PERMIAN FOSSILS 



121 



GASTROPOD A. Three species from our Permian have been referred doubtfully to 3 

 different genera. If the generic assignments are correct, one of them is a land snail and the 

 other two are marine. Stauffer and Schroyer (1920), who described them, thought it quite 

 probable that they were brackish or even freshwater forms belonging to undescribed genera. 



Anthracopupa (?) dunkardana (fig. 352) is spindle-shaped, about 1/4 inch long, with a 

 large body whorl and a tooth on the upper lip of the aperture. These features 

 certainly suggest relationship with some of the land snails, but there are fresh- 

 water and marine snails which also possess these features. The shell has fine 

 axial and spiral ornamentation. The species is from the lower part of the Wash- 

 ington formation. 



Fig. 352 



Loxonema (?) parva (fig. 353) is high-spired, with a small body whorl and 

 a pointed apex. The shell is about 1/4 inch long. It occurs in the lower part 

 of the Washington formation. 



Naticopsis (?) diminut a (fig. 354) is only about 1/8 inch long 

 and almost as wide. Its shell is proportionally wider than that of 

 the 2 preceding species. It is found in the lower part of the Wash- 

 ington formation at the same locality as Loxonema (?) parva . 



Fig. 354 



Fig. 353 



ANNELIDA . Small, spiral worm tubes of the genus Spirorbis (see fig. 

 43) are abundant in the limestones and calcareous shales of our Permian. They have not been 

 identified specifically. They are often mistaken for small gastropods but may be distinguished 

 from them by the flatness of the "spire, " i. e. the side of the shell by which it was attached. 



OSTRACODA . Representatives of this group are common in parts of our Permian. They 

 have been referred to the genus Cythere but the variety of forms found suggests that other 

 genera may be represented also. 



FISHES . A variety of fish material is found in the Permian of Ohio, but none of it con- 

 sists of complete skeletons. Coprolites, probably from fishes, are. common near the base of 

 the Washington formation. A large spine, one foot long, has been found in the same formation 

 and fragments of the same nature may be expected elsewhere. Small, conical fish teeth are 

 common in the same formation. A shark tooth, with two large and one small cusps, has been 

 called Diplodus washingtonensis . It is from the middle of the Washington formation. 



AMPHIBIANS . The only amphibian remains so far recorded for the Permian of Ohio are 

 coprolites, larger than the fish coprolites already mentioned. They are common in the middle 

 of the Washington formation. 



REPTILES . The finding of a single fragment of a spine of Edaphosaurus from the middle 

 part of the Washington formation indicates that this group of animals was represented in Ohio 

 during Permian time. No other specimens have so far been collected. 



Books for further study 



The standard reference for Permian fossils in Ohio is Stauffer and Schroyer (1920). They 

 describe and illustrate the species just mentioned. There is a short discussion of the Permian 

 of Ohio in Schuchert (1943, p. 574). The catalogue compiled by Branson '(1948) lists all species 

 recorded from Permian beds; it is an invaluable guide for the advanced worker. For a more 

 extensive treatment of vertebrates, see Burke (1935). 



