530 HEtfEY F. BLANFORD ON THE 



Lower Ecca beds beneath the " Trap breccia," which, from the evi- 

 dence of Bain, Griesbach, and Sutherland, and, indeed, Mr. Wyley's 

 own description, appear not to belong to the Karoo series) : — 



1. The Stormberg beds 1800 feet. 



2. The Beaufort beds 1700 „ 



3. The Koonap beds 1500 „ 



4. The Upper Ecca beds 1200 „ 



5. The " Trap Breccia " (boulder-bed) 500 to 800 „ 



Below these are the Lower Ecca shales and a great thickness of 

 sandstone containing remains of Lepidodendron, resting on the 

 formation which has been determined by Lonsdale and Salter* to 

 be of Devonian age. I am not aware whether the Lepidodendron 

 remains have been determined to be of this or of Carboniferous age. 

 It is unnecessary to recapitulate the characters of the several 

 members of the Karoo series, as they have been clearly summarized 

 by Prof. T. Eupert Jones f in Mr. Tate's paper on some fossils from 

 South Africa. It is only necessary to notice that Glossopteris 

 Browniana and another species of the same genus, with a Phyllo- 

 theca much resembling P. indica, Bunbury, occur in the Beaufort 

 beds, where they are associated with several species of Dicynodon 

 &c; while from beds which are spoken of as higher in the same 

 group were obtained several other species of Dicynodon, Microlojphis 

 Stowii, Huxley, Galesaurus, and Cynochampsa. It is these Beaufort 

 beds which bear the greatest analogy to the Panchet and Kamthi 

 groups of India. The Stormberg beds, which overlie them, contain, 

 besides a Dicynodon, several species of Dinosaurian reptiles, a group 

 which, I believe, in Europe is not known to range below the Trias. 



Mr. Tate assigns the whole Karoo formation to the Trias ; but 

 even if the probability of this conclusion be admitted as regards the 

 fossiliferous Beaufort and Stormberg beds, there does not seem any 

 good reason for refusing to admit that the lower groups may be of 

 Permian age. 



As above stated, the Kamthis and Panchets show considerable 

 analogy with the Beaufort beds : — the first by the abundant pre- 

 sence of Glossopteris Browniana, and a Phyllotheca probably iden- 

 tical, and also of a Labyrinthodont nearly allied to Microlojphis 

 Stowii ; the second by that of a Dicynodont, being the only known 

 case of the occurrence of this form out of South Africa. These cases 

 of identity, though absolutely few, are very great in proportion to 

 the total number of fossil forms yet described from the formations 

 in question. If, then, we admit provisionally this correlation, the 

 Damuda series would correspond in position with the Koonap beds, 

 and the Talchirs with the " Ecca conglomerate " or " Trap breccia;" 

 but if there be no other evidence than their similarity of relative 

 position, I should attribute but very little weight to such a correlation. 



The question then arises, Can the evidence of glacial conditions 

 afforded both by the "Ecca conglomerate " and the " Talchir boulder- 

 bed " be taken as evidence of contemporaneity with each other and 



* Trans. Geol. Soc. ser. ii. vol. vii. p. 224. 

 f Quart. Jburn. Greol. Soc. vol. rxiii, p. 142. 



