Further notes on the tertiary marine beds of Table Cape

BEDS

OF

TABLE

CAPE.

By

R.

M.

Johnston.

[Read llth July, 1876.]

In a formerpaperupon the above subject, I confined

my

observations principallytothe organisms themselves. Since

thattimeIhave visited Table Cape, and, assisted by Mr.

T. R. Atkinsonof this town,Ihave not only added to

my

col-lectiona large

number

of

new

s])ecies, but have by careful investigationbecome possessedofimportantparticularswhich

may

beof

some

value in determining the relative po.sitionof thisinteresting deposit.

On

approaching

Wynyard

fromthe sea, the eye is at first

arrested bya boldbasalticheadland,rising from thewaterat

an angle of45 degrees, to aheight of about 500 feet.

The

boldoutline and thecharacteristic level

summit

at once

sug-gests the idea that the striking object beforeyou

must

be the

well-known Table Cape.

On

a nearer approach, two smaller

roundedbluff's

come

intoview, and are rendered conspicuous

bythe contrastwhich theirwhite precipitousclifEs present, as

compared with the

wooded

and sombre slopes of Table

Cape

proper.

The

two smallerbluffs are isolated from each other

and from Table Cape by narrow valleys formed by erosion,

whilethe larger valley orbasinby which the river finds its courseto the seaseparates

them

from the little township of

Wynyard. Notwithstanding the gaps between the bluffs,

anordinary obsei'vercanperceive at a glance that the strati-fied bedsofthe smaller ones were at one time continuous, andthatthe protectingcapof basalt atthe

same

time spreadin

one continuous sheet overalltheadjacent ridges.

On

closer

examination it becomes evident that

we

have in these two

solitary bluffs a small fragment ofthat raised sea bottom

which, most probably,at a recent period connected

Tasmania

with the continentof Australia.

At

any rate it ismost con-clusive that

we

have in these stratified beds myriads of organismswhich were during the tertiary period inhabitants

of that vastshallow seawhich then covered the greater part

of Australia and

Tasmania

and

separated the remaining

portions into island groups.*

The

bluffnearesttothe township of "Wynyardis about 160 feethigh.

The

generalstrike isnorth andsouth, and the dip

inclinesabout5 degreesina north-westerly direction; and at

this angle the beds disappear at sea level under the great

basalticpromontory of Table Cape.

As

the series of beds

80

formingthedeposit attainsits greatest thickness inthe bluff

nearesttothe township, and asthe

same

relative characters

aremaintainedatotherplaces where the beds areexposed I

havechosen this point as the

most

suitable for illustrative

purposes. [Theaccompanying diagram will

show

the relative

extentandposition ofthe variousbeds.]

Conceive,therefore, awhite, beetlingsea-cliff, whosebaseis

obscuredby enormousblocks ofsandstone which, bythe

cease-less underminingaction of the sea, have recently been

dis-lodged from the various ledgeshigh overhead.

Those restless sea waves by which they were originally

formedare

now

at onceengaged in their destruction, andin

re-arranging out ofthe

same

materials a very similar set of

sandstone beds in the quiet coves of the neighbourhood.

Thus we

havethe

work

of destruction and construction car-riedon bythe

same

agency, and although

we

may

find inthe

new

arrangement acertain parallelism with the older

forma-tion; yet there are differences at once striking and

instruc-tive. For

example—

while theparticles of sand formingthe

original rock have only been subjected to a little

more

tear

and

wear, the includedorganisms areineverycase wholly

dis-solved. Itistrue that the existing types of lifewhich find a

home

anda gravein the

new

formation

may

have secreted in theirteststhe

same

elementswhichformerly enteredinto the composition ofthe testsoftheorganismsof the older

forma-tion, buttheformsthemselves are very different in

appear-ance. Wei'e the present sands consolidated andelevatedinto

a series ofcliffscorrespondingto those which

now

exist along

the shore, themostcarefulobservation might fail to find any

organism having itsexactcounterpart inthe older formation.

