﻿Yol. 66.] DERBYSHIRE AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COALFIELD. 341 



Distribution of Fayolia, Vetacapsula, and Palceoxyris 

 in time. 



The geims Fayolia has been found as Spiralis major, Newberry, 

 in the Chemung Group of the State of New York, and as Sp. randalli, 

 Newberry, in the same rocks in Pennsylvania. Stainier 1 describes 

 Sp. interstrialis from the celebrated quarries of Isne-Sauvage (near 

 the village of Les Isnes), opened up in the Upper Devonian 

 (Psammites du Condroz). He correlates the beds from which the 

 Belgian specimen was derived with those of Pennsylvania and the 

 State of New York, as they both contain the same fauna. He thus 

 states that the ' schistes de La Fameune ' are absolutely identical 

 with the Chemung Series. The genus, therefore, first appears in the 

 Upper Devonian strata. 



Weiss' s Fayolia sterzeliana was obtained from the Ebersdorfer 

 Beds in the German Culm, which is equivalent to the Lower Car- 

 boniferous or Dinantian Series. The Darlington specimen, Fayolia 

 dentata, Seward, was found in the Lower Coal-Measure sandstones 

 (Woodward) of Barnard Castle, while the Shipley specimens 

 came from the Middle Coal Measures in the neighbourhood of the 

 Top Hard Coal (Barnsley Coal of Yorkshire) : both these horizons 

 being comprised in the Westphalian division of the Carboniferous 

 Period. The Commentry species were found in the beds above 

 * La Grande Couche,' but especially in the Tranchee de Foret, 26 to 

 33 feet above that well-known coal-seam : these measures are 

 of late Stephanian age. 2 The most recent specimen found up to 

 now is Fayolia palatina (Weiss), 3 discovered in the Lebacher 

 Beds of the Lower Permian. There is, however, a Spiraxis 

 bivalvis, Ward, 4 noted from the Laramie Group (Upper Cretaceous) 

 of Clear Creek (Montana), U.S.A. No description is given, but, 

 from the figure, the specimen appears to be too imperfect for satis- 

 factory determination ; and it would be unwise to extend the range 

 of the genus to so great an extent on such insufficient evidence. 



Of the genus Vetacapsula no record of its discovery out of England 

 has so far been obtained. The British Museum (Natural History) 

 possesses three examples from near Dudley, including Mackie's 

 type-specimen, and one from Coalbrookdale. The Museum of 

 Practical Geology, Jermyn Street, possesses two specimens from 

 Coalbrookdale : all, therefore, having been obtained from the Middle 

 Coal Measures. Dr. Kidston's specimen comes from the lower beds 

 of the Middle Coal Measures of Lancashire, and the Newthorpe 

 example from the upper beds of the same Measures in Nottingham- 

 shire. All these organisms, therefore, have been found in the 

 Westphalian division of the Carboniferous Period. 



1 Bull. Soc. beige G6ol. vol. viii (1894) Mem. p. 23 (fig.). 



2 W. Gibson, < Geology of Coal & Coal-mining ' 1908, p. 247. 



3 ' Steinkohlen-Calamarien ' vol. ii (1884) p. 152 & pi. iv, figs. 3-4. 



4 ' Synopsis of the Flora of the Laramie Group ' 6th Ann. Eep. U.S. Geol 

 Surv. (1884-85) p. 549 & pi. xxxi, fig. 3. 



