STRZELECKl's N. S. WALES AND VAN DIEMEN's LAND. 561 



Viewing, however, the Palaeozoic rocks of New South Wales 

 and Van Diemen's Land as a whole, and with reference to the 

 fossil fauna, so far as it is hitherto known, we may remark, first, 

 the extreme poverty of the different beds in this respect, in so 

 far as species are concerned — the whole number hitherto de- 

 termined not exceeding 48 — and, next, the mode of their distri- 

 bution and the relative proportion referable to the various natural 

 families. We learn from the work before us that of the whole 

 number of species there are 10 Polyparia, 14 Conchifera, 12 Bra- 

 chiopoda, 7 Gasteropoda, 1 Heteropod, 2 Pteropoda, and 2 Crus- 

 tacea, besides some remains of fishes. Considered locally there is 

 a preponderance of bivalve mollusca and Gasteropods in the Ula- 

 wara district (N. S. Wales), leading us to suppose that the deposits 

 there may have been littoral or accumulated at no great distance 

 from the ancient shore. On the other hand, the coarse sand rock 

 of Raymond Terrace appears to have been rather unfavourable to 

 the existence of animal life, while the Booral deposit is interesting 

 as pointing to a different state of things. This latter is a dark 

 flaggy rock, a bituminous limestone, containing numerous remains 

 of species referred to Littorina and Turritella, with fragments of 

 Ichthyodondites and abundant traces of the minute crustacean 

 genera Bairdia and Cithere ; the latter forming regular layers in 

 the limestone, just as they are found deposited in the carboniferous 

 shales near Halifax, in Yorkshire, in other parts of England and in 

 Ireland. 



" In Van Diemen's Land, where the strata are extremely variable, the chief 

 fossiliferous deposit appears to be Mount Wellington and some adjacent localities : 

 in these we find the different species of Brachiopoda attaining a much greater 

 numerical developement than in the corresponding series on the Australian con- 

 tinent ; the Productus brachylhcerus, Spirifer ctvicula, S. vespertilio, and other 

 species, are extremely abundant, some of them being of considerable size. As- 

 sociated with these are numerous traces of fine and large specimens (in some 

 places filling the rock in every direction) of the different species of Polyparia, as 

 Stenopora ovata and S. Tasmaniensis, Feneslella arapla, F. internata, F. fossula, &c. ; 

 while the remains of Conchifera and Gasteropoda are but rarely to be discovered ; 

 the locality at Spring Hill containing the largest proportion, with one species 

 of Polyparia, the Stenopora informis (Lonsdale). 



" In comparing these foims with those from the Palaeozoic series of other 

 countries, we find some of them to be identical, and others to be representative 

 species : the Tcrebrutida hastata is the same as the English species ; there is a 

 Spirifer near to S. glaber (Mart.) ; the Littorina filosa is very closely allied to, 

 if not identical Avith Lnxonema sidcatida (M'Coy) ; and the Turritella tricincta 

 approximates to T. acicula (Phillips). Of representative forms, we have the 

 Spirifer crebristria, allied to S. glabristria (Phil.) and Athyris depressa (M'Coy) ; 

 the Sp. Tasmaniensis, to the S. Pentlandi (D' Orb. ), from the carboniferous lime- 

 stone of Bolivia ; and the Sp. Stokesii, near to a Kendal species. Of the winged 

 Spirifers, the S. avicula and S. vespertilio belong to the group of S. convoluta 

 (Phil.), and S. externa (Sow.); and a variety of the S. vespertilio is very near 

 to the S. condor (D'Orb. ), from the carboniferous deposit of Bolivia; and 

 another to the S. Lyellii ( De Verneuil). The Australian Products are allied 

 to the English forms of that genus. Of the Polyparia, the Fenestella generally 

 appear to be the representatives of some English and Irish species. 



" Having thus briefly alluded to the local distribution and general resem- 

 blances of the Australian Palaeozoic fauna, it is important to remark the absence 



