PREFACE. 



Since the time of the publication of Prof. Phillips's ' Palaeozoic Fossils of 

 Devon and Cornwall,' the knowledge of both the stratigraphy and the palaeon- 

 tology of the Devonian System in England has very greatly increased. Of late 

 years many able observers have done much towards clearing up various of the 

 intricate problems that are presented. At the present time the Geological 

 Survey, having finished the mapping of North Devon, is engaged on that of the 

 South, and from it we may expect a great advance of our knowledge. Neverthe- 

 less, the intricacy of the sequence is so great, and the data for interpreting it so 

 small, that we can hardly hope that it will be rapidly cleared up ; and certainly 

 at present even the correlation of the different parts of the system with the major 

 divisions in America and the Continent is still a matter of discussion. 



Among the reasons for this, at least as regards South Devon, are the following : 



1. The metamorphism, from whatever cause, of many of the beds. 



2. The great twisting and flattening, as well as actual contortion and reversal 

 of large portions of the strata. 



3. The general absence or bad preservation of fossils (except Corals and 

 Amorphozoa) in most localities. 



4. The frequent discontinuity of the beds, and especially of the Limestones, 

 which sometimes appear, expand, and vanish in very short distances, owing, at least 

 in part, to their accretionary and organic origin. 



5. The constant obscuration of the bedding, which is often difficult and some- 

 times almost impossible to trace. 



On the other hand, there are various localities which yield a very good series of 

 organic remains in a fair state of preservation. When these have been thoroughly 

 examined and compared with the Devonian Fauna of other countries, we shall be 

 possessed of landmarks by which the other strata may be grouped. 



During a residence at Torquay some years ago I collected very largely from 

 one of the most fossiliferous of these localities, Lummaton Quarries, just to the 

 west of St. Mary Church. These were reopened about fifteen years ago when the 

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