The

characteristic shells

—

Triqonia semi-undiilata; Pectuncuhislaticostafns; Cucullea

corioensls; 0.caiiiozoira; Voluta anticinqulata; V. welcli, etc.,

and the Polyzoa CeUepora gamhierensis; C. nummularia; C.

hemispherica; G. spoiu/iosa; Sdlicornaria sinuosa.

—

Corals

—

Plachotrochnsdeltoiileus; F.elongatvs,etc., etc.,of theolder for-mation, are not found in the

new

formation, whilst the

characteristic shells of the latter

—

Trigonia margaratacea

;

Waldheimia australis; Venusroborata; Fhasianellaaustralis;

Nassa pauperata, Risella nana, etc., etc., are nowhereto be

foundin the bedsofthe former.

I shall

now

giveabrief description of the various rock

di-visions ofthesection giveninthe diagram, and infollowing a

downward

order I shall offer such observations as

may

be necessary to impart to the

members

of this Society;

some

knowledgeofthe compositand relative extent of the various

on bv the Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, in classifying

and

describingtheorganismsthemselves.

BASALTIC

CAP

(a.)

Itisa singularfeature connected with the older stratified

rocksthat, whereexposedascliffs,theyare invariably capped with sheets of igneous rock. It would seem that where

the soft stratified beds were unprotected by a capping

ofthis sortthey have been washed

away

entirely or eroded

into valleys ofwhichPingal Valley

may

be taken as a type.

This suppositionwouldfullyaccountforthe vast districts of

elevated tablelands in Tasmania, everywhere terminatingin precipitousbluffs.

A

correspondingfeature ona smallerscale

may

be seeninconnection with the stratified beds of tertiary

age, ofwhichthe Table Cape beds form a striking example. Itisprobable that the depositwhich forms the main subject ofthe paperwould have beenentirely wasted

away

long ere thistimehad itnotbeen thatduring alatevolcanicperiodit

wascovered withsheets of basaltandbasaltictuff.

The

bluff

already mentioned iscoveredby a capof basalt and basaltic

tuffabout80feet in thickness. This cap, though

shown

in

diagramto be separatefromcorresponding capsinthe

neigh-bourhood must have,prior tothe erosion ofthevalleys, formed with

them

onecontinuoussheet.

The

basalt atthe onlyplacewhereafaceisexposedisgreatly

decomposed,andatfirst sight it might be inferredthat the

basalticcappingmightbe the re-arrangeddetritusofabasalt olderthan the rock whichit

now

reposes upon. This

infer-enceishowever extremely improbable, inasmuchasthereis

not theslightestevidence to

show

that the cap hasbeen the

result of the re-distribution of older material. It

may

be

remembered thatina formerpaperIdescribed a similarcap

ofbasalt, overlyingthe beds of lignite atBreadalbane.

As

they presented a superficial resemblance Idetermined

to subject

them

to analytical comparison, and forthis pur-poseI sent specimens of the rocks in questionto Professor

Ulrich, ofMelbourne, whose labours in connection with the

rocks of Australia have obtained for

him

a wide-world

reputation. After

making

sections of the rocks, and

sub-jecting

them

to microscopic examination he thuswriteswith

reference to the TableCapebasalt:

—

_"

The

rock_is

somewhat

similarto some of our recent basalts here, viz., it is

essen-tiallya feldsparbasalt with very little augite ; lotsof glass

andmagnetic titaniferous iron, and renderedporphyriticby

abundantgrainsand crystals of olivine. It differsfromthe

basalt ofBreadalbane bythat the latter contains abundance

of augite in well developed crystals." " These mineral

differences arehowever no criterion of age; for

we

havehere

genuine miocene basalts which can, mineralogically, not be

distinguishedfromrecent pliocene ones. Ifthe feldsparwere replacedby NepheleneorLeucitethroughoutabasalt sheet,

we

mightperhaps bejustifiedtodeclarethegeological age,within

certain limits, different from that ofan adjoining feldspar basaltflow, buteven in this instance great care is required, especiallyifconclusions are to be

drawn

as to the age of

underlying rocks." Happily

we

have

now

a

more

reliable

indextothe age of the underlying rocks than

may

be

ob-tainedfrom the comparative analysis of the constituents of

igneous rocks; it is, however, satisfactory that the learned

professor's analysis tends to confirm the opinion which I formerly entertained, viz., that the protecting cap overlying

themarine bedsat Table

Cape

is a recent hasalt, and very

slightly differs from a similar flow which overspreads the

lignites at Breadalbane.

