TERTIARY MAMMAL HORIZONS. 17 



8. Upper Eocene, Ligurien 



The summit of the French Eocene is characterized geograph- 

 ically by the recession of the northern gulf on its western 

 borders and by numerous small freshwater lake and river de- 

 posits in the south and southwest of France, in Switzerland, and 

 on the German border (Canu, '95, Plate 44). 



In the Paris Basin, made famous by the classic researches of 

 Cuvier and Brogniart, is the Gypsc dc Montinartrc (55 metres) 

 partly marine, partly lacustrine ; at its summit are 20 metres of 

 gypsum which contain most of the mammals described by 

 Cuvier. Above are the lacustrine Manics dc Paiitiii. 



Parallel with the Gypsc are the rich Lignites dc la Dcbmge 

 (Vaucluse, 2 metres). 



Parallel with the Gypsc in the South are the beds of St. Hip- 

 poly tc dc Catoji (Gard) recently described by Deperet ; of 

 Castlcnatidry (Aude) ; of La? i tree (Tarn) described by Noulet 

 ('63) also by Gervais ('69). 



There are also the lacustrine limestones of Carcassonne, near 

 the Pyrenees, and the localities Mas-Saintes-Pjuiles and Villen- 

 eitvc-la-Comptai, Castres. To the west in Germany are the fis- 

 sure deposits or BoJinerzcn of HcidcnJieiin (Mittelfranken) 67;;/, 

 PappcnJicini, Fronstetten ^ (Swabian Alps), Siginaringcn ; to the 

 south the older fissure deposits of the PhospJiorites dii Qiicrcyy 

 and the fissures of Egerkingen and Lissieii. 



This period contrasts with all its predecessors by the superbly 

 full fauna which it contains ; we feel for the first time that the 

 fossil record is approximately representative of the living fauna. 

 It is greatly enriched by the composite parallel faunae of the 

 Sidirolithique de Matireinont and the newer portions of the com- 

 posite faunae of Egerkingen and Lissieu. 



Lautrec, undoubtedly Upper Eocene, contains a very large 

 LopJuodon, L. laiitricciisc of especial interest, because it is ap- 

 parently the last of its race. It is probable that the large Lo- 

 phiodon of Hcidejihcim, with complex premolars, is related to 

 the Lautrec type. In the Heidenheim specimen the second and 



1 Fronstetten fauna described by Jager, Fraas, Quenstedt and v. Meyer. 

 Annals N. Y. Acad. Sci., XIII, July 19, 1900 — 2 



