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XXX. — Note on some Fossils from Seymour Island, in the Antarctic Regions, obtained 

 by Dr Donald. By G. Sharman and E. T. Newton. (With a Plate.) 



(Read 4th June 1894.) 



These fossils are especially interesting on account of their having been obtained 

 from a more southerly point than any hitherto recorded. The number of specimens is 

 nine ; five of these are referable to the genus Cucullcea, one to Cytherea, one probably 

 to Natica, and two are fragments of Coniferous Wood. With the Cytherea are other 

 small shells which may indicate the presence of Crassatella (?) and Donax (?). Two of the 

 pieces of Cucullcea are entirely free from matrix, while three show in their interiors a 

 fine sandy rock which effervesces when treated with hydrochloric acid. The shells them- 

 selves have a calcedonic appearance, but, like the matrix, they effervesce strongly with 

 acid ; they are much denuded, having apparently been long exposed to the weather. The 

 matrix within the Cytherea is coarser than that in the Cucullcea, containing, besides 

 fragments of quartz and of a black rock, numerous fragments of shells. The Natica (?) 

 is almost free from matrix, and is much denuded, but in some of the crevices sandy 

 material may be seen very like the matrix of the other shells. All these genera have a 

 wide distribution in time, and are now living, consequently they give but little clue to 

 the age of the rocks in which they were found. Cucullcea is rare at the present day, and 

 the few known species occur in the Mauritius, Nicobar, and China ; but as a fossil it is 

 very common and widely distributed. With regard to the species of these Antarctic 

 shells, more will be said below ; but as two of them find their nearest allies in species 

 which occur in Lower Tertiary beds, it is probable that these also arc of about the same 

 age, and nothing more definite can be said until additional and more characteristic 

 specimens are forthcoming. Through the courtesy of Mr R. Etheridge and Mr E. B. 

 Newton, these specimens have been compared with the fossils collected by Darwin in 

 Patagonia, as well as with others from the far south, preserved in the British Museum ; 

 while the specimens collected by Captain T. Baker in Patagonia [Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, 

 vol. xxiv. p. 505), and preserved in the Geological Society's Museum, have been kindly 

 opened for our inspection by Mr W. Jones. Each of the forms will now be noticed 

 separately. 



Cucullcea Donaldi, sp. nov. 



All the five specimens of Cucullcea are believed to belong to one species, although 

 the larger fragment (fig. 2) seems to have been part of a longer shell. The ornamentation 



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