99 



ON SOME 



New Corals from the Australian 

 Tertiaries. 



By the Ret. J. E. Tenison Woods, F.G.S., F.L.S., President 

 of Lin. Soc, N.S."W\ ; Hon. Member. 



[Bead July 6, 1880.] 



I propose to describe in this paper three new fossil corals. 

 The first two were sent to me by Professor Tate, and are those 

 referred to by him in his paper on the " Natural History of 

 the Country around the Head of the Great Australian Bight " 

 (Trans. Phil. Soc, Adelaide, 1879), at p. 107, in the following 

 terms : — " Mr. J. Clark, telegraph-master at Eucla, has pre- 

 sented to me a few fossils and stones picked up by him on the 

 surface [of the Bunda Plateau] at Pairlie's last camp, 80 miles 

 N.N.E. from Eucla. The fossils* are undoubtedly older Ter- 

 tiary, and though their tests are calcedonized and deeply 

 stained with oxide of iron, yet as the matrix is a yellow 

 crystalline limestone, I would refer them to the horizon of the 

 upper bed of the Bunda Cliffs." This deposit he correlates 

 with the upper set of fossiliferous beds of the P. Murray 

 Cliffs, and with the Muddy Creek Miocene strata. 



It will be seen from the following remarks that both the 

 species are decidedly tropical in aspect. One belongs to a 

 genus which is only known in the tropics ; and whilst the other- 

 has representatives in the temperate seas of Australia, yet none 

 of the existing species are of such a large size, and none of the 

 forms peculiar to the temperate seas are in any way similar. 

 These fossils form another link in the chain of evidence as to 

 the semi-tropical character of the fauna of our Tertiary seas. 

 They are certainly to be ranked as amongst the most interesting 

 discoveries made, though the whole of our radiate Tertiary 

 fauna is replete with features of interest and novelty. 



In the section of tabular Madreporaria there are four 

 families — two with great development of coenenchyma (Mille- 

 porida? and Seriatoporida?) and two with little or none (Pavosi- 

 tid?e and Thecida?) . The Milleporidae have a tabular f oliaceous 

 or massive coenenchyma, and the Seriatoporidse have the same 

 structure compact ; there are four genera in the latter : — 



* The species are — Cerithium Nullarboricum, Tate ; Plesiastrcea, sp., and. 

 Seriatopora, sp. 



