12 
Sedimentary Formations. 
Middle Paleozoic Bocks. 
The laic Mr. Jukes desired the term Devonian to he eliminated, 
referring the so-called beds to the bottom of the Carboniferous 
formation ; but geologists have not generally accepted that 
proposal. The series of shells, corals, &c., from the Murruinbidgee, 
which I submitted iu 1858 to Messrs. Salter and Lonsdale, 
through Sir B. I. Murchison, Bart., # excited doubts as to their 
belonging to any but Silurian and Carboniferous deposits. 
Among these were Phanerotinus, Loxonema, Atrypa reticularis , 
Orthis rempinata , Murchisonia, Strophomena, and Spirifera of 
various Bpecies. 
Mr. Salter’s Beport to me was as follows ; “These fossils are 
of a mixed character, many being of unquestionable Silurian age, 
and others having all the aspect of Carboniferous and Devonian 
fossils. It will not be so easy to predicate those of Devonian 
type, as there is much similarity between fossils of that ago and 
those of either of the other systems, the Lower Devonian species 
being very like Silurian, and the Upper like Carboniferous ones. 
Put if none of the fossils came from Carboniferous beds, then 
there must certainly be Devonian forms mixed with Upper 
Silurian.” 
Mr. Morris contributed, in 1845, a paper to Strzelecki’s work 
of that year, in which lie says : “ Tne Palaeozoic series of 
Australia and Tasmania may be regarded as partly the equiva¬ 
lent of the Devonian and Carboniferous systems of other 
countries.” 
In 1SG1 {Cat. Viet. J£x7i.) Professor M‘Coystated that “there 
had as yet been no exact identifications to prove the existence 
in Australia of the intermediate Middle Palaeozoic or Devonian 
formation.” And as recently as 1S6G, Vicomto d’Archiac 
( Geologic et Falcon tologie, p. 468), writes thus : “Le developpo- 
ment des series siluriennes et carbonif£res dans l’Australie doit 
y faire soupeonner entre elles un representant de celle qui vient 
de nous occuper ; mais il ne semblo pas qu’elle y ait encore etc 
bien characterisce par scs fossiles.” 
About the same time Professor M‘Coy (Exhibition Essays of 
1SGG-7) mentioned that- the limestones of Buchan, in Gippsland, 
contained “ characteristic corals, Flacodermatous fish and abund¬ 
ance of Spirifera Icevicostata , perfectly identical with specimens 
from the European Devonian limestones of the Eifel.” In the 
Official Becord of the Exhibitions of 1872-3, the addition of 
some other pl&ces in Gippsland (unnamed) and of Mount Gibbo, is 
introduced by the Under Secretary of Mines for Victoria; and 
in 1874 also, Mr. B. Brough Smyth included in his “ Progress 
Beport of the Geological Survey of Victoria,” a list of fossils of 
* Sco Murchison’s “Siluria,” 3d ed., p. 29G, and 4th. ed., p. 276 and p. 462. 
