OE NORTH OXFORDSHIRE AND THE CLYPETJS-GRIT. 227 



ft. in. 



No. 1. Humus... 1 



2. Sandy oolitic limestone rubble 3 6 



3. Oolitic limestone with black shining con- 



cretions 3 10 



4. Sandy marl li to 2 



5. Oolitic limestone with black concretions and 



limestone pebbles 2 



6. Friable oolitic very shelly marl, with masses of 



worn corals, sponges, (?) Lima pectiniformis, 

 Terebratida mbmaxillata, Serpula socialis, &c. 7 



7. Shelly oolitic limestone ; base not shown 1 



Professor Judd, in the admirable introductory essay to his ' Geology 

 of Rutland ' has briefly described the beds, and has given a list of 

 fossils from the collections of Mr. T. Beesley, F.C.S., and the Survey. 

 This list I have fortunately been able to supplement with a few 

 species, see Table A (p. 239). 



Amongst the common fossils are Natica cincta (leckhamptonensis), 

 Terebratida submaxillata, Serpula socialis, and Ostrea Marshii. 



Amongst the Polyzoa occur species of Apseudesia, Diastopora, 

 Tubulipora, and Stomatopora, whilst the Millepore Spiropora stra- 

 minea is not uncommon. In the ' Geological Magazine' for May 1882, 

 Mr. Hudleston has shown Natica cincta to be a characteristic 

 shell of the zone of Ammonites Sowerbyi, not only in the Millepore- 

 beds of Yorkshire, but also in the Oolite Marl of the Cotteswolds. 

 The occurrence in Oxfordshire of this shell with the Polyzoa so fre- 

 quently found in this horizon adds to its right to be so considered ; 

 and hence we may infer that we have a local development of a zone 

 hitherto unrecognized in our area. Perhaps, however, Professor Judd 

 may have included this phase as asubzone of Ammonites MurcJiisonce. 

 The Ammonites are unfortunately so badly preserved as to furnish 

 little additional evidence. The numerous corals, the bulk of which 

 are rolled and waterworn, show the coralline conditions of this oolitic 

 sea. The characteristic Brachiopoda, with the exception of one doubt- 

 ful specimen of Terebratida fimbria in Mr. Beesley's collection, are 

 absent. Terebratida submaxillata, however, is abundant*. 



Banbury and Hook-Norton type. — In the immediate neighbourhood 

 of Banbury a few sand-capped hills and an outlier preserved by a 

 fault alone testify to the former extension of beds of the Bajocian 

 series over the locality. Nine miles north-west of the town a small 

 patch of sand occurs on the crest of one of the picturesque hills of 

 Burton Dassett, marking, so far as we can ascertain, the limit in that 

 direction ; whilst north-eastwards the ridges of Byfield, Red Hill, 

 and Thorpe Mandeville border the more extended deposits of North- 

 amptonshire. 



* By the kind courtesy of Prof. Prestwich, F.E.S., I have been enabled to 

 examine collections from Blockley, made by Mr. S. Stutterd and now in the 

 Oxford University Museum. A fauna almost identical with that of Coombe 

 Hill, including even Natica cincta, is shown, associated with characteristic 

 forms of the Oolite Marl, such as Tcrebratula fimbria, Waldheimia carinata, and 

 Rhynchonella subo^soleta. 



Q. J. G. 8. No. 154. r 



