1885.] Geology and Paleontology. 705 
nary rules of nomenciature are observed.’ The history of the 
subject is concealed from the reader by the omission of reference 
in their proper places to the papers which antedate those of Pro- 
fessor Marsh, and by the omission of the dates of their publica- 
tion when they are referred to.” 
This work will always be valuable for the descriptions and 
plates which it contains, and with the abatements we have already 
pointed out, we recommend it as the handsomest work on the 
subject yet published. —E. D. Cope. 
GEOLOGICAL News.—General—From a paper recently read by 
W. H. Hudleston at the meeting of the Geologists’ Association 
it appears that the ‘‘ Nubian sandstone” comprises the strata be- 
tween the crystalline rocks and the Upper Cretaceous ; the lower 
sandstone and overlying limestone of Wady Nasb is Carbonifer- 
ous; the middle division is Cenomanian, is widely extended in 
Egypt, occurs in great force at Petra, and constitutes the cliffs on 
the east side of the Dead sea; while the Lebanon division is prob- 
ably well up among the Cretaceous limestones and possibly on 
the horizon of certain ligniferous beds occurring at Edfou on the 
Nile. The crystalline rocks are in two series, a lower (referred 
to the Laurentian) penetrated by dykes of granite and diorite; 
and a second series consisting mainly of porphyries permeated by 
dykes of feldspar and basalt. All the Nile cataracts occur where 
the river passes over such crystalline areas, while the tranquil 
stretches are upon the Nubian sandstone. The Cretaceous lime- 
stones are in Syria more important than those of Eocene age, but 
in Egypt the latter are much the thickest. The Cretaceous beds 
u | 
horizons (Zittel). Neither in Palestine nor in Egypt is there any 
sharp line of demarkation between the chalk and the Tertiary 
rocks. The celebrated Jebel Usdom or Salt mountain of the Red 
sea, is assigned to the Cretaceous by Dr. Lartet, but to the marls 
of the Dead Sea basin by Hull. Zittel states that the palaonto- 
logical boundary between the chalk and the Eocene is clearly 
defined, despite the continuity of the marine deposits. The 
sea hollow is undoubtedly an independent lake basin of high 
1 We take the present opportunity to refer to some similar cases of hypersensitive- 
ness to be. fo und in Professor Marsh’s papers on the Dinosauria. The genus Mega- 
dactylus was named by Dr. Hitchcock, in 1865, from specimens from the Trias of 
Connecticut, but was not defined. It was defined pi Cope in ao Professor Marsh 
name i alr been used by Fi 
lizards. But Fizinger’s name-is an undoubted synonyme of a eit knows form, and 
has no status mpaserers, W We: hold that the change of name is unwarranted. ‘The 
ei f Hymenoptera, = oe names aren vl oman and 
eee ie tt iple Di } ay to Tinoceras of earlier date, 
as they differ by but a single letter, were not ers names really synonymes of a still 
` older one. 
2 See the Bibliography, p. 225. 
