Vol. 68.] PALisONTOLOGY OF THE WARWICKSHIRE COALFIELD. 601 



prevailing tint of these rocks ; but this is diversified by a peculiar 

 spotting ^ and veining with green which affects both the sandstones 

 and the marls, and occurs most commonly either in the beds 

 containing rain-prints and sun-cracks or else along joints and 

 fissnres. On the whole, the rocks are rather soft ; but, throughout 

 the group, very hard, thin, calcareous beds of sandstone occur, which 

 towards the base are grey in colour and alternate with the red 

 beds. 



The Keele Beds occupy the whole of the area between the 

 outcrop of a persistent bed of Spirorhis Limestone, which has been 

 taken as the base of this sub-group, and the outcrop of Corley 

 Conglomerate which forms the base of the Permian. 



The most striking and characteristic feature of the Keele Beds 

 is the occurrence therein of the Spirorhis Limestones described 

 below. A thin bed of limestone containing Spirorbis has long been 

 known to occur in the Warwickshire Coalfield ; and, by means of the 

 numerous old workings in it, Mr. H. H. Howell was able, fifty 

 years ago, to lay down the line of outcrop on the Geological Survey 

 maps. The position of this bed was supposed to be in the Productive 

 Coal Measures at about 50 feet below the base of the Permian 

 rocks. As the true relationship of the Carboniferous to the Permian 

 was not at that time fully understood, there was a tendency to refer 

 every exposure of limestone to the outcrop of one bed, and the 

 finding of Spirorhis therein was regarded as sufiicient confirmation 

 of that opinion. 



It has since been pointed out by the late Mr. C. Fox-Strangways 

 (00) that, near Baxterley, there are apparently two beds of lime- 

 stone ; but it is not certain whether this double outcrop is caused 

 by two distinct beds, or whether it is to be regarded as a repetition 

 of the same bed by a fault or roll of the strata. 



Mr. Howell's statement (1859, pp. 28, 29) as to the occurrence of 

 a limestone near the Hall, Nether Whitacre, has recently been 

 confirmed by Mr. T. C. Can trill (09), who has also detected another 

 isolated exposure of limestone, 5 miles farther south, at Maxstoke. 

 Both these outcrops are by that author considered to be, not in the 

 Coal Measures, but in the Permian. 



During the re-survey for the purpose of this paper, conclusive 

 evidence has been obtained to show that there are in the Upper 

 Coal Measures of this area, not merely a single bed of limestone, 

 but many different beds distributed throughout about 1500 feet 

 of strata. Although these beds are so thin, being often only 

 a few inches thick, and rarely exceeding 3 feet, four of them 

 are somewhat persistent ; but all are constant in lithological and 

 palaeontological characteristics. 



An examination of hand-specimens shows the rocks to be hard 

 limestones of very fine-grained texture, varying in colour from 



1 The green disc-like spots, which often have a black nucleus, are not 

 confined to the Keele Beds ; they are common in the Permian, and also in the 

 red Keuper Marls near Leamington. 



