PROCEEDINGS OF GEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. 



211 



to the Millepora-bed;— equal to the zone of Am. ff^imphriesianus. The fossils of 

 these marine and fi-eshwater beds were noted as existmg in the cabinets of Leck- 

 enby, Bean, and others. 



The zone of Am. ParJcinsoni has the following synonyms, according to the 

 author : — " Trigonia-grit and Gryphite-grit," Murchison and Strickland ; " Rag- 

 stone and Clypeus-grit," Hull; " Spmosa-stage," Lycett; " Brauner Jura e" 

 (pars), and " Parkinsonthone, Brauna Jura S imd e " (pars), Quenstedt ; Calcaire 

 a Poiypiers," Terquem ; " Die Schichten des Ammonites Parkinsoni," Oppel. 

 This zone is the most persistent of the three subdivisions of the Inferior Oolite, 

 and is its only represenfative in the south-eastern parts of Gloucestershire. 



The sections of Leckhampton Hill, Ravensgate Hill, Cold Comfort, Birdlip Hill, 

 and Rodborough HiU afford the fossils and details illustrative of this zone. 



In this communication Dr. Wright endeavoured to show that the Inferior Oolite 

 of the South of England admits of a subdivision into three zones of life, and that 

 each zone is characterised by the presence of MoUusca, Echinodermata, and Corals 

 special to each. 2d. That these three zones are very unequally developed in dif- 

 ferent regions both in England, France, and Germany ; the individual beds com- 

 posing the zones being sometimes thin and feebly developed (or altogether absent) 

 in some localities, but thick and fully developed in others ; the zone of Am-Mtir- 

 chisonce is the one most frequently absent ; that of Am. Rmnphriesianus has a 

 wider area; and the zone of ^m. Parkinsoni is the most persistent, is widely ex- 

 tended, and is very often the sole representative member of the Inferior Oolite 

 formation. 3d. That many Lamellihranchiata and a few Gasteropoda are common 

 to the three zones, and that most of the Ammonites, Brachiopioda, Echinodermata, 

 and Corals are limited in their range to one of the zones ; but that each zone pos- 

 sesses a fauna which is sufficiently characteristic of it. 4th. The Parkin soni-zone 

 possesses many species of MoUusca and Echinodermata in common vdth the Corn- 

 Itrash; and the Murchisonse-zone, in like manner, contains many Lamellihran- 

 chiata, which appeared for the first time in the Jurensis-stage, although all the 

 Cephalopoda of these two stages are specifically distinct from each other. 



April 20th, 1859.— Major-General Portlock, V.P,, in the chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. "On some Reptilian Remains from South Africa." By Professor Owen, 

 F.R.S., F.G.S. 



Fam. Crocodilia. Galesaurus planiceps, the Flat-headed Galesaur (fi-om 70X77, 

 polecat, aavpos, lizard), a genus and species founded on an entire cranium and 

 lower jaw. The skull in length less than twice the breadth, much depressed, and 

 fiat above. Occipital region sloping from above backward, divided by a high and 

 sharp ridge from the temporal fossse, there wide and rhomhoidal ; orbits small ; 

 nostrU single and terminal. Dentition, i —g, c J^, m j^-^^ ; all the teeth close- 

 set, except the intervals for the crowns of the long canines when the mouth is 

 closed ; canines of the shape and proportions of those in Mustela and Viverra, 

 without trace of preparation of successors in the sockets ; of quite mammalian 

 character. Incisors longish and slender, molars subcompressed, both with simple 

 pointed crowns, of equal length, and undivided roots. Original transmitted by 

 Governor Sir Geo. Gray, K.C.B. From the sandstone rocks, Rhenosterberg. 



Cynochampsa laniarius, the Dog-toothed Gavial (from kvwi/, dog, and x«/"'l'«) 

 Egyptian name for Crocodile, apjjlied by Wagner to the Indian Gavial). This 

 genus and species is founded on the rostral end of the upper and lower jaws of a 

 Crocodilian Reptile, with a single terminal nostril, situated and shaped as in 

 Teleosaurus, and indicating similarly long and slender jaws. Only the incisive and 

 canine parts of the dentition are preserved ; but these closely correspond with the 

 same parts in Galesaurus, the incisors being equal and close-set, of simple conical 

 form, and the canines suddenly contrasted by their large size. In shape they 

 resemble closely the completely formed canines in Carnivorous Mammals. There 

 is no trace of successional teeth. Original transmitted by Governor Sir Geo. 

 Gray, K.C.B., from Rhenosterberg, South Africa. 



Fam. DiCYNODONTiA. Subgenus Ptychognathus, Ow. (tttuxos, ridge, 7m0os, 

 jaw.)— This subgenus is founded on four more or less entire skulls, two retaining 

 the lower jaw, referable to two species. 



