REPORT OF THE STATE PALEONTOLOGIST 1902 



951 



of the Upper Cambric, as was clearly indicated by Lapworth's 

 investigations. There can hence be no doubt that even where 

 the Dictyonema zone contains no characteristic fossils of the 

 Upper Cambric beds, it should be united with the latter and not 

 with the succeeding graptolite faunas of the Lower Siluric. 



Lately 1 Dr Matthew has also described the Dictyonema zone 

 as overlying the Peltura zone from Cape Breton island. 



Dr Ells's exhaustive Report on the Geology of a portion of the 

 Province of Quebec 2 and the appended list of fossils by Dr Ami 3 

 prove that in the classical region of Logan's Quebec group the 

 Dictyonema bed has not yet been observed. In citing Lap- 

 worth's correlation of the Dictyonema zone, and remarks (p. 48k) 

 Dictyonema sociale zone is mentioned as " presum- 

 ably Cambrian," and it is added " that Dictyonema has not, 

 in so far as is yet known, been figured from the Point Levis 

 beds, the most westerly point from which it is reported being 

 Matane." 



Dr Ells is however inclined to doubt the correctness of Lap- 

 worth's correlation of the Dictyonema zone, and remarks (p. 48k) 

 that Lapworth considers the Dictyonema zone from the presence 

 of three species to belong to a lower formation than the Cambro- 

 Siluric, and that of these two, a Clonograptus and a Dicho- 

 graptus are apparently new and therefore not conclusive. 



The presence of Dictyonema appears, then, to be the only 

 reason why those portions in which this form is known to occur, 

 otherwise intimately associated with strata holding Carubro- 

 Silurian fossils, and which have so long been regarded as be- 

 longing to that group, should be removed from their apparently 

 proper position in the series and placed in a different geological 

 system; and, in view of the wide range Dictyonema is known 

 to possess, we may well hesitate before deciding on such a separa- 

 tion, unless confirmatory stratigraphical evidence can be pre- 

 sented. 



While this conservatism at the time of the publication of the 

 report was justified to some extent, the facts brought out by 

 Matthews's and Brogger's investigations serve to dispel all 



1 Hoy. Soc. Can. Proc. and Trans. 1891. p. 360, Xat. Hist. Soc. New Bruns- 

 wick. Bui. 19. 1900. 4:219; ibid. no. 20. 1902. v. 4, pt 5. p. 377 ff. 



2 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Sur. of Canada, ser. 2. 1888. v. 3, pt 2. p. 5k-114k. 

 'Ibid. p. 116k-120k. 



* Ibid. p. 45k. 



