ON IRISH PERMIAN FOSSILS. 
69 
Binney, of Manchester, who examined the Cultra deposit in ques¬ 
tion, in 1852, has lately published a paper “ On the Permian Beds 
of the North-West of England.” Briefly noticing the geology of 
Cultra, this gentleman observes:—“However, past Cultra landing- 
place there is, beyond all doubt, as good a magnesian limestone as 
any in Yorkshire, containing shells of the genera Schizodus and 
Bakevellia.”* 
The determination which I came to as to the age of the Cultra 
“ fossiliferous dolomite” is remarkably confirmed by the occurrence 
in county Tyrone of a perfectly analogous deposit, the relative posi¬ 
tion of which clearly proves it to belong to the Permian System. 
My attention was first drawn to this deposit on accidentally 
seeing, in August last, a small collection of fossils in the Dublin 
Museum of Irish Industry, unnamed, but labelled as having been 
found “near Artrea, county Tyrone.”f As the specimens were 
under lock in a glass-case I could not examine them sufficiently; but 
feeling convinced that they were true Permian species, I resolved 
on visiting, at my earliest opportunity, the locality indicated on the 
label. 
In September last I went down to Artrea, and after a little 
trouble succeeded in finding the deposit I was in search of exposed 
in a small quarry a few yards square, at about a hundred yards or 
so north of the road leading from Artrea to Annaghone, where it 
passes along the northern base of Tullyconnel Hill. The deposit 
consists of a well-characterized magnesian limestone, of a yellowish 
brown colour and a somewhat gritty feel, J closely agreeing in these 
respects with the magnesian limestone occurring on the coast of 
Durham. It also corresponds with much of the Zechstein dolomite 
in Germany. 
My attention was drawn to the quarry by some magnesian lime¬ 
stone blocks in an old wall on the road side adjoining a dilapidated 
* Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, vol. xii. 
f Mr. Jukes informs me that the late Professor E. Forbes placed the Artrea 
fossils in the Museum by themselves, with a label “Permian?” This label, how¬ 
ever, entirely escaped my notice. 
X It is occasionally of an oolitic texture, and contains small portions of quartz, sel¬ 
dom exceeding half an inch in size. Mr. Jones, to whom I sent portions of the lime¬ 
stone containing the remains of Entomostraca for examination, remarks:—“It is 
curious to observe the quartz grains in the rock, and how sometimes they become 
partially coated, like the nuclei of the minute oolite grains.” 
