branner: the stone reefs of brazil. 13 



suspect that Dinosaurs lived later in South America than elsewhere. 

 (See Proc. Zool. Soc, 1901, I. 182.)" 



The age of other coast sediments. — The above conclusions are based 

 upon materials from the Bahia basin. How far they are applicable to 

 the other regions, — that is, to the Pernambuco, Parahyba do Norte, and 

 Para regions, — hitherto set down as Cretaceous, it is not possible at 

 present to say. Some of the Bahia beds are of fresh or brackish water 

 origin; it is therefore difficult to correlate them with marine beds in 

 distant parts of the country, and it is necessary to consider separately 

 the evidence found outside of the Bahia basin. 



As has already been pointed out, Olfers called all these coast sedi- 

 ments Tertiary, but he says nothing of palaeontologic evidence. In 1836 

 Darwin examined the sedimentary beds near Pernambuco and speaks of 

 them as Tertiary,^ but he says that he looked in vain for organic remains 

 in them. 



In 1846 George Gardner considered the sedimentary beds at Rio 

 Formoso on the Pernambuco coast to be Cretaceous like those of the 

 interior of Ceara,*^ but as he reported no fossils from them no importance 

 was attached to his opinion. 



Fossils have now been found in the coast sediments (outside of the 

 Sergipe and Bahia basins) at the following places : Olinda (Hartt, 

 Branner), Maria Farinha (Hartt, Derby, Branner), Itamaraca (Branner), 

 Ponta de Pedras (Branner), Parahyba do JSTorte (Capanema, Agassiz, 

 Sumner), Jacuma (Branner) ; in the State of Rio Grande do Norte at 

 Mossoro (1) and Apody ; and also at Pirabas (Penna) in the State of Para. 

 In addition to these stations fossils have likewise been found at a few 

 points in the interior of Parahyba do Norte and of Rio Grande do Norte. ^ 



In 1859 the " Commisao Scientifica" of Brazil touched at Parahyba 

 and Barao de Capanema says : " A badly preserved crinoid leads me to 

 suppose that the rock belongs to the Cretaceous." * 



In April, 1867, E. Williamson read before the Manchester Geological 

 Society a paper upon the geology of Parahyba and Pernambuco,^ in 



1 Charles Darwin, Geological observations, 2 ed. London, 1876, p. 193. 



2 George Gardner. Travels in the interior of Brazil, p. 103-104. London, 

 1846. Rio Formoso is not specifically mentioned by Gardner, but his observations 

 regarding the locality and his notes upon the voyage leave but little doubt about 

 tliat being the place referred to. 



8 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., XIII., p. 56-57. 



* Trabalhos da Commissao Scientifica de Explorafao I Sec9ao Geologica, p. 

 CXXII. Rio de Janeiro, 1862. 



^ E. "Williamson, Geology of Parahyba and Pernambuco gold regions. Trana. 

 Manchester Geol. Soc. 1866-67. VL, p. 11.3-122. 



