1883.] Geology and Paleontology. 409 
summit of the Cambrian; and there is a paleontological break, 
most. marked in the deep-water beds. Professor 
writes upon the geological age of the “ Taconic system” of the 
Taconic mountains of New England, and maintains that the 
Stockbridge limestones are conformable with the central schists. 
Carboniferous—M. Brongniart (Comptes Rendus) describes a 
remarkable Orthopteron of gigantic size, found in blackish 
shales of Coventry, France. The insect is nine and a-half inches 
long, and is well furnished with spines. It was probably apter- 
ous. Until 1882 only 110 species of insects were known from the 
Carboniferous rocks of the whole world, none ot them from France, 
but since that date 430 impressions have been obtained from Cov- 
entry.——In the Quarterly Journal of the London Geological So- 
ciety, E. W. Binney writes upon aseries of red barren beds overlying 
the profitable beds of the Fifeshire coal-measures. These beds are 
higher than any on the east coast of England, and may be the en- 
tire or partial equivalents of the upper coal-measures of the west- 
ern districts.” Fish, crustacea, calamites, alge, etc., occur. 
“ Philadelphia Academy, crania more or less complete, of four 
Tas buccatus, E. phaseolinus, 
- “ae Arst named approaches the genus Chilonyx in the presence 
Me swollen aree on the top of the skull. The others form a series >; 
t sinning with Æ. phaseolinus with more numerous, narrower 
eeth, to £ Jissus with fewer, wider teeth. 
saa —Joaqui i nicated to the 
Beers quin Gonzalo y Xavier has communicated to 
liferg on Geological Society the discovery of fossils in the metal- 
Peat us limestone of the Sierra de Gador, Spain, hitherto a puzzle 
Seologists. The fossils prove the strata to be Triassic. 
Cretaceous—\W Whi : ; ; ‘tas of the Red 
Chalk or . Whitaker (Geological Magazine) writes of the 
y = Norfolk, which has been variously supposed to belong to 
