xviii PERMIAN EOSSILS. 



Russia, and its southern boundaries, apparently stretching far into the south of 

 Europe. It is unsafe to speculate further on the extent of area overspread by the 

 Ocean during the Permian period. Rocks said to contain Permian Fossils have been 

 discovered in various parts of Asia ; and others, supposed to agree in their organic 

 contents with the English deposits^ have been found in Nova Scotia. It would thus 

 appear, that the Permian Ocean has been of vast extent, — encompassing a great 

 portion of the Northern hemisphere. 



As the Permian system immediately succeeded the Carboniferous, and was 

 directly followed by the Triassic, it is reasonable to conclude, that the assemblage of 

 organic remains characteristic of the first, in addition to its containing several new 

 forms, embraced many which are identical with, or allied to, such as belong either to 

 one or the other of the two latter systems. As regards their Flora, a comparison 

 cannot be well entered into, in consequence of the comparative paucity of vegetable 

 remains in at least one of the systems. The known plants of the Permian rocks 

 consist of AlgcB, Lepidodendrdns, Calamites, Sigillarias, Ferns, and some doubtfully 

 allied forms, termed Nceggerathia. The Algce of the Carboniferous rocks are not 

 sufficiently known to be compared with the numerous Caulerpa-like Fossils which are 

 met with in the Mergerl-schiefer, and its English equivalent: the genus Chondrus 

 apparently characterises both the lowest and the highest member, — Chondrus Binneyi 

 having been found in the former, and C. virgatus, Miinster, also a Kupfer-schiefer 

 plant, in the upper-Zechstein of Altenburg. The existence of Lepidodendron — a 

 common carboniferous group — has undoubtedly been continued into the Permian 

 period : a well-marked species occurs in the bituminous Mergerl-schiefer of Ruppers- 

 dorf, in Silesia : Brongniart notices two species as occurring in Russia ; and a specimen 

 of the genus has also been found in the subordinate sandstone at Westoe, in Durham. 

 Calamites are somewhat common ; three species having been found in the Todte- 

 liegende, near Oschatz ; one, in the corresponding rock at Westoe ;^ and four more in 

 Russia. Ferns are more numerous : Professor Naumann has discovered several 

 species near Oschatz ; Major Gutbier, and others, have noticed many more found in 

 Saxony. Fischer de Waldheim, Morris, and Brongniart, have made out nineteen 

 species occurring in Perm : beautiful specimens of several others occur in Silesia ; 

 and a single one {Neuropteris Hutioniania) characterises the Marl slate of Durham : 

 but, on the whole, only a generic relation can be established between them and the 

 numerous Ferns which vegetated during the Carboniferous epoch, — Neuropteris tenuifolia 

 found in the mines of Santagulova being the only one as yet identified with a Coal- 

 measure species.^ Psaronius, and some other genera of the sub-class Filicales, found 



1 Professor Sedgwick notices " traces of calamites" occurring in the lower New Red Sandstone of Cum- 

 berland. (Vide Proceedings Geol. Soc, vol. i, p. 344.) 



2 Carboniferous species of plants have been found in the (?) Triassic beds of Savoy. (Vide postea, p. xvi.) 