Inordertoascertainwhetherthe intrusive rock, mentioned

by Mr. Allportin connectionwith the Travertin at Geilston

Bay,isofa similarcharacter tothe rocks atBreadalbane and

Table Cape, Professor Ulrich has, in a letter to me, kindly

volunteered to analyseanyspecimens from that quarter sent tohim. Forthispurpose, Mr.Allport, onbeing applied to,

atonce procuredand forwardedan interesting suite of

speci-mens. It willbe ofgreat value to have an established

rela-tionshipwith the various basalticrocksin Tasmania and

Vic-toria.

The

rock

known

asthe" older volcanic " in Victoriais

very similar tothe rockat Table Cape, and,likeit, the" older

volcanic" frequently caps the marine beds considered to

belongto the miocene age.*

IregretthatIcould notfindanaccessible spot to ascertain

whether the sandstone, upper bed, was altered at point of

junction with the basalt or not. Perhaps some future ob-server

may

be

more

fortunatein thisrespect.

TUERITELLA

GEOUP

[h.)

Followingthedescending order

we come upon

thegroupof

beds which immediately underlie the basalt as already

described.

The

grouphas been

named

by

me

inthediagram

as the " Turritella Group," because the small shell, T.

warhurtonii (Tenison-Woods), so abounds through this

particular formationasto giveit acharacter which would be

sufficiently distinctive

when

compared with the only other

*Ihavesince beeninformed byMr. Ulrich that the composition of the

83

division ofwhich the tertiarymarine deposit atTableCape is

composed.

The

groupisabout80 feet thickwhere fully ex-posed, and consists of a series of beds of white or gray

calcareoussandstone,

more

orlessfirmly consolidated.

Althoughthere aresome of the bedsinwhich scarcely any

otherorganismcan be seen but the Turritellaalreadyreferred

to; yet there are others inwhich organisms areextremely

variedandabundant.

There are also bands frequently occurringthroughoutthe

group, someof

them

can be traced horizontallyfor about a mile perhaps, inwhich Cellejwra gamhierensis (Busk) seems

tobe particularlyabundant.

So

much

does thelatter organism appear tobe abound in these bands, that I

am

of opinion that it is owing to the segregation of the carbonate of lime aroundthis coral,that thegreat relative hardnessofthese bandsisdue.

The

otherforms which give a character to these curious

bands appear tobe Echinodermata andBrachiopoda.

Of

six

distinct species sent to the Rev. J. E. Tenison-

Woods

for

diagnosis.theformresemblingHemipatagas?';ooJs/^(Etheridge) (so called afterthe learned gentlemanjust referred to) seems

to be the

most

abundant.

Among

the seven species of

Brachiopoda found, the most conspicuous is the fine shell, Waldheimia gamhierensis(Tenison-Woods),alsodescribedfrom specimens suppliedby the Rev. J. E. T.

Woods,

from

Mount

Gambler,South Australia.

The

mostabundant, however, is

a speciesof Terebratula, resembling alarge T. compta {Teri'

bratella tenisoni,Tenison-Woods).

In the lessinduratedsandstone beds, orbetweenthe bands

already described, Ihave discovered 15 or16 species of Poly-zoa and Corals

among

which I have beenable to recognise

many

of the

Mount

Gambler

forms, describedin " Observa-tionson the Geologyof South Australia" bytheRev. J. E.

Tenison-Woods, viz., Cellepora numviulina, G. spongiosa,

Salicornaria sinuosa, Plachotrochus delioides, P. elongatiis ? Flabellumvictoriaet F.gamhierense? etc., etc.

