1853.] BRODIE FOSSIL TERTIARY INSECTS. 53 



3. On the Occurrence of the Remains of Insects in the Ter- 

 tiary Clays of Dorsetshire. By the Rev. P. B. Brodie, 

 M.A., F.G.S. 



The Tertiary strata of sands and clays at Corfe in Dorsetshire, which 

 have been for some time knovrn to contain a numerous and interesting 

 flora, have afforded a large collection of remains of plants, chiefly 

 dicotyledonous leaves, to the researches of my cousin, W. R. Brodie, 

 Esq., and my friend, the Rev. G. H. Austen. In addition to the plants, 

 the former discovered a few small elytra of Coleopterous Insects 

 which belong to the families Curculionidoi and Buprestida. Mr. 

 Westwood, who has kindly examined them, states that they belong to 

 the ordinary types of the existing fauna*. This discovery is the more 

 interesting on account of the extreme rarity of any relics of Insects 

 in our British Tertiaries ; and it appears to be their first occurrence 

 in this portion of the series, although Dr. Mantell, iu his ' Geology of 

 the Isle of Wight,' mentions that Mr. Webster had observed traces 

 of Insects in the London Clay near Parkhurstf, but no description or 

 figures are given. It should be observed that the Curculionideous 

 elytron was obtained two or three feet below the leaf-bed, where 

 leaves are comparatively scarce, but the other elytra were associated 

 •with the plants. 



Mr. Prestwich informs me that he considers the Corfe clays and 

 sands to belong, probably, to the lower part of the " Bagshot Sand," 

 but he does not feel quite confident as to their true position, which is 

 rendered the more difficult to determine, from the apparent absence 

 of the London and Mottled Clays in that district. The following 

 section, in descending order, of one of the numerous clay-pits which 

 are opened between Corfe and Wareham, is given in the Rev. Mr. 

 Austen's valuable monograph on " the Geology of the Isle of Purbeck 

 and the South-west Coast of Hampshire J " : — 



feet. 



Bed of lignite, about 10 



Grey clay with carbonized leaves 2 



Yellow sandy clay with leaves 2 



Ferruginous band, a few inches. 



White sand, about 30 



Pipe-clay 11 to 14 



Total. . 58 



Many varieties of leaves have been obtained from this pit, especially 

 one very fine specimen belonging to a plant, apparently allied to the 

 Date-palm, and others belonging to several species of Willows. The 

 leaves are often of large size, and in a beautiful state of preservation, 



* These interesting Insect-remains will be figured and described at some future 

 opportunity. 



t Geology of the Isle of Wight, p. 140. 

 % Pamphlet, 8vo. Blandford, 1852. 



