FOSSIL SPONGES, CORALS AND GRAPTOLITES.
_SPONGES._
=Characteristics of Sponges.--=
The Sponges are sometimes placed by themselves as a separate phylum, the
Porifera. With the exception of a few freshwater genera, they are of
marine habit and to be found at all depths between low tide (littoral)
and deep water (abyssal). Sponges are either fixed or lie loosely on the
sea-floor. They possess no organs of locomotion, and have no distinct axis
or lateral appendages. They exist by setting up currents in the water
whereby the latter is circulated through the system, carrying with it
numerous food particles, their tissues being at the same time oxygenated.
Their framework, in the siliceous and calcareous sponges, is strengthened
by a mineral skeleton, wholly or partially capable of preservation as a
fossil.
=Cambrian and Ordovician Sponges.--=
The oldest rocks in Australia containing the remains of Sponges are the
Cambrian limestones of South Australia, at Ardrossan and elsewhere.
Some of these sponge-remains are referred to the genus _Protospongia_,
a member of the Hexactinellid group having 6-rayed skeletal elements.
When complete, the _Protospongia_ has a cup- or funnel-shaped body,
composed of large and small modified spicules, which form quadrate areas,
often seen in isolated or aggregated patches on the weathered surface of
the rock. _Protospongia_ also occurs in the Lower Ordovician slates and
shales of Lancefield (_P. oblonga_), and Bendigo (_P. reticulata_ and _P.
cruciformis_), in Victoria (Fig. 67 A). At St. David's, in South Wales,
the genus is found in rocks of Middle Cambrian age. The South Australian
limestones in which _Protospongia_ occurs are usually placed in the Lower
Cambrian.
[Illustration: =Fig. 67.--PALAEOZOIC SPONGES, &c.=
A--Protospongia reticulata, T. S. Hall. Low. Ordovician. Bendigo.
B--Receptaculites fergusoni, Chapm. Silurian. Wombat Creek, Vict.
C--R. australis, Salter. (Section of wall, etched, after Eth. & Dun)
Mid. Devonian. Co. Murray, N.S.W.
D--Protopharetra scoulari, Eth. fil. Cambrian. S.A.
]
Another genus of Sponges, _Hyalostelia_, whose affinities are not very
clear, occurs in the South Australian Cambrian at Curramulka. This type
is represented by the long, slightly bent, rod-like spicules of the
root-tuft, and the skeletal spicules with six rays, one of which is much
elongated.
_Stephanella maccoyi_ is a Monactinellid sponge, found in the Lower
Ordovician (Bendigo Series) of Bendigo, Victoria.
=Silurian Sponges.--=
Numerous Sponges of Silurian age are found in the neighbourhood of Yass,
New South Wales, which belong to the Lithistid group, having irregular,
knotty and branching spicules. These sponges resemble certain fossil
fruits, generally like diminutive melons; their peculiar spicular
structure, however, is usually visible on the outside of the fossil,
especially in weathered specimens. The commonest genus is _Carpospongia_.
=Receptaculites: Silurian to Carboniferous.--=
In Upper Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous times the curious saucer-
or funnel-shaped bodies known as _Receptaculites_ must have been fairly
abundant in Australia, judging by their frequent occurrence as fossils.
They are found as impressions or moulds and casts in some of the mudstones
and limestones of Silurian age in Victoria, as at Loyola and Wombat
Creek, in west and north-east Gippsland respectively. In the Devonian
limestones of New South Wales they occur at Fernbrook, near Mudgee, at the
Goodradigbee River, and at Cavan, near Yass; also in beds of the same age
in Victoria, at Bindi, and Buchan (Fig. 67, B.C.). _Receptaculites_ also
occur in the Star Beds of Upper Devonian or Lower Carboniferous age in
Queensland, at Mount Wyatt. It will thus be seen that this genus has an
extensive geological range.
=Carbopermian Sponges.--=
A Monactinellid Sponge, provisionally referred to _Lasiocladia_, has been
described from the Gympie beds of the Rockhampton District, Queensland.
_Lasiocladia_, as well as the Hexactinellid Sponge _Hyalostelia_, occurs
in the Carbopermian of New South Wales.
=Cretaceous Sponges.--=
No sponge-remains seem to occur above the Carbopermian in Australia
until we reach the Cretaceous rocks. In the Lower Cretaceous series in
Queensland a doubtful member of the Hexactinellid group is found, namely,
_Purisiphonia clarkei_. In the Upper Cretaceous of the Darling Downs
District pyritized Sponges occur which have been referred to the genus
_Siphonia_, a member of the Lithistid group, well known in the Cretaceous
of Europe.
