844 The American Naturalist. (September, 
tiary age; they have probably resulted from weathering processes ; are 
metamorphic in character, and have no history of dynamic origin or of 
present or past dynamic change. Their former reference to the palae- 
zoic is no longer tenable, and they stand as a unique instance of the 
induration of soft sandstones in the southwest.” (Proceeds. Ind. Acad. 
Sci., Vol. IT, 1893-1894.) 
Geological News.—The remains of two reptiles are reported from 
the Triassic of Shasta Co., California, by J.C. Merriam. The larger 
individual is represented by eight consecutive vertebra, a few fragments 
of ribs and both coracoids. These present an assemblage of characters 
that necessitate the creation of a new genus, Shastasaurus with the 
specific name pacificus. The second and smaller individual represents 
a very different form from that described above, but the material is in- 
sufficient for specific characterization. (Am. Journ. Sci., 1895.) The 
figures and description of Mr. Merriam indicate that the alleged re- 
lationship to Ichthyosaurus is very doubtful. 
A fossil Liverwort is described by Mr. F. H. Knowlton from the 
Lower Yellowstone of Montana. The species, which represent the only 
extinct form from North America, is allied to the genus Preissia, and a 
new genus, Preissites, has been made for its reception. The fossil was 
found by Professor Lester Ward, to whom the species is dedicated. 
(Bull. Torrey Botanical Club, Oct., 1894.) 
Mr. R. T. Hill records the occurrence of Radiolarian earth at Bara- 
coa in the island of Cuba. The strata are vertical and over 500 feet in 
thickness. The rock is chalky in appearance, with occasional thin 
separation-layers of gray-blue clay, and some flint-like siliceous nodu- 
les: sponge-like spicules and echinoid fragments are found in it, but 
no diatoms. It appears to lie below certain yellow beds identified as 
Miocene, (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard, 1895.) 
Records of well-borings in Iowa show the presence of numerous 
buried drainage channels. A comparison of the data indicates that in 
pre-glacial time the land surface of the State stood at an elevatlon con- 
siderably above that now obtaining. Throughout the driftless area 
there is evidence that the region, after being reduced to a base level of 
erosion, has been elevated, and is now being reduced to a second base 
level. (Proceeds. Iowa Acad. Sci., Vol. II, 1895.) 
_ Captain F. W. Hutton publishes a classification of the genera of the 
Dinornithide, based on the characters of the axial skeleton, and, in the 
absence of illustrations, gives keys to assist in distinguishing the genera. 
(Trans. New Zealand Inst., 1894.) 
