Vol. 69.] THE FOSSIL FLORA. OF CLEVELAND. 223 



13. The Fossil Flora of the Cleveland District of York- 

 shire : I. — The Flora of the Marske Quarry. By Hugh 

 Ham shaw Thomas, M.A., F.G.S. With Notes on the Strati- 

 graphy, by the Eev. George John Lane, F.G.S. (Read 

 January 22nd, 1913.) 



[Plates XXIII-XXYL] 



Contents. 



Page 



I. Introduction 223 



II. Historical Notes 224 



III. List of the Species described 225 



IV. Description of the Species 22b' 



V. Summary and Conclusion 217 



VL Bibliography 248 



VII. Notes on the Stratigraphy of the Marske Quarry 



(G. J. L.) 249 



I. Introduction. 



The fossil flora of the Jurassic rocks of the Yorkshire coast has- 

 been investigated by many workers. At the beginning of last 

 century a considerable number of the common plants were described 

 by Brongniart and Phillips, and during the succeeding years- 

 excellent collections were made by such enthusiastic workers as 

 Bean, Leckenby, and the two "Williamsons. The close and critical 

 study of these plants was, however, never accomplished until 

 Prof. Seward's critical work in the British Museum Catalogue 

 appeared. This put the subject for the first time on a firm basis, 

 and has very much simplified subsequent investigations. 



The earlier, collectors confined their attention almost entirely 

 to the accessible exposures of the Estuarine Series between Whitby 

 and Filey, though some specimens are recorded from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Eunswick. In comparatively recent years, however,, 

 it has been found that the Lower Estuarine Beds in the Cleveland 

 district were very fossiliferous, and large collections have been 

 made by enthusiastic local geologists. As a result, several inter- 

 esting forms were discovered in this district which were unknown 

 farther south, and a systematic and critical examination of the- 

 whole flora was deemed advisable. 



The present work is the result of a re-examination of the spe- 

 cimens collected by the Rev. G. J. Lane, F.G.S., and Mr. T. W. 

 Saunders, F.G.S., who have succeeded in obtaining a large number 

 of fossils from the Marske and Upleatham quarries on Upleatham. 

 Hill. They kindly sent the most important specimens in their 

 collections to me, for examination at Cambridge. I have also had 

 the opportunity of examining at the Dorman Memorial Museum, 

 Middlesbrough, the collection made by the late Mr. Hawell. 

 These existing collections have been supplemented by material 

 which I have recently obtained from the Marske Quarry. Most 

 of my own specimens were found in the soft grey shales in the 

 upper part of the quarry, and are very well preserved — though 

 somewhat fragmentary. 