As

we

approach the point ofjunction with the underlying

division

we come upon

forms

common

to bothdivisions,

and

only distinguishedbyrelative abundance,

among

whichI

may

mention Typhis

M'Coyi

(Tenison-Woods) ; Valuta

anti-cinguJata (M'Coy) ; Ancillaria mucronata (Sow) ; Natica

Winllei (Tenison-Woods) ; Cucullea cainozoica

(Tenison-WoodsJ

; C. Corioensis (M'Coy) ; Fecfinicidus laticostatus

(M'Coy) (Tenison-Woods) ; l^ncula ixmida,a smallspeciesof

Cardita; a small species of Mgadora; and two species of Pecten, oneof

them

being anextremelyminute species.

describedbythe Eev, J. E. Tenison-

Woods,

as belonging to

the limestone bedsof

Mount

Ganibier,that the description

of thelatter wouldalmostsuffice forthe Turritella

Group

of

Table Cape,e.g., inpage 75, Geo. So. Austral.,the following

description ofthe

Mount

Gambler

bedsis given

—

"It ishere seen thatinaddition toadistinctline ofstratification,dividing the rockinto layersabout fourteenfeetthick,there areregular zones where particular fossils are associated. Thus,at the

first bed (fourteen feet) little is seen but Bryozoa and

Terebratulae; in ten feet next,less of the moss corals,

and

mere

Pectens; the nextis almostexclusivelycomposed ofa

Pecten

common

to thisformation with imbricatedstriaecalled

Pecten cearctatus, and a cellopore coral subsequently to be described ((7. gamhierensis). This state of things is nearly continued tothe bottom,where EchiniandEeteporse combine with the general mass."

Had

the learnedauthoraddedthat the small shell Turi^itella ivarhurtonii was found in great

abundance throughout the mass I should have supposed

that he was giving an exact description of the Turritella

Group

atTable Cape.

THE

CEASSATELLA

BED.

We

come

nexttothe lowestdivisionof themarinedeposit.

Eor itself as a rock it hardly deserves to be considered as

separatefrom theTurritella Group, which rests immediately

upon

it,wereitnotforthe factthat itappears to have been

accumulatedunderdifferentcircumstances.

The

nature

and

relativeabundance ofthe organisms contained initalso give

a characterwhich though most probably brought about by

local circumstances is yetmostpeculiar and sufficiently

dis-tinctive. In

making

a distinction, therefore, between the

Turritella

Group

(b.) andtheCrassatella

Bed

(c),itisnotto

be understood that the formsofthe lowerare nowhere to be found inthe higher, andviceversa. Allthatis

meant

bythe

distinctionisthat the characteristicshells ofthe lower bedor

divisionsuddenly diminishinquantityas

we

enter thehigher

groupandas

we

ascendeventhese gradually disappear.

We

also observe that certain forms, especially Corallines

and

Terebratulae, abundantly appear in the upper beds in

bands,which wererarely seen or altogether absent fromthe

lower.

The

Crassatella bedisextremelyvariable in thickness, for in

some

placesitattainsa thicknessofthreeandfourfeet, while

atotherplacesit is reducedtoa mere band of 3 and 4inches

thick. Everywhere throughout, however, it preserves a uniformcharacter.

85

thisorganismbelongsalmost exclusively to it,

and

in sonic

placesit is soabundantthatitforma distinct layers.

The

bed

itself

may

be said tobe composed of anirregular

agglomera-tion of shells

bound

up in a matrix of ferrugineous looking mud.

This substanceisvery fine andsoft,

and

seems to have a wonderful preservative property, for

many

of the shells

in-vested hy it have not only the fine enamel preserved but

in

many

cases the gelatinous ei»idermal

membrane

of a

species of Pecten (possibly P. coarctatiis ?), as perfect as

though it stillcontained thelivinganimal.

In this

mud

Ihave alsofoundgrit

and

rounded pebbles of

a yellowish quartz very abundant.

