312 PALEONTOLOGY, ETC. OF THE WEST INDIES. [Aug. 1895, 



the West Indies without connecting the Atlantic and Pacific 

 Oceans. 



Mr. G. F. Harris remarked that this was a valuable contribution 

 to our knowledge of the palaeontology and physical geology of the 

 West Indies. With reference to the few mollusca obtained from the 

 Scotland Beds, he believed that they were of Lower Oligocene age, 

 Surcula heigica being very characteristic of that horizon in Europe. 

 The Clavilithes exhibited was, however, very similar to the stunted 

 forms of C. deformis from the upper part of the Sables Moyens of 

 the Paris Basin — a bed of Upper Eocene age. In addition to the 

 Tertiary fossils from Panama alluded to by the Author, Dr. Dall 

 of Washington had described Glyptostyla panamensis and several 

 other mollusca given to him by Prof. Alex. Agassiz, and obtained 

 along the line of the canal 12 miles south of Colon (at Vamos-Vamos) 

 a few feet above the sea-level. These seemed to indicate the 

 presence, in the Isthmus, of beds equivalent in age to the Martinez 

 group of California, which was now merged in the Chico-Tejon 

 — partly Eocene and partly Upper Cretaceous. The fossils referred 

 to presented an Eocene facies. He quite agreed with the Author, 

 but on different grounds, that there had been no land-connexion 

 between Florida and South America by way of the larger islands, 

 to form the supposed ' Antillean continent,' in recent Tertiary times. 

 The distribution of the land-mollusca of Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, 

 Barbados, and Trinidad, amongst other islands, was directly op- 

 posed to such an hypothesis, each island possessing a number of forms 

 peculiar to it and unlike those on the mainland. It was hard to 

 believe that such marked differentiation could have resulted since 

 Pliocene times as had been assumed by certain American writers. 

 He thought it much more reasonable to suppose, with the Author, 

 that the land-connexion had taken place at an earlier period. 



The Author remarked that he had been much interested by Mr. 

 Jukes-Browne's contribution to the Discussion, as Mr. Franks's ob- 

 servations confirmed the conclusion expressed at the end of his 

 paper on Archceopneustes in 1892. He read the passage maintaining 

 that the nodular limestones were formed on the rising dome of 

 the deep-sea deposits, and were intermediate in age between these 

 and the Coral Limestones. They would therefore be unconformable 

 to the Badiolarian Marls. He preferred at present to call the Scot- 

 land Beds Lower Oligocene. He quite agreed with Mr. Iieid that 

 the Panama ridge was at one time higher ; but this argument was 

 not a valid reply to those who maintained the Pleistocene age of its 

 elevation. He was glad Mr. Harris thought that the land-mollusca 

 (the evidence of which is considered in the paper) opposed Dr. Spen- 

 cer's views as to the recent existence of the continent of Antillia. 

 He thought that the evidence of the faunas of the Windward Islands 

 was conclusive against their ever having formed part of a great 

 continent since their emergence from the sea. 



