248 CATALOGUE OF THE LOCAL FOSSILS IN THE 



to black, but when -weathered is yellowish and finely laminated. 

 It is not fossiliferous in all the known sections, but generally it 

 is so, containing the remains of Plants, Mullusca, Fishes, and 

 Reptiles. 



It is probably a littoral deposit, spread over low-lying 

 estuaries, into which the remains of Freshwater Pishes and Land 

 Reptiles (Proterosaurus), with remains of Plants, have been 

 swept out by rivers and deposited, with a few marine shells, 

 such as Lingula, Distinct, and Myalina living on the coast, and 

 the shells of Nautilus washed in upon the shore. The Pishes 

 seem to be more numerously deposited along a central line of 

 the Marl-slate than spread through the entire thickness. On 

 one or two occasions stems of trees or fossil wood, 14 or 15 feet 

 in length, have been found in the Marl-slate, but so completely 

 carbonized and imperfectly preserved that no structure could be 

 made out. The following organisms have been found in our 

 own district, in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham: — 



PLANTS. PLANTS. 



Name and Locality. Eeference. 



Chondrites virgatus, Milnster. Dyas PL 24, f. 5. 

 Loc. — "Westoe, near South Shields. 



Zonarites digitatus, Brongt. Dyas, PL 26, f. 1-3. 



Loc. — Midderidge, near Bp. Auckland. Hist.Veg.Foss.,P1.9,f.l. 



Zonarites, var. elegans. M.S. 

 Loc. — Midderidge. 



Calamites, sp. (stem) cf. C. Cistii, Brongt. 



Loc. — Cullercoats. 



Calamites, sp. (foliage) cl.Asterojph.spicatafiuth. 



Loc. — Cullercoats. 



Tseniopteris Duffiana, n.s. cf. T. Echarclti, Germar. 



Loc. — Midderidge. 



Ctenis Permiana, n.s. cf. with Ctenis falcata. 



Loc. — Midderidge. 



