446 PROCEEDINGS OF TffE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 21, 



1. Caepolites umbonatus, Sternb. Flora d. Yorwelt : Tent. p. xli, 

 tab. ix. fig. 2. 



Oardiocarjpum umhonatum, Bronn, Leth. Geogn. vol. i, p. 37, tab. 

 viii. fig. 3. 



Ouiliehnites umhonatus, Gein. Leitpflanzen d. perm. Form. p. 19. 



Quercites palceococcus, linger, Jicle specimen in the Bruckmann 

 collection, British Museum. 



2. Gitilielmites peemianus, Gein. Die Leitpflanzen der permisehen 

 Formation, p. 19, tab. ii. fig. 6-9. 



Carpolithes jaermianus, Sehimper, Traite Pal. Veg. vol. ii. p. 226. 



Geinitz established the genus Quilielmites for the reception of 

 these supposed fruits, because of their resemblance to the fruit of 

 Guilielma speciosa, Martins, a palm from Brazil. Sehimper places 

 Cruilielmites permianus among the fruits which he considers to be 

 related to the seeds of Cycadece ; while G. umhonatus is not noticed 

 by him; it may be either rejected as a spurious fossil, uninten- 

 tionally overlooked, or referred to a place in the vegetable kingdom 

 which his valuable work has not yet overtaken. 



There occur not unfrequently in the Stonesfield slate roundish 

 flattened bodies (PI. XIX. figs. 4-7), most frequently exhibiting only 

 the amorphous cast of the organism in which they were originally 

 moulded, and lying loose in the cavity of the matrix, but occasionally 

 inclosed in a dark-coloured polished covering. These have been con- 

 sidered to be fruits ; and they so closely resemble the aspect of the 

 ripe seed of a chestnut that it is not to be wondered that they are 

 always placed amongst vegetable fossils in museums. Some time ago 

 the Rev. P. B. Brodie, F.G.S., was so good as to send me his large col- 

 lection of Stonesfield-slate remains for investigation. I have already 

 described from them an interesting Araucarian cone. There were in 

 his collection several specimens of these round bodies, one with the 

 dark covering entire, and another with it partially removed. Besides 

 these I have examined a large series in the Oxford Museum, and 

 several in the British Museum. The continuous nature of the cover- 

 ing, without any indications of a base or apex, which wordd have 

 been indicated had it been a fruit, or of the hilum, had it been a 

 seed, made me doubt its vegetable nature ; and the uniform thickness 

 and continuity of the covering suggested that these bodies might be 

 eggs. Fortunately the surface yet exhibited sufficient markings to 

 assist in determining whether this was the case or not. After the 

 examination of a considerable series of eggs in the zoological collec- 

 tions of the Museum, I discovered that the sculpturing on the sur- 

 face agreed very closely with that on the eggs of reptiles, and espe- 

 cially those of turtles. This determination was confirmed when I 

 subsequently ascertained that the bony plates of Chelonians were 

 not uncommon in the Stonesfield slate. Besides turtles, however, 

 there occur also in this deposit the remains of Pterodactyles ; and it 

 is not improbable that they may be, as suggested by Mr. Seeley, the 



