1919.] 
Benson.—Mesozoic Floras of Australasia. 
31 
beds of the same age.* It occurs also in the Jurassic beds of Malvern 
Hills. Professor Seward has expressed some doubt as to the correctness 
of this conclusion ; but, though Glossopteris has recently been reported 
from the Rhaetic (Molteno) beds of South Africa, its complete absence 
from the rich Mesozoic floras of Australia appears to strengthen Dr. Arber’s 
position. 
The Ipswich beds are followed by the unfossiliferous Bundamba beds, 
above which comes the very fossiliferous Walloon series, with which the 
bulk of the Mesozoic plant-bearing strata in Australia may be correlated. 
They form the Clarence coal-measures in north-eastern New South Wales, 
and the chief storage-beds for the Great Artesian Basin, the coal-measures 
of Victoria, and those found in the northern part of South Australia. The 
plant-beds that are interstratified with the marine Jurassic rocks of Western 
Australia may also be of the same age— i.e., Lower Jurassic. In the 
Lower Jurassic also Dr. Arber groups the plant-beds of the Malvern Hills 
(Canterbury), and the Mokoia Farm, near Gore, considering that those of 
Waikawa are of Middle Jurassic age, while those at the Mataura Falls may 
be of an age intermediate between these. Here again there are but few 
forms common to Australia and New Zealand. Taeniopteris Daintreei 
spatula and species of Claclophlebis and Coniopteris occur in both ; also 
Pteropkyllum, Ptilophyllum, and Podozamites. The Ginkgoales are repre¬ 
sented in Australia, but not in this country, and there are more cycads also 
in the former. 
Of special interest among Australasian Mesozoic plants are the beauti¬ 
fully preserved petrified stems of osmundaceous ferns, which are probably 
plants of the same character as those the leaf-impressions of which are 
termed Cladophlebis . Two species of Osmundites were described by Dr. 
Kidston and the late Dr. Gwynne-Vaughan as from Gore and Toitoi, but 
it is possible that they originally came from Waikawa, whence Dr. Sinnott 
obtained and described further material, together with some from Kawhia. 
Drs. Kidston and Gwynne-Vaughan have pointed out the resemblance 
shown to these New Zealand forms by a specimen found by the writer near 
Toowoomba, in south-eastern Queensland, which was probably derived from 
the Jurassic Walloon rocks, and is therefore approximately coeval with the 
New Zealand specimens. Further examples obtained from the Walloon 
series are now being investigated by Mr. Sahni, of Cambridge. 
In addition to these petrifactions, there are some araucarian stems, 
found probably at Waikawa, which have not yet been described, and a 
preliminary description has been given by Dr. Shirley of a number of 
stems of a somewhat similar character occurring at Ipswch, in Queensland. 
Further work will be necessary before these can be compared. 
In the number of species in general the Australian Mesozoic flora is 
nearly four times as rich as that of New Zealand, which might be accounted 
for by the coastal character of the New Zealand deposits as compared with 
the more purely continental conditions attending the formation of the 
Australian deposits. Probably, however, the number of New Zealand species 
will be augmented by further collecting, though the same may perhaps be 
said also of the Australian collection. 
Considerable interest attaches to the recognition of the Lower Cre¬ 
taceous age of the plant-beds at the Waikato Heads, which lie conformably 
* Dr. Walkom, however, does not concur in this indentifieation of L. Lillieanum 
with P. Feistmantelli, believing the latter to be a true Phyllopteris. 