The

fine yellow

muddy

substance is itself principally composed ofthe

comminuted

remainsofvarious speciesof foramiaiferte. Perfect forms of

thelatter are,however, abundant,

among

whichIhavenoticed

various species of RotaJia, MarginiiUna, and Textularia. I

intend, at somefuture time, to study these microscopicforms

more carefully.

Although the exposed face of this shelly rockis extremely

hard, yet

when

masses of the rock are detached they are found to be extremely friable,

and

with ordinary carethe most delicate shells

may

beeasily extracted. Unfortunately

many

ofthe latterare already so fractured inthe rock that

when

separated irom the matrix thoyfall to pieces. There

arenumeroussmall caves hollowed out of this rock by the

wavesofthe sea at hightide

—

along the SandstoneCave,

and

it isfromthe roof of

some

of these caves that

some

ofthe mostinteresting species of shells have beenobtained.

The

greater

number

of species have alsobeen obtainedfromthis bed.

As

their

number

isso large Ihave prepared a complete

listina tabularform inanother place.''' It isonly necessary

to state here the

names

of those species, which from their

extraordmary size and abundance,givea distinctive character

tothissmallbutinteresting division, viz.

""Typhism'coyi(Woods).

Cyprea platypyga (M'Coy)

Murex

eyrei, Fnsus roblini.

*Spondylus.

Cypreaplatyrhynca(M'Coy) *Cassidanareticulospira,

Pectun-culuslaticustatus(Lamarckj.

Cyprea archeri (Woods), Cassis sutfiatus (Tenison-Woods),

Cuculleacorioensis(M'Coy).

Yohitaanticinguhita(M'Coy), Lyonsia agnewi (Tenison-Woods).

*Trivia em-opea, Voluta hannafordia (M'Coj^), Crassatella oblonga (Tenis()n-^^'oods).

Volutaweldii (Tenison-Woods).

Ancillariamucronata,Venusallporti (Tenison-Woods).

Venuscainozoica (Tenison-Woods).

*Trochitacalyptrseformis,Desh.

*Crepidula.

*Fissurella.

*Emarginula transenna (Tenison-Woods).

Turritella sturtii (Tenison-Woods),n.s.

Turritellawarburtoni, ditto, n.s.

Columbellaoxleyi, ditto, n.s. Marginella wentworthii, ditto,n.s.

Delphinulatetragonostoma,ditto, n.s.

Zizyphinus blaxlandi,ditto,n.s.

Margaritakekwickii,ditto, n.s.

Tenagodus occlusus, ditto, n.s.

Pleurotomajohnstonii, ditto, n.s.

Astralium(Calcar)fiindersii, ditto, n.s.

Astralium(Calcar)ornatissimum, ditto,n.s.

Limasquamosa, ditto, n.s. Carditagracilicostata, ditto,n.s.

Chionepropinqua, ditto,n.s.

Nuculatumida, ditto, n.s.

Ledacerebrecostata, ditto,n.s.

CucuUea cainozoica, ditto, n.s.

Terebraadditoides, ditto, n.s.

Itis also importanttonotice theoccurrence of fossil

wood

greatlydecomposedin this deposit, andoccasionallythe teeth

oftwo species ofsharkwhich had a world-wide distribution

during the tertiary period,viz.,

Lamna

elegans, Charcharodon

angustidens fAg.Jt

Of

the latter Professor

McCoy

writes:

—

"

The

present

species,evenas originally restrictedbyAgassiz, isone of the

most

abundant and characteristic miocenetertiary fossils of

every partofEurope and Americainwhich strataof this age

exist,

and

I recognised it

amongst

the Australian beds to

which T assignedmioceneandoligocene with great

astonish-ment, fromthisevidence of itsworld-widedistribution in the

tertiary period." '

CONGLOMERATE

(d.),

AND

SLATE

(e.)

The

rockformingthe floor

upon

which themarine deposit

atTable Cape has been thrown

down

is a highly indurated conglomerate. Itpresents a veryirregular outline, andforms

*Newspeciesnot yetdescribed.

Emu

Bay.

I

am

ofopiniontliat thisis the

same

conglomerate wbich

cropsoutou the Dial lianqc,and whicli is assigned by Mr.

