PALÉOZOOLOGIE ET PALEOPHYTOLOGIË 139 



Dîckerson, Roy E., Review of Philippine Paleontology, Phil. Jour. Sci., 

 vol. XX — 1922 — pp. 195-229, pis. 1-16. 



In the paper the writer recognizes the présence of Mesozoic rocks of pro- 

 bable .Jurassic âge ; upper or middle Miocène, the Vigo group ; Pliocène, the 

 Malumbang and Banisilan Formations ; and Coralline limestones on terraçes 

 of Pleistocene âge. Contrary to former reports he shows that Eocene is 

 absent from reported localities and states, that no Eocene strata are known 

 in the Philippine Archipelago in contrast to the Eocene of Formosa on the 

 north and of the East Indies to the south. The Vigo group is faunally cha- 

 racterized by an inshore or strictly littoral faciès whose most représentative 

 fossil is the snail, Vicarya callosa .Jenkins and by a somewhat deeper water 

 faciès, the Lepidocydina limestone. Concerning the fauna of the Vigo group 

 the writer states that « In the above list about 75 per cent of the specifi- 

 cally determined forms are living species, an astonishing percentage when 

 the géologie history of the région yielding thèse forms is considered. The 

 extinct forms are practically ail common to the upper Miocène of Java 

 according to K. Martin, and they are practically ail highly organized species. 

 Such highly developed species are particularly fitted to their surroundings, 

 and a slight change in life conditions might cause the extinction of the spe- 

 cies or bring about a spécifie change. As was noted above, the percentage 

 of récent species is remarkably high, and it is the writer's conclusion from a 

 detailed study of the subject that the évolution of marine molluscan faunas 

 in the Tropics is far slower than in the Temperate Zones. On this account 

 the same « yard-stick » in the Tertiary geological time scale cannot be 

 applied in both tropical and temperate régions. » This same condition is 

 also évident when the Pliocène faunas were studied. 



In conclusion, « Much work remains to be done upon the paleontology of 

 the Philippines. Spécial effort should be made to search the older rocks 

 more thoroughly for Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossils, and far larger collections 

 from the Tertiary should be made than are now available. Especial atten- 

 tion should be paid to the study of the Tertiary, Pleistocene, and Récent 

 corals in this inviting field for research. The lack of well-authenticated ver- 

 tébrale fossils is noteworthy ; and any remains of vertébrales, such as those 

 belonging to the horse and éléphant familles, would be very valuable in 

 fixing in a more definite manner the tentative âge corrélations now set forth. 

 Careful studies of the distribution of plants and animais such as Mr. E. D. 

 Merrill, director and botanist of the Bureau of Science, and Mr. R. G. Me 

 Gregor, ornithologist of the same institution, are now carrying on in their 

 respective lines will greatly aid in checking conclusions concerning the geo- 

 logy, paleontology, and paleogeography of the Philippines. 



Aiithor's abstracl. 



Schuehert, Gharles, Methods of determining the relationships of 

 Marina invertebrata fossil faunas — 1921 — Bull. Geol. Soc. of 

 Amer., t. 32, pp. 339-348. 



La question qui se pose est la suivante : comment arrive-t-on à reconnaître 

 qu'une faune fossile est Pacifique, Atlantique, Arctique ou Australe ? Par 



