ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. lxxvii 



southern shores of the Pacific differing from those of the southern 

 shores of the Atlantic, and both from those of the equatorial region 

 of the Antilles, from which fact he deduces the conclusions, that in 

 the same sea, and in connexion with the same continent, different 

 faunae may exist at very small distances from each other ; and further, 

 that Tertiary basins, although different in their faunae, may have been 

 formed simultaneously, just as the material deposits are necessarily 

 widely different in character at localities by no means very remote. 

 Unquestionably the reasoning is good, and equally applicable to the 

 geological deposits of all ages of the world*. 



In his essay on the distribution of the Acetabuliferous Cephalopoda, 

 he states, in reference to their present distribution, that 15 out of 16 

 genera are found in hot countries, 10 in temperate regions, and 6 

 only in cold ; and he also concludes, from his inquiries, that these 

 forms are more complicated as they inhabit hotter regions, and fur- 

 ther, that it is probable the fossil genera lived under a high tempera- 

 ture. Taking account of this view of the subject, it is interesting to 

 observe the other statement of M. D'Orbigny, that the Acetabuliferous 

 Cephalopoda appeared first in the Jurassic formation, when they were 

 represented by the Belemnites and 6 other genera, including the exist- 

 ing genus Sepia and three other living genera, simultaneously with 

 the vast numbers of Ammonites ; that all disappeared except the genus 

 Belemnites in the Cretaceous epoch, being represented, however, by 

 different species ; and that in the Tertiary strata, the Belemnites dis- 

 appeared entirely, being replaced by the genus Sepia appearing for the 

 second time, and the genus Beloptera, which appeared, only to pass 

 rapidly away, as it is no longer a living genus. These are unques- 

 tionably very remarkable facts, and have on the one hand a tendency 

 to support the doctrine which M. D'Orbigny so strongly supports, of 

 the destruction of one creation and the production of another again and 

 again at successive epochs, whilst, on the other, they may induce a 

 pause in the decision of the palaeontologist, as it seems difficult to 

 conceive that any such genera as Sepia, Sepioteuthis, &c, could have 

 been created so far back as the Jurassic age, and then have totally 



* It must not be assumed from my remarks on D'Orbigny's labours in the Fo- 

 raminifera, that I consider him to have arrived at his final results per saltum. 

 Far from it, as in 1826 his object, as so well explained by Ferussac, was simply to 

 separate the microscopical Cephalopoda, as he then considered them to be, from 

 the Siphoniferous genera with which they had been confounded. De Haan had 

 previously" proposed such a separation, and founded upon it his Siphonoides 

 and Asiphonoides ; but D'Orbigny felt that there were other differences, and 

 therefore proposed his more distinctive term Foraminifera. His ' Prodromus,' pub- 

 lished at that time, was founded upon this view of the subject, and remained the 

 standard of classification until Desjardins, in 1835, gave many reasons, deduced 

 from careful observation, for separating the Foraminifera from the Mollusca en- 

 tirely, and forming of them a totally distinct class, to which he gave the name 

 Symplectomeres. Desjardins therefore gave the impulse which has since led to the 

 correct classification of these microscopical but most interesting animals, which 

 have been shown, by the examination of the deep-sea soundings of the Atlantic, 

 to be as active now as in ancient epochs in laying the foundations of future 

 Strata. 