Gould to Siluriau age. It is composed of highly altered

water-worn pebbles derived fromvariousancientrocks.

Some

ofthem arederived from a darkcrystalline limestone, whicli

appears to benon-fossiliferous.

One

remarkableblock, however, was, so far as Icouldlearn,

picked outof this conglomerateby Mr.

James

Smith,of West-wood, Forth. Itis highly fossiliferous, the prevailing form,

as

shown

in various sections, is undoubtedly a species of Brachiopod. I have not sufficiently studied this rock. I have observed, however, thatit hasbeen greatlysubjected to

denudation, and that it rests, so far as Icouldsee, uncon-formablyupona

more

orlessinclined slaterock.

GENERAL.

I have thus referred as briefly as possible to the vertical distribution oftheorganismscontainedin thetertiarymarine bedsatTable Cape. It isoftheutmost importance,prior to establishing any relationswith similar isolated deposits

else-where iuTasmania,FlindersIsland, orthe continent of

Aus-tralia* that eachisolatedbedor seriesofbeds shouldbe fully investigated, especiallyasregards the extentand distribution ofitsorganiccontents.

WhileIdo notdenythatreasonableinferenceorconjecture,

solong asit is recognised as provisional, is most useful in

stimulatingenquiryandhelpsto

make

interesting

what

would otherwisebe achaos of isolated observations,yet as the

ten-dencytocreate minorsubdivisions with reference to distant

European beds,isin

many

instances too apparent, it

may

be

the

means

ofintroducing mvicherror intoourclassification.

Among

recent geological authorities of eminence, perhaps, noone has

drawn more

particularattention to this source of

errorthanthe laterespectedMr. Jukes.

In connectionwith chronological observation hethus writes

(p.409,manual). " In ordertoavoid error each great

dis-trictoftheearth,suchasEurope orNorth

America

shouldbe

surveyed separately, withoutreference toanythingout of the

district, and thatthe orderofsuperposition of its strata

and

theirclassificationintogroups or formations, should be settled

independentlyonevidenceto be found in the district only.

When

thishasbeen donethetwo series

may

becompared,and

the synchronismof difFerent parts ofeach

may

be decided ou,"

Ifsuchcare be necessaryinthe determination of the great

classesthemselves,it is surely

more

necessary tobecareful in

ourclassificationoftheisolated beds of a system into

sub-divisions,

when we

take into considerationthe horizontal

dis-tribution of organisms as affected bymigration of colonies, physicial barriers and local influences.

As

an example of classification which might ignore the

effectof migration ofspecies, it isinteresting to notice that

althoughtheshellPectunculuslaticostatus(Lamarck)*so abun-dantin the lowershellbedatTable Cape,is not

now

found

livingnear the shores ofAustralia orTasmania, it stillexists

inabundance onthe coast ofthedistant colony of

New

Zea-land. Itis possible thatthis shell

had

a wider distribution

duringthetertiary period; but if there be evidence to the

contrary,it is probable that change of circumstances have caused the species to migrate from its original centre, and that the great distance ofourcoastfrom the shores of

New

Zealand, represent horizontally or in space, the long

duration of time necessary for the slow migratory progress

ofsuchan organism.

Take

again the following instance:

—

In the Turritellaf liaiestone of Flinders Island, there

o'ccurs three species of shells also

common

to Table Cape

deposit; oneof

them

being theshellsoabundantat thelatter

place. Cuculleacaiiiozoica(Tenison-Woods.)

Had

anobserver

only reported the discovery of these three forms, without

reference to theirabundanceorassociatedorganisms,itwould

be a reasonable enough inference, so far as evidence went,

thattheybelongedto the

same

sub-division.

But

as Ihave

fullerevidencewhich informs

me

that, with the exception of

the organismsalready referredto, the characteristic shells of FlindersIsland, thoughthere very numerous, hadnever been detectedin thebeds of Table Cape. This knowledge,taken

in conjunction with the consideration that the latter beds

have

now

beenvery fullyinvestigated,is sufficienttopostpone

thefinalco-relationof these deposits untilthe otherisolated

formations, ofa similar character, afford

some

additional clue to theirexactposition.

