408 ' PROCEEDINGS OP THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, [April 26, 



conclusion, a few general remarks will, I believe, be of some interest 

 to European palseontologists, although I hope to be soon in a position 

 to bring all the details of the fauna before the scientific public*. 

 My remarks cannot of course extend beyond those conclusions which 

 have resulted from an examination of the Cephalopoda alone. The 

 examination of the entire fauna will undoubtedly give more decisive 

 proofs, but this cannot be expected for many years to come. 



As regards the number and variety of species, the fauna of the 

 South-Indian Cretaceous rocks is equal to any of the European 

 local faunas. In its general aspect it is truly Cretaceous, inasmuch 

 as all the characteristic European genera are well represented. In 

 its special character it agrees mostly with the fauna of the Middle 

 Cretaceous deposits in Europe, as has been previously noticed by 

 several observers. "With regard to the different groups, their respect- 

 ive definition and age, a few detailed remarks wiU show how far 

 these general conclusions are confirmed by a special examination of 

 the Cephalopoda. For this purpose it is desirable to know, first, 

 whether the fauna offers any special distinguishable characters with 

 reference to the established groups in South India, and secondly, 

 what relation do these fossils show to known species in Europe or in 

 other parts of the world, whence they have been examined and 

 reported upon. 



The entire fauna of the Cephalopoda, as far as it is at present 

 known, consists of 148 species, of which there are 3 Belemnites, 22 

 Nautili, 93 Ammonites, 3 Scaphites, 11 Anisoceras, 1 Helicoeeras, 6 

 Turrilites, 2 Samites, 1 Hamulina, 3 Ptychoceras, and 3 Bacidites. 

 Considering the Ootatoor and Valudayur groups as one, namely the 

 lower, the Trichinopoly as the middle, and the Arrialoor as the upper, 

 we have to note the following distributon of the species : — 



By far the greatest number of the Cephalopoda belong to the 

 lowest series, which contains 98 species; 10 species occur in the 

 middle, and 19 species in the upper. The lower and middle have 4 

 species in common, the lower and upper 7, the middle and upper 6, 

 and only 3 species occur throughout all the three divisions. Each 

 of the groups has therefore a certain number of species peculiar, and 

 comparatively few occur in two or three groups at the same time. 

 In the middle division only the number, of species in common with 

 the lower and upper groups is equal to those species which are ex- 

 clusively confined to this group. However, it will be seen from 

 Mr. H. F. Blanford's report, that the separation of the Trichinopoly 

 group has been left in a few places conjectural with regard to the 

 boundary of the Ootatoor, and in a few instances even to that of the 

 Arrialoor group. Seeing the smaU number of Cephalopoda which 

 the middle and upper groups have yielded, and the uncertainty of 

 their stratigraphieal and geographical extent, it wiU be best for the 

 present not to take these numbers as strictly correct, because they 



* Six parts of the third series of the ' Pala^ontologia Indica ' have appeared, 

 and the rest, concluding the Cephalopoda, will be (if no unexpected difficulties 

 in printing occur) in the hands of the public in the beginning of next year 

 (1866). 



