856 The American Naturalist. (October, 
fossils I brought home from the central plateau of Bolivia, the 
two following interesting points have been demonstrated : 
1. That nearly all parts of the Paleozoic formations “are repre- 
sented in South America by marine deposits, being known by Cam- 
bian, Lower and Upper Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous fossils. 
As far as our knowledge extends, the older Paleozoic deposits— 
t. e., the Cambrian and Silurian formations—are generally more dis- 
turbed and metamorphosed than the Devonian and Carboniferous 
series. In consequence of this fact, the faunas of the latter forma- 
tions are better known than those of the former. 
2. The richest Paleozoic fauna as yet known from South 
America is that of the, Devonian formation. More than 150 
different species have been described. The rich and well-preserved 
fauna collected by me in the eastern part of the Bolivian 
plateau has enabled Mr. Ulrich to show that the Bolivian deposits 
form a very important link between those of North America on 
one side, and those of Brazil, the Falkland Islands, and South 
Africa onthe other side. The highly fossiliferous clay slates, 
sandy clays, and sandstones widely distributed in Bolivia and 
Brazil are the equivalents of the Oriskany sandstone, the Upper 
Helderberg, and the Hamilton groups of North America. Their 
fauna bears an American, not a European, character, as proved 
by the two commonest and most characteristic Brachiopods : 
1. Leptocælia flabellites. This fossil has been found in North 
America, Bolivia, on the Falkland Islands, and in South Africa. 
2. Vitalina pustulosa is known from North America, Brazil, 
Bolivia, and South Africa. 
Partly by the identity, partly by the similarity of the Devonian 
faunas of the named regions, it appears quite evident that a great 
Devonian sea embraced large parts of both Americas and South 
Africa. 
The Carboniferous deposits seem to be much more restricted 
in South America than the Devonian. . The sub-Carboniferous 
is mostly composed of non-fossiliferous sandstones; the Upper 
Carboniferous, containing representatives of universally distributed 
Brachiopods and Gastropods, and of the genus Fusulina, is known 
from Peru, Bolivia, and some parts of Brazil. 



