Revieiv of Recent Geological Literature. 337 
of East Australia, Gaugamopteris cyclopteroides, which is so widely dis- 
tributed in India, being common to both continents.* 
In South Africa the central sandstone formation, which extends over 
the northern part of Cape Colony, over Orange Free State, Natal, Trans- 
vaal, and the desert lying westward, rests unconformably, in part, on the 
Devonian, but chiefly on^the celebrated Table Mountain sandstone which, 
in turn, rests conformably on the Devonian or unconformably on the Si- 
lurian, and which contains coal with remains of Lepidodendron and Cala- 
mites. 
The lower member of the overlying Karoo system is the Ecca shale, 
containing marine fossils. Above this follows the Ecca-conglomerate, so 
long regarded as eruptive, but whose glacial origin was first suggested by 
Dr. Sutherland. This formation, over 1,200 feet in thickness, consists of a 
grayish-blue, clayey matrix containing fragments of Quartzite, Granite, 
Gneiss, Greenstone, and clay shale, varying in size from pebbles to teutons 
in weight. It rests usually unconformably on the Table Mountain, 
sandstone whose contact surface is eroded with deep furrows and scratches, 
as if by the passage of a half plastic substance in which were embedded 
hard, angular fragments, such, in fact, as correspond exactly to known gla- 
cial action. An upper clay shale, of considerable thickness, follows which 
contains sandstone and coal in places, with occasional plants; although 
thus far only a a species of Glossopteris has been described. Following 
are the Koonap and the Beaufort strata containing vertebrate remains and 
plant impressions among which Tate has described five species of Gloss- 
opteris and one of Phyllotheca. The Stromberg strata are most nearly 
allied in vegetable and animal remains to the Rajmahal and Jubalpur strata 
of India, the plant genera being included in those of the latter formation. 
Ascending to the Uitenhage group a more complete paleontologic transi- 
tion to the Middle Jurassic takes place, the vegetable and animal remains 
corresponding with a surprising degree of coincidence with those of the 
upper formation at Cutch in the Oomia strata. Two species of plants are 
identical with those of the Rajmahal, while other genera are common to 
the Scarborough Oolite. 
In eastern Australia, so far as known, the situation is similar to that of 
south Africa, a Devonian formation with Lepidodendron and Cyclostigma 
sp.,above which occur the Carboniferous strata of the Muree formation. The 
latter at Stroud Arowa, Port Stephens, and Smiths creek, contain in their 
lower strata remains of Calamites radiatus Bi-ougn, Lepidodendron rel- 
theimianum and Volkmannia, along with other true Carboniferous fossils. 
The strata above, however, contain delicate corals and marine animals of 
Carboniferous affinities associated with plants, among which are Phyl- 
lotheca sp. and five species of Glossopteris,belonging chiefly to the Mesozoic. 
This part of the formation consists of a matrix of fine sand or shale in 
which are implanted pebbles and boulders of crystalline and other rocks, 
attended by ail the characteristic phenomena of deposition from icebergs. 
The marine animal remains are undisturbed in their original habitat. 
* Unfortunately it is impossible to reproduce herd the synopsis of the floras of th 
• different contineuts and horizons. 
