1880. ] Geology and Paleontology. — 141 
Brown beds, Hutchinson’s Quarry beds and Nummulitic beds. 
Intense volcanic activity prevailed during this period in both 
islands, and the calcareous strata are frequently interbedded with 
contemporaneous igneous rocks and tufas, and in the North 
Island are often replaced by wide-spread trachyte floes and vol- 
canic breccias. 6. Cretaceo-tertiary, 2000 to 5000 feet, with seven 
divisions, Gray marls, Ototara and Weka Pass stone, Fucoidal 
greensands, Amuri limestone. Chalk marls and chalk with flints, 
Marly greensands, Island sandstone (Reptilian beds) and black 
grit and coal formation. The marine fossils include, besides well- 
marked greensand forms such as Ancyloceras, Belemnites and 
Rostellaria, a number that have still a marked affinity to the Ter- 
tiary fauna. Saurian bones occur of the genera /Vesiosaurus, 
Mauisaurus, Liodon, &c., in this part of the formation; but they ` 
have only been found as yet over a limited area on the east side 
of the South Island. 7. Lower Greensand, 500 feet, with two 
divisions, Amuri group on east coast, Bituminous coals on west 
coast. 8. Jurassic, 3009 to 5000 feet, with three divisions, 
Mataura series, Putataka series, and Flag Hill series. The Flag 
Hill series, which is principally developed in the Hokanui range, 
Southland, contains fossil plants in its upper beds, which are 
especially interesting, from at least one species being identical 
with a plant found in ‘the Ramahal beds of India, which are con- 
sidered to be of Liassic age, viz: Macrotenpteris lata, with 
which several others are associated, six of which have been iden- 
tified. 9. Lias, 2000 feet, with one division, Catlin’s river and 
Bastion series. | 10. Trias, 5000 to 80c0 feet, with three divisions, 
Otapiri series, Wairoa series and Oreti series. The Otapiri series 
is remarkable for the mixed character of its fossils, which, how- — 
ever, contain many forms identical with those from the Rheetic 
formation of the European Alps. The fossils are hich Permian 
and Triassic forms, but a Pextarrinus also occurs, which resembles 
the Jurassic species. 11. Permian, 6600 to 7000 ‘with one division, 
the Kaihiku series, 12. Lower Carboniferous and Upper Devon- 
ian, 7000 to 10,000 feet, with two divisions, Maitai series and Te 
Anau Series I3 Lower Devonian, 5000 feet, with one division, 
the Reefton beds. 14. Upper Silurian, 3000 feet, with the Baton- 
iver series. 15. Lower Silurian, 7000 to 19,000, with one _ 
division, Mount Arthur series. Below this horizon the Serge ae 
and gneissic granite are found in the mountain ranges. ia 
Hırt’s Kansas Exprorations.—During the past year Russell ce 
S Hill, of Philadelphia, continued his explorations of the Lop 
Fork intuition of Kansas and Nebraska. He obtained fine speci- 
mens of the large mammals discovered last year, especially So 
Mastodon campester and Aphelops fossiger, and added r epresenta- 
tives of groups not previously known from this horizon. He dis- 
covered the pharyngeal bones of aA a fishes, ia of the 
genus oe uiio salamanders- -e z 
