Mr. Dud can on the Physical Geography of Western Europe. 71 



author stated that he knew of no character by which the structure 

 of birds as a class differs from that of reptiles which is not fore- 

 shadowed in the Ornithoscelida, and he briefly discussed the ques- 

 tion of the relationship of Pterodactyles to birds. He did not con- 

 sider that the majority of the Dinosauria stood so habitually upon 

 their hind feet as to account for the resemblance of the hind limbs 

 to those of birds by simple similarity of function. 



The author then proceeded to notice the Dinosauria of the Trias, 

 commencing with an historical account of our knowledge of the occur- 

 rence of such reptilian forms in beds of that age. He identified the 

 following Triassic reptilian forms as belonging to the Dinosauria : — 

 Teratosaurus, Plateosaurus, and Zanclodon from the German Trias ; 

 Thecodontosaiirus and Palceosaurus from the Bristol conglomerate 

 (the second of these genera he restricted to P. cylindrodon of Biley 

 and Stutchbury, their P. platyodon being referred to Thecodonto- 

 saiirus)', Cladyodon from Warwickshire; Deuterosaurus from the 

 Ural ; Ankistrodon from Central India ; Clepsysaurus and Bathygna- 

 ihus from North America ; and probably the South- African Prote- 

 rosaurus. 



2. " The Physical Geography of Western Europe during the 

 Mesozoic and Cainozoic periods, elucidated by their Coral-faunas." 

 By P. Martin Duncan, M.B.Lond., E.R.S., Secretary. 



The author commenced with a notice of the typical species of the 

 coral-fauna of the deep seas which bound continents remote from 

 coral-reefs, and then made some remarks upon the littoral corals. 

 The peculiarities of reef, lagoon, and shallow-water species were 

 then explained, with the relations of the two faunas to one another. 

 The author then referred to certain exceptional species, indicated 

 the genera the species of which constitute the existing reefs and 

 contributed to form those of the past, and noticed the representa- 

 tives of some modern genera in old reefs. He pointed out that a 

 correspondency of physical conditions during the deposition of cer- 

 tain strata was indicated by their containing analogous forms — the 

 presence of compound ccenenclrymal species indicating neighbouring 

 reefs, and their absence in places where simple or non-ccenenchymal 

 Madreporaria are found being characteristic of deep-sea areas remote 

 from the Coral-seas. By applying the principles thus elaborated to 

 the evidence as to the condition of the seas of the European area 

 from the Triassic period to the present time, the author then showed 

 what must probably have been the physical condition of this part of 

 tbe world at different periods. 



December 8th, I860.— Prof. T. H. Huxley, LL.D., E.R.S., 

 President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. " Notes on the Brachiopoda hitherto obtained from the Pebble- 

 bed at Budleigh-Salterton, near Exmouth, in Devonshire." By 

 Thomas Davidson, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. 



The author first described the general characters, and discussed 



