72 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. 



that age. The Tapirs and -wild swine are still met with in such 

 localities ; and these, as also the Elephants, Mastodons, Rhinoceroses, 

 and some subordinate similar species, belong to the most plentiful 

 and most widely-spread of the higher animals that during the ter- 

 tiary time inhabited the dark forests of our countries. 



Of the Dipt era, the larvse of which lived in the earth, there are 

 the Bibiones, which occur in an astonishing abundance. I am ac- 

 quainted already with 34 species of such BibionidcB, whilst at present, 

 from the whole of Central Europe, only 44 species are known. It 

 is here worth noticing, that of those 34 species, 22 only are included 

 in the genus Bibio (of which there are as yet known only 1 8 Euro- 

 pean and 1 1 American species) ; 2 species belong to the Brazihan 

 genus Pleceia, and 11 species to two newly instituted, peculiar, ex- 

 tinct genera. I was surprised also to find amongst the Aix-la-Cha- 

 pelle fossils one of these new genera, that occurs also at Radoboj, at 

 CEningen, and in the brown coal of Orsberg, the genus Bibio being 

 there well-represented. "We see, therefore, that the Biptera of the 

 tertiary epoch culminate in the group of BibionidcB. I have not 

 found in a fossil state any Thorn-gnats [Clitellarice ?], Gad-flies [Ta- 

 banidce], or flies parasitic on warm-blooded animals, and these probably 

 belong only to the existing fauna. On the contrary, AsilidcB occurred, 

 which chase other flies and suck their blood ; and this mode of life, 

 without doubt, obtained at that time. 



It has been already mentioned that the Butterflies occurred at a 

 later period only, and were but few in number even in the tertiary 

 period. On the whole I am acquainted with only 7 species from 

 Radoboj and 2 from CEningen; and there are only a few species 

 known from Aix-la-Chapelle, and a few from amber. It is remark- 

 able, that of these Lepidoptera, two species have great similarity with 

 East Indian species, whilst one is comparable with our Thistle-butter- 

 fly and one with our [Gras-Sacktrager] . 



If we glance at the Hymenoptera of the ancient world, we shall be 

 struck with the astonishing abundance of Ants in the tertiary epoch, 

 I am acquainted with QQ species from CEningen and Radoboj ; there 

 are many also at Aix-la-Chapelle and in amber ; the number of the 

 tertiary species of Ants thus amounting to almost a hundred. If we 

 consider that at present we are acquainted with only 40 European 

 species of Ants, this fact of the richness of the species will be very 

 surprising. And the more remarkable it is, since nearly all the 

 existing genera are found amongst the tertiary Ants ; and there 

 occurs moreover a peculiar extinct genus {Imhoffia, Heer) ; thus the 

 Ant-type in the ancient world appears to have been developed in 

 much richer forms than at present. The Ants were particularly 

 abundant at Radoboj, where they compose the majority of the fossil 

 animals. That locality affords stones that are quite covered with Ants ; 

 and indeed often as many as six diiferent species are found lying 

 confusedly together on the same slab. What a richly luxuriant vege- 

 tation must have here existed to have supplied nourishment for such 

 hosts of Ants, so many Termites, and Locusts ; and what living multi- 

 tudes must these ancient countries have produced ! Whilst the ter- 