As

an example of local distribution in the

same

bed at

Table Cape, Inoticed, especiallythat CuliQ,hna arachis (Quoy)

though very

common

atone particular point, could befound

nowhere else in the

same

horizon orindeedanywhere else.

This is another important consideration

when

comparisons

*AtTableCapethis shellhas invariably 29radialribs,not 39asfigured

anddescribedbyProf. McCoyinthe Victorian Decades.

t

A

verydifferent species tuthatwhichcharacterisestheTurritellagroup

separated.

Generally, liori/ontalextension of a particular speciesfrom

its orignal centre

may

represent a period of time during

which vast deposits

may

have accumulated,vertically, onthe

original habitat,whereeach succeedinglayer, perhaps, shewed a gradual extinction of theolder forms,andthe introduction

of a

new

class of organisms. Thus,for example, could

we

depress the present group of tertiary beds at Table Capeso

that the marine beds

now

in process of formation rested

conformablyupon

them

; a vertical sectionwould

show

such

a complete changein the character of the various beds as to

justify the local geologist in sub-dividing his section into

separategroups with, locallyspeaking,well

marked

characters.

At

the sametime could

we

followthe horizontal

movement

of

organisms as they graduallydisapjieared from the original centre,

we

would yet find in a veryfar distant partof the

earth's surface, that

amid

all the vicissitudes of migratory change, a few persistent formsof the lowest stratum ofthe

original centre would still befound to be the true

contem-poraries ofthose

new

formswhich gave acomplete changeof characterto theupper beds.

Itfollowsfromconsiderations ofthis nature that the

exist-enceof afew specificforms

common

to two or

more

widely

separateddeposits, is,in itself, no guarantee that theybelong

tothe

same

subdivisionofa greatclass; or evento the great

classdivision itself.

Such being the case

we

should accept with the greatest

caution the subdivisions of the various widely separated

tertiary marine deposits of Victoria into OUgocene, Miocene, andPliocene, until

we

know

more

fullythe extentandc|uality

ofthe evidencewhichforms thebasisoftheirclassification. Italsofollows that until

we

have worked

up

independently

and fidly each deposit of the tertiary period, andalso

com-pared

them

with afully worked

up

list of existing formsin

the same neighbourhood,any attemptat classification willbe

premature and misleading.

Beingdeeply imi^ressed with the importanceof such

con-siderations Ihavemostcarefullygoneintotheinvestigation of

our Table Cape marine deposit, and I have been rewarded inthe discoveryoftheremainsof at least150 distinct specific

organisms.

When

the great

number

of

new

species are

describedandclassifiedbythe Eev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, to

whom

sciencein

Tasmania

is alreadyso deeply indebted,

we

shall then be in a better position to compare with similar

deposits elsewhere

and

with the existing forms in our

own

depositsworked up withcare. Itwillbe useless toraake com-parisonswith thedeposits of Victoria or

New

South

Wales

without the co-operation of the naturalists andgeologists of Australiagenerally.

Thismight bemost effectuallybrought about by appealsto

the parlouslearned societies in Australiaand

New

Zealand to

make

exchangeswith us

and

tosend cataloguesof their

classi-fied fossils,with descriptionsofhabitatand distribution.

Forthisobject Ihave arrangedthe marinefossils at Table Capeintoa tabular form, which not only shows at a glance thedistribution, sofar asknown, throughout the Australian

deposits, but also, by signs, is

made

to

show

the relative

abundance of each particular organism.

Were

the various

learned societies toaid in classifying their fossilsin a similar

way,

we

wouldthen be able to dispelalldoubts with regardto

the presentclassification. Co-operation, therefore, is at the present time of the utmost necessity, and I trust that the

members

of the Eoyal Society of Tasmania will take the

initiative ina

work

so desirableandofsuch importance.

Note.

—

In thetabletliefollowingsignsaretused:

—

+Not yetdescribed,

or being examined for description by the^Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods.

