Mines and Mineral Statistics, 
157 
Middle Paleozoic Eocks. 
The late Mr. Jukes desired the term Devonian to he eliminated, 
referring the so-called beds to the bottom of the Carboniferous 
formation ; but geologists have not generally accepted that 
proposal. The series of shells, corals, &c., from the Murrumbidgee, 
which I submitted in 1858 to Messrs. Salter and Lonsdale, 
through Sir E. I. Murchisou, Bart.,* excited doubts as to their 
belonging to any but Silurian and Carboniferous deposits. 
Among these were Phanerotiuus, Loxonema, Atrypa reticularis, 
Orthis resupinafa^ Murchisonia, Stro 2 )homeua, and Spirifera of 
various species. 
Mr. Salter’s Eeport to me was as follows : “These fossils are 
of a mixed character, many being of unquestionable Silurian age, 
and others having all the asjmct of Carboniferous and Devonian 
fossils. It will not be so easy to jjredicate those of Devonian 
type, as there is much similarity between fossils of that age and 
those of either of the other systems, the Lower Devonian species 
being very like Silurian, and the Upper like Carboniferous ones. 
But if none of the fossils came from Carboniferous beds, then 
there must certainly be Devonian forms mixed with Upper 
Silurian.” 
Mr. Morris contributed, in 1845, a paper to Strzelecki’s work 
of that year, in which he says : “ The Paheozoic scries of 
Australia and Tasmania may be regarded as jmrtly the equiva- 
lent of the Devonian and Carboniferous systems of other 
countries.” 
In 1861 (Cat. Viet, Exit.) Professor MUoy stated that “ there 
had as yet been no exact identifications to 2 )rove the existence 
in Australia of the intermediate Middle Palaeozoic or Devonian 
formation.” And as recently as 1866, Aheomte d’Archiac 
{Gtologie et EaMontologie, p. 468), writes thus ; “Lc develoi:)pe- 
ment dcs series siluriennes et carboniferes dans I’Australie doit 
y faire 8 oup 9 onner entre elles un representant de celle qui vient 
de nous occuper ; niais il ne semble j>as qu’elle y ait encore etc 
bien characterisee par ses fossiles.” 
About the same time Professor M‘Coy (Exhibition Essays of 
1866-7) mentioned that the limestones of Buchan, in Gippsland, 
contained “ characteristic corals, Flacodermatous fish and abund- 
ance of Spirifera Icevicosiaia, perfectly identical with sjiecimens 
from the European Devonian limestones of the Eifel.” In the 
Official Eecord of the Exhibitions of 1872-3, the addition of 
some other places in Gippsland (unnamed) and of Mount Gibbo, is 
introduced b}' the Under Secretary of Mines for Ahetoria ; and 
in 1874 also, Mr. E. Brough Smyth included in his “ Progress 
Eeport of the Geological Survey of Ahetoria,” a list of fossils of 
'f See Murchison’s “ Siluria,” 3d ed., p. 296, and 4tli. ed., p. 276 and p. 462. 
