 Specialkarte v. Preuss. u. d. Thiiringischen Staaten, Band X. 

 Heft. 3, Berlin, 1891.) 



THE third part of this valuable work on the Mollusca of the 

 Lower Oligocene beds of Northern Germany is devoted exclu- 

 sively to the consideration of the Naticidee, Pyramidellidae, EulimidEe, 

 Cerithidse, and Turritellidge. 



Of the Naticidae, Professor von Koenen recognizes four genera — 

 Natica, Naticina, Ampnllina, and Sigaretiis. 



The Pyramidellid^ mentioned include the genera Syrnola, Euli- 

 mella, Odontostoma, and Turbonilla. It has recently been shown 

 that Syrnola, A. Adams, 1862, is synonymous with Obeliscus, 

 Humphrey, 1797, and the latter name, therefore, is to be preferred. 



The Eulimidee described comprise the genera Eulima and Niso. 



The Cerithidas occupy a large section of the work, and the peculiar 

 manner in which the author has dealt with this portion of his 

 subject is worthy of note. He recognizes the fact that the genus 

 Cerithium, as usually understood by the older malacologists, includes 

 a variety of diverse forms, many of which have but little in common 

 with the type of the genus, and, years since, were separated from it 

 as being distinct genera ; yet he calls them all Cerithium. Of these, 

 Bittium, Cerithiopsis, and Lovenella occur in the beds in question. 

 The author seems to be quite aware of the existence of these newer 

 generic names, and groups the species together accordingly. Thus, 