Heliastreacjiinozoica(Teuison-Wood-s),Table Cape.

Balanophylliaaustraliensis(Duncan), TableCape,andS.A.

Dittonovsp.,TableCape.

TrochoserisWoodsi(Dun&xn), SouthAustralia.

ConotrochusMcCoyi(Duucan) Table Cape andSovithAustralia.

Ditto nov.sp,TableCape.

Spheuotrochusexcisus (Dvuicau)Table Cape.

Antillialens(Duncan),TableCape.

Placliotrochus elongatus (Duncan),TableCape andMountGambiei^.

Ditto deltoideus(Duncan)ditto.

Caryophylliaviola(Duncan),TableCape.

DendrophylliaDuncaui(Tenisou-Woods). TableCape.

FlabelliuuDuncani (Tenison-Woods), TableCape.

Ditto\-ictorite,TableCape and SouthAustralia.

Ditto gambiereusis,ditto.

POLYZOA.

Cellepora gambiereusis (Busk) Table Cape andMountGambier.

Dittosj)ongio.sa

Dittonummularia

Ditto hemispherica

Pustutiporaramosa(Tenison-W(jods)

BuskLatj'pica

MARINE

TERTIARY

SHELLS,

ETC.

NAME

SPECIES.

Tas-mania,

i=S

FiunkrsIsld.'

Oroil}).

I

Victoria. _]Aus.

NAME

OF SPECIES. Tas-mania FlindersIsld. Group.

<2.^B.S^%

Victoria. ° a ,S'. I w. Aus. Aus.

H)(D

5i,>.;5-13114il5ll6!l7l18 19i2o!21 22!23l24'25

SpeciesSti. Existing. Elsewhe Gasteropoda

—

continued. Pleurotoma(?; Ditto(?) Ditto(?) Ditto(?) Ditto(?) Ancillaria miicro-nata,Sow. Voluta Hanna-forclii, M'C'oy Ditto, ditto Ditto anticingu-lata,ditto Dittoaotiscalaris, ditto Ditto Weldii, Tenison-Woods Ditto macroptera, M'Cor Ditto granatina, Swainsou Ditto M'Coyi, Tenison-Woods Ditto, ditto Ditto, ditto

Ditto, ditto I

Ditto, ditto Marginella Went-' worthi,ditto Ditto strombifor-mis, ditto Ditto octopticata, ditto Ditto, ditto CypTaaa(Aricia) gigas, M'

Tas- FlimlersIskl mania' Group.

.Sl'ECIES.

S

!«X'

2 ?- t5G

I7f<oria.

5'S* -5^5,=

JJ3 '^i

H

.li 2 I 3 I 4

sioiSiSiu3

516i71SI9I10 llil2

02i==i

I4I15

'aI

-.2"

aa

a;

S. JV. Spccici atill

Aus.A^is. Existing.

Elsewhere. STEROPODA (•ontiniuii. icaWlntlei, BDison-Woods M TixumbUi-.ta,ditto

\opolita,ditto a, ditto bonUla, lyno-latata, ditto «pagoda.ditto «, ditto ditto imideUa Ko-rti,ditto tiuin (iraella subu ta,Donov.

'.thinm

Flem-^onensis, 'Coy

Itbiopsis

John-IDnii,

Tenison-I

oods

I»ria?

IritellaXasman-i»,

Tenison-joods IoSturtii, ditto Io Warburtoni,

:tto

I

0,ditto

1o,ditto

jo,ditto io,ditto

jO,ditto

Inetus

conohe-;, ditto

o,ditto

o,ditto

.igodus occlu

3, ditto

NAME

a-'

=

«

JSil

— ''_—

3 C ~ ti3

"S = H g

' *" ₅ 3J

S>0'fr«

5'-CH P

>>' = =—

S5,3

HI 2 i 3 I 4 IC!6 7.819 10

SiS.^X|Sj>iiS '

ll|12ll3|U:i5ilC|17| 18I 19

1-202i:22l23 24 25-26

Elsewhere.

NewZealand