Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow

Abstract

THIS catalogue of fossils will doubtless be of great use not only to local geologists, but to others at a distance, who may desire to compare the treasures of English and Irish Carboniferous strata with what the equivalent beds in Scotland have yielded. So far as they go, the lists appear to be drawn up with considerable care, and Mr. Armstrong is to be congratulated upon the result of what must have been somewhat laborious work. But we are sure he will be the first to admit that much, very much, still remains to be done before the Scottish Carboniferous flora and fauna can be satisfactorily compared with those of other countries. We are constantly being reminded throughout this catalogue that not only in private collections, but also in public museums in the West of Scotland, there are numbers of specimens under almost every class waiting to be identified, amongst which there is every reason to believe that not a few are species new to science. This, it seems, is specially the case with the plants, the rich flora of the Carboniferous period being represented Jin the catalogue by only ninety species. But Mr. Carruthers, we are told, has several undescribed specimens in hand, of which we shall, no doubt, hear by-and-by. The fishes, it would appear, also need looking after. There are eighty-four species, under forty genera, named in the catalogue; but a large number in various collections have never been correctly identified with described species, and Mr. Young expresses a hope, in which we cordially join, that Prof. Young will be induced to prepare a special catalogue of these and the Reptilia, of which only seven species are given by Mr. Armstrong. The other classes are represented as follows:-Foraminifera, 2 genera, 4 species; Hydrozoa, 1 g. 2 sp.; Zoophyta, 22 g. 59 sp.; Echinodermata, 6 g. 15 sp.; Annelida, 4 g. 7 sp.; Crustacea, 19 g. 71 sp.; Insecta, 2 g. 2 sp.: Polyzoa, 11 g. 36 sp.; Brachiopoda, 15 g. 50 sp.; Lamellibranchiata, 28 g. 127 sp.; Pteropoda, 1 g. 1 sp.; Gasteropoda, J5 g 75 sp.; Cephalopoda, 6 g. 46 sp. From thesje numbers it will be seen that the collectors have not been idle, and, no doubt, Mr. Armstrong's catalogue, with its minute index to localities, will be the means of sending many to hunt in quarters which they have not already visited. Let us hope that they will note something of the conditions under which the fossils are distributed, and not content themselves simply by bringing away good bags full. Collectors cannot be too often reminded that it is of more importance, in the interests both of natural history and geology, to know one limited district thoroughly, than to go roving over half a country merely for the purpose of picking up finely preserved specimens. Each should mark out for himself some practicable area, and make it his endeavour to search every bed, even the most unpromising, noting not only the fossils he meets with, but the character of the strata in which they occur. He should also observe what effect a change in the character of a bed has upon the fossils it may happen to contain; whether they increase or decrease in numbers, whether they individually gain in size or become dwarfed, and, should certain species disappear, what others, if any, are substituted for them. It is only by marking carefully such points as these that we can ever hope to acquire an adequate conception of the natural history of the old carboniferous lands and seas. Mr. Young is quite sensible of the shortcomings of the collectors in this matter, and gives them some seasonable advice, which it may be hoped they will take to heart. If collectors paid better heed to these matters they would assuredly derive greater pleasure and profit from their pursuit, and do much more towards the progress of science. Mr. Young himself, however, not withstanding the good advice he gives, is not always careful in drawing conclusions,geological evidence being some times quite overlooked. Thus, we find him stating that the coal-measures (meaning, of course, the whole series of strata above the Millstone Grit) are “evidently of land and fresh-water origin,” because they have yielded no marine organisms, save in one thin local bed near the top of the series. The occurrence of this stratum with its marine remains, indicates, as he believes, the return for a short time of the sea, which had for a very long period “been completely shut out by barriers.” Mr. Young is welcome to his belief. If every bed or series of beds in which no marine organisms occur must necessarily be of fresh-water origin, the lakes of old must have been some thing worth seeing. There are several points suggested by.the catalogue that we should like to have taken up, but our space is exhausted, and we can only conclude by strongly recommending Mr. Armstrong's work to the notice of our geological readers.

Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow.

Vol. III. Supplement. On the Carboniferous Fossils of the West of Scotland : their Vertical Range and Distribution. By John Young., Vice-President. With a General Catalogue of the Fossils and their Mode of Occurrence, and an Index to the Principal Localities. By James Armstrong; Honorary Secretary. (Glasgow, 1871.)