226 
ELEMENTS OE GEOLOGY. 
have a general range through the whole Miocene period, such 
as Cinnamomum polymorphiim (Fig. 138), and (7. Scheuchzeri^ 
also Planer a Pichardi^ Mich., Liquidambar europceum (Fig. 
135, p. 209), Juglans hilinica^ Cassia ambigua^ and (7. ligni- 
turn. Among the plants common to the Upper Miocene beds 
of CEningen,in Switzerland, are Platanus aceroides (Fig. 141, 
p. 221), Myrica vindobonensis^ and others. 
Upper Miocene Strata of Italy. —We are indebted to Sign¬ 
or Michelotti for a valuable work on the Miocene shells of 
Northern Italy. Those found in the hill called the Superga, 
near Turin, have long been known to correspond in age with 
the faluns of Touraine, and they contain so many species com¬ 
mon to the Upper Miocene strata of Bordeaux as to lead to 
the conclusion that there was a free communication between 
the northern part of the Mediterranean and the Bay of Bis¬ 
cay in the Upper Miocene period. 
Upper Miocene Tormations of Greece. — At Pikerme, near 
Athens, MM. Wagner and Roth have described a deposit in 
which they found the remains of the genera Mastodon^ Di- 
notherium^ Hipparion^ two species of Giraffe^ Antelope^ and 
others, some living and some extinct. With them were also 
associated fossil bones of the Semnopitheeus^ showing that 
here, as in the south of France, the quadrumana were char¬ 
acteristic of this period. The whole fauna attests the former 
extension of a vast expanse oUgrassy plains where we have 
now the broken and mountainous country of Greece; plains, 
which were probably united with Asia Minor, spreading over 
the area where the deep ^gean Sea and its numerous islands 
are now situated. We are indebted to M. Gaudry, who vis¬ 
ited Pikerme, for a treatise on these fossil bones, showing 
how many data they contribute to the theory of a transition 
from the mammalia of the Upper Miocene through the Plio¬ 
cene and Post-pliocene forms to those of living genera and 
species. 
Upper Miocene of India. Siwalik Hills. —The Siwalik Hills 
lie at the southern foot of the Himalayan chain, rising to the 
height of 2000 and 3000 feet. Between the Jumna and the 
Ganges they consist of inclined strata of sandstone, shingle, 
clay, and marl. We are indebted to the indefatigable re¬ 
searches of Dr. Falconer and Sir Proby Cautley, continued 
for fifteen years, for the discovery in these marls and sand¬ 
stones of a great variety of fossil mammalia and reptiles, to¬ 
gether with many fresh-water shells. Out of fifteen species 
of shells of the genera Paludina^ Melania^ Ampullaria^ and 
TJnio^ all are extinct or unknown species with the exception 
of four, which are still inhabitants of Indian rivers. Such a 
