The Glacial Period in Australia. 45 
these were dredged up from a depth of 90 fathoms off the 
Cape of Good Hope; but a few shells, which after careful 
comparison with the specimens in the Museum, I pronounce 
to be the same species of L. Belcheri, were lately cast 
ashore on the south coast of South Australia. They are 
much smaller in size than the fossil specimens, and their. 
extreme rarity shows the different conditions under which 
they now exist. Pectunculus laticostatus is another of the sur- 
vivors, but now neverfound in Australia. A coral (Plabellwm) 
another, but existing only in the Chinese seas. These and is 
other instances which might be alleged prove that whatever 
changes have taken place are from a warmer to a colder 
climate, since the earlier tertiary periods in 8. Australia. 
But when we come to those deposits which correspond in 
point of time with the glacial period of Europe, we find the 
contrast still more marked. As a general rule in the glacial 
deposits, it is said that shells of existing species exist only 
in extreme Arctic latitudes, and when found in tropical 
latitude of tropical species are always stunted in their 
erowth in such a manner as must be attributed alone to 
cold influences. Not only also were Arctic species able to 
live in the temperate seas of Britain, but species belonging 
to temperate species were able, owing to the severity of the 
climate, to find a congenial home in tropical seas. Now, in 
Australia, we find the exact contrary. Though we do not 
find actual tropical species in our quaternary beds of Aus- 
tralia, still we find a great many species which only live 
now in much warmer parts of Australia. A fine instance of 
this was lately furnished to me by Mr. Lefroy, the super- 
intendent of the Convict Department of W. Australia. He 
sent to me from Perth two very large specimens of Fusus 
colossus, some which had been dug out from the quarries 
close to the prison. I need not remind you of the fine 
- specimen of this shell which is in our National Museum, and 
was brought from Port Essington. One of my fossils is as 
large, and weighs about 10lbs. As far as I am aware 
F. colossus has never been found outside the tropics, and yet 
it appears that it was able to live and grow to a large size 
at Perth, W. A., during what was a period of extreme cold in 
Europe. But this is not a solitary instance. The whole 
quaternary fauna of Perth is of an actually tropical character. 
In beds of the same age, in South Australia, we have the 
same phenomena repeated. All the shells found are of much 
larger size than those which exist upon the coast at present, 
