Strata of the Islands of Seeland and Moen. 249 



chalk than the stone of Faxoe. Even those parts of the stone which are most 

 compact often exhibit under the lens evident marks of coralline structure, and 

 they are traversed by vermiform cavities*. 



Fig. 4. Fig. 5. 



CaryophylUa Faxoensis, Beck. Coral allied to his, from the Limestone of Faxoe. 



The shells in the Faxoe limestone are in the state of casts. Dr. Beck has 

 drawn up a list of the fossils found in the chalk of Denmark, and in the Faxoe 

 limestone^ which it is to be hoped he will soon publish^ accompanied by a 

 description and figures of the new species. In the meantime, he has liberally 

 permitted me to consult his lists, and I shall now endeavour to point out some 

 of the geological conclusions, which seem, to me, to be fairly deducible from 

 the result of his examination of several hundred fossils. 



The most striking circumstance respecting them as strictly belonging to 

 the cretaceous era, is the great number of spiral univalves, which it is well 

 known are exceedingly rare in the white chalk throughout Europe. Thus, 

 for example, there are two species of Cypraeaf, one of Oliva, two of Mitra, 



* These cavities, Mr. Darwin thinks, are bored by Annelidas, and they are so common in the 

 limestone of modern reefs, that he has assigned them as a general characteristic in the structure 

 of recent coral limestone. The same gentleman tells me, that the Faxoe stone resembles that 

 formed in shoal water on modern reefs, and he believes that some of it may have originated at the 

 surface. 



t One of these is figured in Plate XVIII. figs. 1, 2, 3. 

 VOL. V. SECOND SERIES. 2 K 



