88 PROCEEDINGS OP THE WASHINGTON MEETING 



in certain of the shales and sandstones, and again marine or brackish-water 

 fossils in other beds, indicates that these conditions at times gave place to 

 others of a very different character. 



The Dunkard series as a whole is not very fossiliferous ; in fact, it is almost 

 as barren of the identifiable traces of life as it is of the workable coal seams, 

 which originally suggested the term "Upper Barren Measures" for this deposit. 

 In addition to the occasional plant fragment that may be found in almost any 

 part of the series, there are certain rather well defined horizons in the Ohio 

 Dunkard which have yielded important fossils. Plants are, of course, of first 

 importance. Their remains are occasionally to be found in the roof shales of 

 any of the coal seams or even in beds of argillaceous shale and sandstone. 

 Almost any outcrop of limestone may be found to contain small fresh-water 

 gastropods and ostra codes. The Middle and Upper Washington limestones 

 often contain fish plates and teeth, some of which are referable to sharks, and 

 are therefore probably marine. A Lingula occurs in the shales associated with 

 the Washington coal. The lowest shales of the series are sometimes a black 

 carbonaceous mass associated with a hard limestone, and these beds contain 

 scales, teeth, and coprolites, all of which are probably fish remains. The most 

 important find of the whole fossil collection, however, was made in the red 

 shales of the Washington formation in the vicinity of Elba and Marietta. At 

 the former of these places, near the base of the Dunkard, amphibian coprolites 

 were found in relative abundance. These are remarkably similar to those 

 found in the Termian of the Western States. At the latter place, during the 

 past summer, fragments of a neural spine of Edaphosaurus were found in the 

 sandstones associated with the red shales just above the Lower Marietta sand- 

 stone. The remains of this reptile have never before been found in the United 

 States outside of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The importance of this 

 find must be very evident, since it agrees with the earlier conclusions drawn 

 from identifications of the Dunkard flora and proves the age of the Dunkard 

 to be identical with the Permian or Permocarboniferous of Texas. After hav- 

 ing seen the whole vertebrate collection, Dr. S. W. Williston says that "of the 

 fishes I recognize teeth like those of Diplodus from the Texas Permian, -but 

 this type runs through the Pennsylvanian and is not characteristic. The 

 Elasmobranch spine is unlike any that I have seen in Texas. The coprolites 

 can not be distinguished from those commonly found in Texas and New 

 Mexico. . . . The Edaphosaurus spine is unquestionable, small as it is. 

 The range of the family in Texas is both Wichita and Clear Fork. It occurs 

 in New Mexico in the El Cobre beds, which the accumulated evidence now 

 places as the equivalent of the lower Texas beds (Wichita). . . . In Europe 

 Edaphosaurus occurs in the uppermost Carboniferous of Kuonova and the 

 Rothliegende of Saxony." 3 



In view of this evidence of the Vertebrate fossils, there can be no doubt 

 that the lower portion of the Dunkard series is the .equivalent of the lower 

 Texas beds (Wichita) which overlies the Cisco, and that in all probability 

 both beds are Permian. 



Presented in abstract extemporaneously. 

 Brief remarks were made by Prof. A. C. Lane. 



3 Letter of December 15, 1915. 



