170 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
also abundant in the Malta bed has for its allies E. 
biarritzensis , Cont. from the Tongrian of the 
Calcaire a Asteries in the south of France, and the 
Vincentin beds. The conclusion, therefore, that 
he arrives at is that the Malta Lower Limestone 
is certainly of Oligocene age, and most probably 
Tongrian/ The occurrence of considerable quan- 
tities of Clypeasier altus , and its numerous varieties 
C. pyra mulct l is , C . portentosus, C. alticostatus , C. 
turritus, and G. tauricus (? J, and the equal abun- 
dance C, marginatus established beyond a doubt 
the synchronism existing between this formation 
and the Helvetian stage of the Calabrian of 
Sicily. The Upper Coralline Limestone may, with 
equal certainty be assigned to the Tortonian both 
on account of its superposition to the “Green- 
sands” as well as owing to the similarity that exists 
between the fossils found in it with those found 
by Herr Fuchs in the Leith-Kalk of the v ienna 
Basin. 
The Giobigerina Limestone and the Blue Clays 
would then obviously belong to the Aquitanian. 
In corellating them with this stage several 
difficulties have to be overcome. For instance, we 
are told that in the Aquitanian of Reggio although 
the same genera of echinoids occur such as 
Pericosmus , Spatangus, Sarseila , etc., yet not a 
single one of the Maltese species is to be found. 
Between the Zone a Pecten bonifaciensis of the 
Aquitanian stage of Corsica, and the Sclilier of 
Vienna differences also exist: but on the whole 
the resemblances to the Maltese fauna are more 
marked in these than they are in the Sicilian beds. 
From a consideration of the dual affinities that 
the Giobigerina fauna bear to the two groups of 
species found in these beds, and which have the 
characters of faunas of different depths the author 
concludes that the equivalents of the Malta beds 
stand thus: — 
Not the least interesting part of this ’memoir is 
the summary of the evidences that the echinoids 
afford us for correlating the Malta beds with those 
of the mainland. 
He points out that the Miocene deposits of the 
Mediterranean have been classified upon, two dif- 
ferent principles, the most generally accepted 
of which is that of Prof Suss who showed that 
the Vienna sands and limestone are shallow water 
beds, and that they are separated by a deep water 
deposit. To the former he gave the name “Medi- 
terranean Stufen,” and the intermediate bed he 
called the “Schlier,” His classification has been 
applied to the rocks in the greater part of the 
eastern Mediterranean. 
Herr Fuchs the Vienna geologist is a strong 
supporter of Siiss’s classification, and he has shown 
that it can be applied over an area extending to 
Greece, Asia Minor, Malta, and Northern Africa. 
Fuch’s views are borne out by the researches of 
Karrer in the Vienna Basin, Manzoni in Italy, and 
Mazzetta in Romagna. His conclusions are that the 
Leith-Kalk is the littoral representative of the 
Badner Tegel, that the Schlier along the Appenines 
is the deep sea continuation of the Molassa Mar- 
mosa and the Molasse Serpentinosa, and that the 
Astian in Sicily is the shore deposit of the Zanclean. 
Amid the Mediterranean Miocene he has there- 
fore, worked out the same principles which Prof. 
Lampworth had applied with such brilliant results 
to the southern uplands of Scotland. 
Herr Fuch’s labours were confined to the Central 
Mediterranean. Andrusov applied the same prin- 
ciples to the eastern portion, and to the Crimea. 
In the “Black Clay with Meleta” he found Pecten 
denudatus and other fossils characteristic of the 
“Schlier,” and in the overlying limestone he recog- 
nised a stratum corresponding to the “Med iterran 
Stiffen.” Prof. Suss afterwards summarized these 
results in his essay on the “Mittelmeer,” and Prof 
Neumayer also gave a sketch on the same subject. 
In the western Mediterranean Siiss’s system has 
not met with such a ready acceptance. 
The classification worked out by Professor C. 
Mayer in Liguria has there been adopted and has 
been applied, in France, Spain, and Algeria: and 
even in the Vienna Basin it has supporters. Fuchs 
showed that the Maltese rocks agreed with the 
Austrian series, but Mr. Gregory in inclined to go 
but a portion of the way with him, for as the Malte- 
se area was situated on the border-line between the 
two areas the strata therefore assume two diffe- 
rent sets of characters, some of which agree with 
the characters of the one half and some with 
those of the other. 
The occurence in the Malta beds of two groups 
of echinoderms so widely different in their habits 
and characters he attributes to the fact that the 
Maltese area was then situated on the border line 
which divided the Mediterranean into two parts, 
each of which greatly differed from the other in its 
physical aspects and conditions. The alternate eleva- 
tions and despressions to which the Maltese area 
was subjected led to corresponding changes in the 
fauna; the shallow water forms from the northwest 
Corsica. 
Malta. 
Vienna Basin. 
Series. 
Zone a Pecten bonifaciensis 
J Lower Giobigerina Limestone 
Sotzka Schichten 
Aquitanian 
< Upper „ „ j 
(Horner „ j 
Langhian 
Zone a Pecten cristatus 
Blue Clay f 
t Schlier i 
Zone h Cerites et Pleurotomes 
Greensand 
Grund. Schichten 
Helvetian 
