414 J. S. Lee—An Outline of Chinese Geology. 
waters were deposited the Supra-coal Sandstone of northern China, 
the coal-bearing series of eastern Hu-nan, the Permian gypseous 
deposit of the south-western provinces. Volcanic eruptions broke 
out at least in three or four different centres, namely, north-eastern 
Yun-nan, south-eastern Hu-peh, western Shan-tung, and probably 
in the vicinity of Nan-king. The enormous masses of granite and 
porphyry in south-eastern China, western Su-chuan, and at a number 
of localities in the middle Yang-tze Valley at least partly arrived 
during this period of unrest. 
Owing to the shallow water conditians, the pelagic fauna that had 
flourished during the Middle Permian time was no longer able to 
survive in China. Littoral forms, however, thrived in places. Their 
affinities generally indicate the transition of life from the Paleeozoic 
to the Mesozoic. Following such a change of fauna and a corre- 
sponding change of flora, the Triassic period gradually setin. Apart 
from minor stratigraphical breaks, as indicated by local uncon- 
formities in the south-western provinces, there appear no signs cf 
remarkable earth-movement in China to define the beginning of the 
Mesozoic Era. 
TRIASSIC AND JURASSIC. 
Mesozoic rocks are developed par excellence in the Great Red 
Basin of Su-chuan and in the areas immediately to the south and 
east of it. Elsewhere in China they are only known to occur in 
smaller isolated basins, but are, nevertheless, widely distributed. 
With regard to the Trias, very littleis known in northern China. Hf 
its presence be assumed—we have some reason te do so—its repre- 
sentative must be sought in the upper part of the Supra-coal Sand- 
stone and the similar shallow water or even terrestrial deposits. 
The rocks are usually destitute of fossils. Only two exceptional! 
cases are known: Obrutchov found, near the village of San-shi-li-pu,* 
Shen-si, Danwopsis hughesit (Middle Gondwana) occurring in 
association with representatives of the Glossopteris flora, such as 
Neoggrathiopsis hislopi and Cordaites leaves. Brongniart ? describes 
a flora collected from Tin-kia-po, southern Shan-si, belonging either 
to the Upper Trias or to the Lower Jurassic. 
In contrast to the case of northern China we have in the south- 
western provinces several fossiliferous series of Triassic rocks. 
Information from Kwei-chou and Yun-nan seem to show that the 
Trias is more or less similarly developed throughout a greater part 
of these provinces,® and generally consists of the following three 
conformable series :— 
Upper Trias. © Coal-bearing sandstone followed downwards by soft marls ; 
containing T'rachyceras fasciger, Megaphyllites lantenoisi, Pseudo- 
monotis plicatuloides, Loxonema cf. subornata, Dictyophyllum exrle, 
1 Denkschr. Akad. Wien, vol. Ixx, 1901, pp. 1389-54. 
* Bull. Soc. Géol. France, sér. 111, vol. xxvii, 1899, pp. 499-520. 
3 Deprat, op. cit., pp. 175-219. Leclere, op. cit., pp. 34-5, 38-9. Koken, 
N.J. f. M.G., vol. i, pp. 186-215. 
