xxiv PERMIAN FOSSILS. 



fauna of the period in question, the character of this fauna is, nevertheless, such as to 

 command the hveliest attention of all who study the past progress of organic develop- 

 ment on our Planet ; since, whatever may be our views as to the genesis of species, the 

 structure of the Permian reptiles is confessedly of a higher grade than ought to have been 

 expected. Passing over the doubtful, or imperfectly known genera Bhopalodon, Bri- 

 thopus, Orthopus, and Syodon, discovered in the Permian rocks of Russia, our attention may 

 be directed to the true Reptilians known under the names of Thecodontosaurus, Paltso- 

 saurus, and Protorosaurus. These three genera have been placed in the Thecodont (an 

 extinct) section of the order Lacertilia ; instead of being organized after the type of the 

 most fish-like Perreni-branchiate Batrachians or lowest reptiles, their structure would 

 rank them at the head of the Lacertian order ; as they had well organized extremities, 

 and were furnished with teeth implanted in distinct sockets, instead of being soldered, as 

 in frogs, to a simple alveolar parapet.^ The English and German Thecodont Lacertians 

 are found in the lowest members of the Permian system, — the Protorosaurus and 

 Palceosaurus having been discovered in the Kupfer-schiefer of Thuringia, and the 

 Thecodontosaurus, at Redland near Bristol, in the Magnesian Conglomerate, supposed 

 by many to be the equivalent of the last formation, if not of the subordinate Todte- 

 liegende of Germany. The reptiles of the Permian rocks of Russia have been found 

 in the cupreous grits, which are supposed to occupy the highest position in the 

 system. This class of animals is the highest yet known to have lived during the 

 Permian period. 



Let us, in the next place, endeavour to ascertain — to what extent its flora and fauna 

 relate the Permian period to that which immediately preceded, or to the one which 

 immediately followed it. But before commencing, it will be necessary to observe, that 

 considering the absence of the remains of many plants and animals, the existence oi 

 which during the Triassic period is strongly countenanced by hypothetical con- 

 siderations, — and, considering the unsettled position of many beds, some of which have 

 been referred to the Carboniferous, and others, to the Triassic system, — it must be 

 evident, that much remains to be done before any very decided view can be taken on 

 the present important question. The conclusion likely to be adopted, however, may, 

 r think, be considered as being approximately correct. 



In addition to the few instances already noticed, the presence of Carboniferous 

 species of plants {Odontopteris Brardii, Annularia longifolia, Lepidodendron ornatissima, 

 Pecopteris Cyathea, Sfc.)^ in what appear to be Triassic, or, according to many, Jurassic 

 deposits, near Petit Cceur in the Tarentaise, and other parts of the Alps, where they 

 are associated with Ammonites and Belemnites, shows that several Protozoic forms 

 were continued into the Deuterozoic period. Doubtless a few large groups, and 



^ Owen, ' Report on British Fossil Reptiles,' in Report of the Eleventh Meeting of the British Asso- 

 ciation, pp. 197-198. 



2 Consult a valuable memoir ' On the Fossil Plants from the Arthracite Formation of the Alps of Savoy,' 

 in the Quarterly Journal of the -Geological Society, vol. v, parti, by C. J. F. Bunbury, Esq., F.G.S. 



