348 
him. No fossils, however, were found in them by him, and he 
classed them as the uppermost members of the Silurian age, 
provisionally as follows. (See p. 29, ‘‘ Proceedings Royal 
Society of Tasmania, 1866.”) 
1. Fingal Beds......Clay-slates, sand-stones, and grits. 
Mudstones | Calymene, i Thin quartz 
2. Hidon Valley} and Orthis, reeis not 
Clay-slates. | Cardiola, ete | abundant. 
Limestones 
Slates 
3. Gordon Beds Limestones 
Conglomerates 
Quartzose Sandstone 
It is singular thatina piece of the uppermost clay-slates 
sent to me some years ago, I discovered a very well 
preserved species of Anodonta, on breaking up _ the 
specimen, also fragmentary impressions of the bark of 
some forms of vegetation. The species of Anodonta (which 
I shall for reference sake here call A. Gouldii, in honour of 
Mr. Charles Gould, who, perhaps, more than other person, 
contributed to our knowledge of the earlier rocks of 
Tasmania) is almost identical with the well known Anodonta 
Jukesii, one of the most characteristic fossils, if not the only 
fresh-water lammelibranch of the Lower Devonian rocks of 
Treland. 
The organisms, therefore, point clearly to a fresh-water 
origin, and the stratigraphical break above and below, also 
falls exactly into the position of Devonian rocks, as defined 
by Jukes in the following terms (p. 491, “ Text Book’) :— 
“ All rocks which were formed after the uppermost of those 
which can be called Silurian, and before the lowest of any 
which can be called Carboniferous, may be classed as Devonian 
rocks, and looked upon as records of Devonian time.” ‘The 
Upper Fingal clay and arenacious slates exactly fit into this 
definition, and the fresh-water organisms, A. Gouldii, and the 
vegetable impression strongly incline me to regard these 
slates as Devonian. 
Here stratigraphy and paleontology are in harmony. The 
evidences collected by me from various parts of the island, 
respecting the sequence of the Carboniferous rocks of 'Tas- 
mania, are so numerous that it would be beyond the purposes 
of this sketch to attempt to cite them in detail. 
The characteristic rocks of the Carboniferous System in 
Australia and Tasmania consist primarily of thin regular 
bands of siliceous conglomerates, blue slaty shales, limestones, 
argillo-caleareous and argillo-arenaceous rocks of a yellow or 
white appearance, with intercalated bands near its uppermost 
