AMALTHEUS SPINATUS. 405 



Locality and Stratiyrapldcal Position. — This Ammonite is found in the uppermost 

 strata of the Marlstone Rock bed of the Midland Counties, where I have collected 

 it in the Marlstone quarries at Grettan, Alderton, Churchdown, and Stinchcombe 

 Hills, In Somersetshire it is found at South Petherton and Yeovil. In Dorset- 

 shire the bed with Amah spinatus forms the uppermost portion of the micaceous marls 

 of De-la-Beche, consisting of brownish sands and sandstones with this species 

 as the leading fossil. Associated with this Cephalopod are many Gastropods and 

 other fossils with their shells intact, and in a fine state of preservation. From the 

 extreme hardness of the rock they are extracted with extreme difficulty. I have collected 

 here Jmaltheus spinatus, Brug. ; Belemnites hremformis^ Voltz ; Pleurotomaria precatoria, 

 Deslong. ; P. bitorquata, Deslong. ; P. rustica, Deslong. ; P. tnirabilis, Deslong. ; P. 

 procera, d'Orbigny ; Cryptxenia expansa, Sow. ; Straparollus sinister, d'Orb. Resting 

 on this remarkable conglomeration of well-preserved shells are beds of Upper Lias 

 Limestone with Harpoceras serpentinum, Reinecke. Professor Judd, ' Geology of 

 Rutland,' found this species in the Marlstone Rock bed, along the sides of the 

 Oakham and Melton-Mowbray Canal, and in a stone-pit north-west of the village, 

 where it appears to be rare. In Yorkshire the Amal. spinatus-heds are well seen at 

 Hawskers bottoms. Another section of these beds is found at Kettleness, where they 

 form the base of the cliff, and have been long known as the " Kettleness beds " of 

 Young and Bird. The Ironstone series of Old Nab, near Staithes, is chiefly formed of 

 the AmaL s/nnatus-heds (see section of this coast, p. 105) ; and the reader is referred 

 to an exhaustive account of the equivalent deposit in Tate and Blake's ' Yorkshire Lias,' 

 p. 118. Professor Tate found the Amal. spinatus-hed at the south side of Portree Harbour, 

 Isle of Skye. Por a hst of fossils in this bed, see p. 107. 



Foreign Distribution. — In Prance the Amal. spinatus-heds are found at Pontaine- 

 Etoupe-Pour, Curcy, Croisille, Evreux, Vieux-Pont, Calvados ; Avesnes, Doubs ; Haute- 

 Saone ; Salins, Jura ; Saint- Amand, Cher ; Saint-Portunat, Rhone ; Department of 

 Aveyron. In Luxemburg at d'Aubange, near Athus. In Italy this zone is likewise 

 found in Lombardy ; and Province of Brescia (Reynes). 



In Germany the Amal. spinatus-heds. are found in Tonnisberg, Hanover ; Winzenburg, 

 Westerberg ; Helmstadt, Goslar, Huttenberg ; Quedlinburg, Kley ; Palkenhagen, Lauter, 

 Bayreuth, and several other localities. In South Germany this zone is found in Swabia ; 

 one of the best exposures is in the vicinity of Altdorf in Bavaria, where it is found well 

 displayed in relative position to the Amal. maryaritatus-hed below, and the Posidonomyan 

 or Upper-Lias schists above. 