=Cainozoic Sponges.--=
A white siliceous clay, supposed to be from a "Deep Lead," in the
Norseman district in Western Australia, has proved to consist almost
entirely of siliceous sponge-spicules, belonging to the Monactinellid,
the Tetractinellid, the Lithistid, and the Hexactinellid groups (Fig. 69
A, B). The reference of the deposit to a "deep lead" or alluvial deposit
presents a difficulty, since these sponge-spicules represent moderately
deep water marine forms. This deposit resembles in some respects the
spicule-bearing rock of Oamaru, New Zealand, which is of Miocene age.
[Illustration: =Fig. 68.--CAINOZOIC SPONGES.=
A--Latrunculia sp. (after Hinde). Cainozoic. Deep Lead, Norseman, W.A.
B--Geodia sp. (after Hinde). Cainozoic. Deep Lead, Norseman, W.A.
C--Ecionema newberyi. McCoy sp. Cainozoic. Boggy Creek, Gippsland,
Vict.
D--Plectroninia halli, Hinde. Cainozoic (Janjukian). Moorabool, Vict.
E--Tretocalia pezica, Hinde. Cainozoic. Flinders, Vict.
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 69.--SILURIAN CORALS.=
A--Cyathophyllum approximans, Chapm. Silurian (Yer.). Gippsland, Vict.
B--Favosites grandipora, Eth. fil. Silurian (Yer.). Lilydale, Vict.
C--Favosites grandipora, vertical section. Ditto.
D--F. grandipora, transverse section. Ditto.
E--Pleurodictyum megastomum, Dun. Lilydale, Vict.
F--Halysites peristephesicus, Eth. fil. Silurian. N.S. Wales.
G--Heliolites interstincta, Wahl sp Vict. (transv. sect). Silurian..
]
In the Cainozoic beds of southern Australia Sponges with calcareous
skeletons are not at all uncommon. The majority of these belong to the
Lithonine section of the Calcispongiae, in which the spicules are regular,
and not fixed together. Living examples of these sponges, closely related
to the fossils, have been dredged from the Japanese Sea. The fossils
are found mainly in the Janjukian, at Curlewis, in the Moorabool River
limestones, and in the polyzoal rock of Flinders, all in Victoria. They
belong to the genera _Bactronella_, _Plectroninia_ and _Tretocalia_ (Fig.
68, D and E). Some diminutive forms also occur in the older series, the
Balcombian, at Mornington, namely, _Bactronella parvula_. At Boggy Creek,
near Sale, in Victoria, a Tetractinellid Sponge, _Ecionema newberyi_, is
found in the Janjukian marls; spicules of this form have also been noted
from the clays of the Altona Bay coal-shaft (Fig. 68 C).
* * * * *
The _ARCHAEOCYATHINAE_: an ancient class of organisms related both to the
Sponges and the Corals.
=Archaeocyathinae in Cambrian Strata.--=
These curious remains have been lately made the subject of detailed
research, and it is now concluded that they form a group probably
ancestral both to the sponges and the corals. They are calcareous, and
generally cup-shaped or conical, often furnished at the pointed base
with roots or strands for attachment to the surrounding reef. They have
two walls, both the inner and the outer being perforated like sponges.
As in the corals, they are divided by transverse septa and these are
also perforated. Certain of the genera as _Protopharetra_ (Fig. 67 D),
_Coscinocyathus_, and _Archaeocyathina_, are common to the Cambrian
of Sardinia and South Australia, whilst other genera of the class are
also found in Siberia, China, Canada and the United States. A species
of _Protopharetra_ was recently detected in a pebble derived from
the Cambrian limestone in the Antarctic, as far south as 85 deg. An
_Archaeocyathina_ limestone has also been found in situ from Shackleton's
farthest south.
_CORALS_ (Class Anthozoa).
=Rugose Corals.--=
Many of the older types of Corals from the Palaeozoic rocks belong to the
Tetracoralla (septa in multiples of four), or Rugosa (i.e., with wrinkled
exterior).
=Ordovician Corals.--=
In Great Britain and North America Rugose Corals are found as early as
Ordovician times, represented by _Streptelasma_, _Petraia_, etc. In
Australia they seem to first make their appearance in the Silurian period.
=Silurian Corals.--=
In rocks of Silurian age in Australia we find genera like _Cyathophyllum_
(with single cups or compound coralla), _Diphyphyllum_, _Tryplasma_
and _Rhizophyllum_, the first-named often being very abundant. The
compound corallum of _Cyathophyllum approximans_ presents a very handsome
appearance when cut transversely and polished. This coral is found in
the Newer Silurian limestone in Victoria; it shows an alliance with _C.
mitchelli_ of the Middle Devonian of the Murrumbidgee River, New South
Wales (Fig. 69 A).
