part 2] rugose corals from the Burundi series. 157 



II. The Upper Paleozoic Bocks of North-Eastern 

 New South Wales. 



The fossils herein described come from the parishes of Mooro- 

 warra and Babbinboon, near Somerton, 20 miles north-west of 

 Tamworth, and 200 miles north of Sydney ; from the head of 

 Hall's Creek near Bingara, 60 miles farther north ; and from 

 Slaughterhouse Creek, 40 miles still farther north-north-west. 

 These localities lie on the western foothills of the plateau of New 

 England, which forms the north-eastern portion of New South 

 Wales. 



The entire foothill region forms the northern- portion of the 

 ' Great Serpentine Belt.' The geological structure of this region 

 was outlined by one of us in 1913, 1 and described in greater 

 detail for certain areas (1913-1920). 2 Briefly stated, the strati- 

 graphical succession consists of a great thickness (possibly 5000 

 feet) of Middle Devonian radiolarian claystones with three lime- 

 stone horizons containing corals, and with much intercalated 

 igneous material — f elspathic tuffs and spilitic, doleritic, and kerato- 

 phyric rocks. Tbe fossils of these and of all other Devonian rocks 

 of Australia have been recently enumerated and discussed by the 

 same author. 3 



This, the Tamworth Series, is followed by the Barraba Mud- 

 stones, a thick series of mudstones with interbedded tuffs and 

 occasional vast masses of volcanic agglomerate. Except for the 

 presence of Lepidodendron australe M'Coy (also present in the 

 Middle Devonian claystones) and radiolaria, the series is unfossi- 

 iiferous. The Barraba Mudstones are probably Upper Devonian, 

 but rnay extend into the Lower Carboniferous. They are suc- 

 ceeded without recognizable break by the Burindi Series, although 

 it is possible that an unconformity may be present here, as has 

 been recently stated by Mr. C. A. Siissmilch. 4 The Burindi Series 

 consists of olive-coloured mudstones, tuffs, and a few lenticular 

 masses of oolitic or crinoidal limestone yielding a few corals : from 

 these was obtained a large fauna, including most of the fossils here 

 discussed. In this series Lepidodendron australe M'Coy has been 

 replaced by L. veltheimianum Sternberg. The total thickness 

 of the Barraba and Burindi Mudstones is indefinite, but may be 

 over 5000 feet. The Burindi Series seems to belong to the higher 

 part of the Lower Carboniferous, and the evidence upon which 

 this correlation is made is discussed later. 



It is followed, again without apparent unconformity, by the 



1 Geol. Mag. 1913, pp. 17-21. 



2 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. vol. xxxviii (1913) pp. 490-517 & 569-96 ; ibid. 

 vol. xl (1915) pp. 540-624 ; ibid. vol. xlii (1917) pp. 223-45, 250-83, & 693- 

 700 ; ibid. vol. xliii (1918) pp. 320-84 ; ibid. vol. xlv (1920) pp. 285-316. 



3 ' Materials for the Study of the Devonian Palceontology of Australia ' 

 Bee. Geol. Surv. N.S.W. vol. x, pt. 2 (1922) pp. 83-204. 



4 Journ. & Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. vol. lv (1921) p. 250. 



