E. F. TOMES OX THE GEEAT-OOLITE MADEEPOEAEIA. 



171 



ately upon the Stonesfield slate. The specimens are not here nume- 

 rous either as species or individuals. 



Another and a very instructive coralline deposit in the Great 

 Oolite may be seen and examined in the railway-cutting near to 

 Stonesfield. This is no doubt the section mentioned by the late 

 Prof. Phillips as having, " for short distances, bands of coral and 

 nests of Nerinoea and other shells, but rarely any approach to ' coral- 

 reef,' or extended shell-bed "*. A diligent search for corals in this 

 cutting, however, has been the means of discovering a rich coral-bed. 

 the position of which, as well as the species it contains, is shown in 

 the following section : — 



ft. in. 



1. Shattered oolitic stone with surface- 



soil on the top 6 



2. Whitish shale and clay containing 



nodular layers of stone 5 



3. Oolitic stone in layers, separated by 



thin heds of soft shale 10 



4. Dense oolitic stone, very light in colour 2 6 Shells in great numbers and 



much comminuted. 



5. Blocks of compact mudstone, some- Isastrcsa limitata, I. gib- 



times soft 2 bosa, Cryptoccenia Pratti, As- 



troceenia Phillipsi, a Montli- 

 valtia, Thamnastrcea Lyelli in 

 great abundance, and Microso- 

 lena excelsa, Anabacia compla- 

 nata, Thamnastrcsa onammosa. 



6. Soft blue clay, very irregular in de- A small species of oyster, 



velopment, and in the middle a probably Ostrea Sowerbyi, in 



thin layer of hard stone which is very great abimdance. Mytilus 



almost wholly composed of the sublcevis. 



shells of Ostrece 3 



7. Rubbly soft yellow stone 3 Cyathophora Bourgueti very 



abundant. 



8. Dense fine white stone, not oolitic... 1 6 Nerincea Eudesii, very abun- 



dant, and another species ; As- 

 tarte angulata, Cardium lingu- 

 latum. 



9. Oolitic stone in thick blocks, form- 



ing the bottom of the cutting 8 



The following Mollusca and Brachiopoda have been obtained by 

 my friend Mr. T. J. Slatter from this cutting ; and most likely they 

 occur in beds 4 and 5 : — Fibula variata, F. eulimoides, Natica 

 Michelini, Nerita minuta, Fhasianella tumida, DelpJiinula discoidea, 

 D. alta, Solarium varicosum, Leda mucronata, Terebratida glohosa, 

 T. intermedia, and RliynchoneUa concinna. 



Oyjyricardia rostrata and O. niwidiformis have also been collected 

 there, probably from bed No. 8. All the. above having been taken 

 from the debris, their precise position can only be ascertained 

 by the appearance of the matrix in which they are imbedded. 



All these beds overlie the Stonesfield Slate, which is under the 

 line of railway. The singular species Cyathophora Bourgueti occurs 



* Geol. of Oxford and the Thames Valley, p. 151. 



