20 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. 



On the Paleontology of New Zealand. By Dr. Zittel. 



[Proceed. Imp. G-eol. Instit. Vienna, January 20, 1863.] 



The collection of organic remains brought to Vienna by Prof. 

 Hochstetter is the most considerable that has ever been brought to 

 Europe from this remote part of the globe. It is at present under 

 examination by the Vienna palaeontologists, who are preparing the 

 results of their investigations for publication in the scientific section 

 of the work on the Voyage of the ' Novara.' Prof. linger has under- 

 taken the descriptions of the Plants ; Chev. F. de Hauer will describe 

 the Jurassic Ammonites and Belemnites ; M. Karrer and Dr. Stache 

 have undertaken the Foraminifera ; Dr. Zittel is preparing descrip- 

 tions of the Mollusca and Ecliinodermata (about fifty to sixty species, 

 among which six still exist) ; and Prof. Suess will describe the 

 Brachiopoda. 



The most ancient fossiliferous deposit of New Zealand is a 

 grey wacke -like rock, characterized by the extraordinary abundance 

 of two species of Monotis. One of these — Monotis Richmondiana, 

 Zittel — sometimes constitutes whole strata, and, although greatly 

 resembling the Monotis salinaria of our European Trias, differs 

 essentially from it by its more vaulted shape and by its stronger, 

 less numerous, and more distinct ribs. The second species, Monotis 

 decipiens, Zittel, is rather similar to Halobia Lommeli. Together 

 with these Triassic forms, a species of Spirigera, and other fossils, 

 declared by Prof. M'Coy to be Palaeozoic, occur in this grey wacke. 

 The stratum next in ascending order contains a deeply grooved 

 Belemnite {Belemnites Aucklandicus, Hauer) and a new species of 

 Ammonite {Ammonites Novo-Zelandicus, Hauer), together with a 

 very characteristic Aucella {Aucella plicata, Zittel), a Placunopsis, 

 aiK ! several other bivalves of Jurassic type. 



The succeeding deposits, far more abundant in organic remains, 

 and evidently of Tertiary age, may be brought under two palseontolo- 

 gically distinct groups. The first of these groups offers no traces of 

 any living species, although the genera of Mollusca and Ecliino- 

 dermata met with in it are such as have arrived at their full de- 

 velopment in the present period, or did so in the Tertiary epoch. 

 Among these, Pecten, Ostrea, Hemipatagns, Schizaster, Brissus, and 

 Nucleolites are remarkable for their abundance. Taking into con- 

 sideration the absence of any living forms whatever, we may be 

 justified in correlating this group with the most ancient of our 

 European Tertiaries. The second group, which occurs in a great 

 number of localities on the Southern Island, has a fauna closely 

 allied to that now existing round New Zealand and Australia ; some 

 species (a few of which were determined by Mantell and Eorbes) are 

 identical with recent ones, and the rest belong to genera peculiar to 

 the present period. This fossil fauna is strongly marked with the 

 characteristic features of the present marine fauna of New Zealand, 

 and even genera of most limited range (as Struthiolaria) are repre- 

 sented in it by extinct species. This second group may safely be 

 considered as an equivalent of our European younger Tertiaries. 



[Count M.] 



