BRANNEK: THE STONE KEEFS OF BRAZIL. 11 



In 1886 Cope described vertebrate fossils from Bahia.^ One of these 

 — a fish, DipJomystus — had not hitherto been known below the Greeu 

 Eiver Eocene of ^orth America, but has since been found in the Creta- 

 ceous of Lebanon, Syria, and now living in the rivers of Chili and in 

 New Zealand. A mammal, Toxodon expansidens, from the northeastern 

 part of the State of Bahia, is set down by him without question as of 

 Pliocene age, but this without doubt comes from beds other than those 

 referred to the Cretaceous. 



In 1887 Dr. C. A. White's great work on Brazilian fossils was pub- 

 lished.^ The Bahia basin is there set down as Cretaceous. In review- 

 ing the palaeontologic evidence bearing upon this subject. Dr. Wliite 

 says that only eleven species of mollusks are known from the Bahia 

 beds, and he makes this important observation (page 233) : " All the 

 types which this fauna emh'aces, so far as they are determinable, are 

 represented among mollusks now liviiig." 



In 1888 Dr. A. Smith Woodward published notes on fossils from 

 these beds,^ in which he mentions the occurrence of Diplomystus longi- 

 costatus Cope ; Chiromystus mawsoni Cope ; Lepidotus mawsoni Wood- 

 ward ; Acrodus nitidus Woodward. 



In 1891 Dr. Woodward published evidence ^ of the occurrence of 

 ■Pterosaurians and Plesiosaurians in the Bahia beds. In 1895 he de- 

 scribed two species of Diplomystus irom. the same basin ;^ in 1896 he 

 described from there a Pterodactyle bone,® and in 1902 he described 

 Megalurus mawsoni from the Bahia beds.'' 



Of these vertebrate fossils reported by Dr. Woodward, the Pterosau- 

 rians suggest that the beds are either Jurassic or Cretaceous ; the Plesio- 

 saurians suggest that they are Jurassic ; the Diplomystus suggests that 

 they may be anywhere from Cretaceous to recent ; the Pterodactyle 

 suggest that they are certainly Cretaceous or older ; and the Megalurus 

 that they are Upper Jurassic. 



Conclusion regarding the Bahia beds. — The papers by Dr. Woodward 

 afford the latest and by far the most conclusive palaeontologic evidence 



1 E. D. Cope, A contribution to the vertebrate paleontology of Brazil. Proc. 

 Amer. Phil. Soc, 1886, XXIII., p. 1-21. 



2 Contribui9oes a Paleontologia do Brazil. Archivos do Museii Nacional, VII. 

 Rio de Janeiro, 1887. 



3 A. Smith Woodward, Notes on some vertebrate fossils from the province of 

 Bahia, collected by Joseph Mawson. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, II., p. 132-136. 

 London, 1888. 



* Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, VIII., p. 314-317. 5 Op.cit., ser. 6, XV., p. 1-3. 

 6 Op. at., ser. 6, XVII., p. 255-257. ^ Op. cit., ser. 7, IX., p. 87-89. 



