PART 3.] 
Feistmantel .- Fossil Floras in India. 
133 
Notes on Fossil Floras in India, by Ottokar Feistmantel, M.D., Paleontologist, 
Geological Survey of India. 
XIY, XV, XVI. 
XIV.—On a Tree fern stem from the Cretaceous Rocks near Trichinopoly in 
Southern India. (With Plate.) 
Amongst the fossil plants in the collections of the Geological Survey there is a portion 
of a tree fern stem from Trichinopoly, collected by Mr. H. F. Blanf'ord from the same strata 
with the marine animal remains which yielded the numerous material for Dr. Stoliezka’s 
monographs on the history of these fossils. Forms of the same kind have as yet been found 
mostly in cretaceous rocks at several pretty distant localities, on almost the same horizon, so 
that, if there were no information about our specimen, one might conjecture its being of 
cretaceous age. 
If we look through the literature, we find (not regarding the carboniferous Mega- 
phylum and Caulopteris, which have different characters) fern trees of this kind, first described 
and figured from Kaunie in Bohemia, by Comte Kaspar Sternberg* * * § ). This illnstrous 
author, however, not knowing well the relations of the locality, and not knowing at that time 
any of the fossils which wore later found associated with these stems, described them from 
the disposition of the scars and from their superficial resemblance with some stems of Lepido- 
dendron and Sagenaria, as Lepidod. punctatum, Sternb., and the locality Kaunie as be¬ 
longing to the carboniferous formation. Brongniartf described it even as Sigillaria, and 
also as carboniferous. 
Prof. Goppert, 1836,J was the first to describe it as a fern, but placed it with the 
genus Caulopteris, species of which genus occur mostly in carboniferous strata. The same 
author described another species as Caulopteris Singeri from Silesia, which he later, how¬ 
ever, united with that Bohemian species. 
Presl, 1838, in Sternberg's Flora der Vorwelt, placed it with Protopteris as Protopt. 
punctata, and consequently the Caulopteris Singeri, Gopp., was also placed with Protopteris, 
Corda§ changed also the specific name to Protopteris Sternbergi, considering the 
locality, however, also as carboniferous (1845). 
But soon after this, already in 1852, Prof. Reuss || mentioned that Kaunie does not 
belong to carboniferous, but is cretaceous, which in the subsequent year (1853) was quite 
distinctly shown by Prof. Krejci of Prague, who examined the locality, and proved that 
the sandstone wherein the Protopteris Sternbergi (punctata ) was found is not carboniferous 
but cretaceous (cenoman.); he found again some stems of the same speeies, and also two 
new forms, of which one was named Alsophilina Faunitziana, Dorm., and the other 
Oncopteris Nettwalli, Dorm., and figures of both were given with his paper, all being 
cretaceous. 
In 1869 the same author** published an exhaustive report on the stratigraphical relations 
of the cretaceous formation in Bohemia, wherein, on pages 46 and 88-89, Protopteris 
* Versucli einer Flora der Vorwelt, I. fase. 1, p. 19, tab. iv. f. i. viii. 2. 
t Histoire de v£get. fossil p. 421, tab. 141, f. i. 
% System, filic. fossil, 1836, p. 449. 
§ Corda Beitrage zur Flora der Vorwelt, 1845, 
|| Jabrb. d. K. K. Geol. Rcichsanst, Vol, III, n. 2, p. 105. 
% Kouniokd Skila, in “Ziva,” 1853. 
** Archiv f. naturw. Dureh forebung von Bohmen j geol. Sektion, IBd. Studicn im Gebiete d, Bohm, Kreide- 
formation. 
