44 
DIENEll : I'ftlAS Of THE HIMALAYAS. 
Shalshal cliff, and emphasizing the decidedly Triassic aspect of the 
latter. In his summary (p. 172) he considers the Indian Otoceras 
beds as forming the base of the Buntsandstein, that is the lowest Trias- 
sic beds following immediately above the upper boundary of the^ 
Permian deposits, without any distinct demarcation. " The fauna of. 
Otoceras Woodwardi is the oldest fauna of Triassic age containing 
cephalopoda, which has as yet been discovered. It is somewhat 
younger than the Otoceras beds of Julfa, but older than the cephalo- 
pod horizon of the Alpine Werfen beds.i In the Alps no cephalopod- 
bearing strata correspond to this Himalayan horizon, but only the 
bivalve fauna of the lower division of the Werfen beds (Seiser 
Schichten of F. v. Richthofen)." 
This correlation of the Otoceras stage with the Seis beds has been 
fully corroborated by A. Bittner - who on the strength of his examina- 
tion of the Lamellibranchiata collected by Griesbach and Diener, com- 
pared them with species from the lower division of the Werfen beds 
(horizon of Seis) and decided that they were also of Triassic, not of 
Permian, age. 
A different interpretation of the age of the Otoceras fauna was 
attempted in 1900 by F. Noethng after a tour among the Ceratite 
beds of the Salt Range. 
In his " Geological Results " W. Waagen had come to the con- 
clusion that a stratigraphical gap existed in the sequence of the 
Salt Range between the Permian Productus limestone and the 
Ceratite beds. Noetling, who was deputed to the Salt Range, found 
Waagen's statement contradicted by actual facts. He held the view 
that the entire Ceratite formation must be included with the Permian 
system, the gradual passage from the Productus limestone to the 
Ceratite beds making a stratigraphical subdivision into two great 
periods an impossibiUty. He also reported that he had discovered 
Otoceras in the Ceratite marls, which must consequently be correlated 
with the Himalayan Otoceras beds.^ 
i = Campil beds (V. v. Richthofen). 
~ A. Bittner : Himalayan Fossils, Paluonl. Ind., ser. XV., Vol. Ill, Pt. 2, pp. 
74, 76. 
3 F. Xoetling : General Report, Geol. Svrv. of India, 1899-1900, p. 42.— Uebcr 
die AufSndung von Otoceras sp. in der Salt Range, Ntucs Jahrb. f. Min., 1900, 
p. 130. 
( 245 ) 