=Silurian Hexacoralla.--=
It is, however, to the next group, the Hexacoralla, with septa in
multiples of six, twelve, and twenty-four, that we turn for the most
varied and abundant types of Corals in Silurian times. The genus
_Favosites_ (Honey-comb Coral) is extremely abundant in Australian
limestones (Fig. 69 B, C), such as those of Lilydale, Walhalla, and
Waratah Bay in Victoria, and of Hatton's Corner and other localities near
Yass, in New South Wales. _Pleurodictyum_ is also a familiar type in the
Australian Silurian, being one of the commonest corals in the Yeringian
stage; although, strange to say, in Germany and N. America, it is typical
of Devonian strata (Fig. 69 E). _Pleurodictyum_ had a curious habit of
growing, barnacle fashion, on the side of the column of the crinoids
or sea-lilies which flourished in those times. _Syringopora_, with its
funnel-shaped tabulae or floor partitions, is typical of many Australian
limestones, as those from Lilydale, Victoria, and the Delegate River, New
South Wales. _Halysites_ (Chain Coral), with its neat strings of tubular
and tabulated corallites joined together by their edges, is another
striking Coral of the Silurian period (Fig. 69 F). This and the earlier
mentioned _Syringopora_, is by some authors regarded as belonging to the
Alcyonarian Corals (typically with eight tentacles). _Halysites_ is known
from the limestones of the Mitta Mitta River, N.E. Gippsland, Victoria;
from the Molong and Canobolas districts in New South Wales; from the
Gordon River limestone in Tasmania; and from Chillagoe in Queensland.
Abroad it is a well known type of Coral in the Wenlockian of Gotland
in Scandinavia, and Shropshire in England, as well as in the Niagara
Limestone of the United States.
=Silurian Octocoralla.--=
Perhaps the most important of the Octocoralla is _Heliolites_
("Sunstone"), which is closely allied to the Blue Coral, _Heliopora_, a
frequent constituent of our modern coral reefs. The genus _Heliolites_
has a massive, calcareous corallum, bearing two kinds of pores or tubes,
large (autopores) containing complete polyps, and small (siphonopores)
containing the coenosarc or flesh of the colony. Both kinds of tubes are
closely divided by tabulae, whilst the former are septate. _Heliolites_ is
of frequent occurrence in the Silurian limestones of New South Wales and
Victoria (Fig. 69 G).
=Devonian Corals.--=
The Middle Devonian beds of Australia are chiefly limestones, such as
the Buchan limestone, Victoria; the Burdekin Series, Queensland; and
the Tamworth limestone of New South Wales. These rocks, as a rule, are
very fossiliferous, and the chief constituent fossils are the Rugose and
Perforate Corals. _Campophyllum gregorii_ is a common form in the Buchan
limestone (Fig. 70 A), as well as some large mushroom-shaped _Favosites_,
as _F. gothlandica_ and _F. multitabulata_. Other genera which may
be mentioned as common to the Australian Middle Devonian rocks are,
_Cyathophyllum_, _Sanidophyllum_ and _Spongophyllum_, _Heliolites_ is
also found in limestones of this age in New South Wales and Queensland.
[Illustration: =Fig. 70.--UPPER PALAEOZIC CORALS.=
A--Campophyllum gregorii, Eth. fil. Mid. Devonian. Buchan, Vict.
B--Pachypora meridionalis, Nich. & Eth. fil. Mid Devonian. Queens.
C--Aulopora repens, Kn. & W. (after Hinde). Devonian. Kimberley
district, W.A.
D--Zaphrentis culleni, Eth. fil. Carboniferous. New South Wales.
E--Trachypora wilkinsoni, Eth. fil. Carbopermian (Up. Marine Ser.) New
South Wales.
F--Stenopora crinita, Lonsdale. Carbopermian (Up. Mar. Ser.) N.S.W.
]
In the Burdekin Series (Middle Devonian) in Queensland we also find
_Cystiphyllum_, _Favosites gothlandica_, and _Pachypora meridionalis_
(Fig. 70 B), whilst in beds of the same age at Rough Range in Western
Australia are found _Aulopora repens_ (Fig. 70 C), and another species of
_Pachypora_, namely, _P. tumida_.
=Carbopermian Corals.--=
The only true Carboniferous marine fauna occurring in Australia, appears
to be that of the Star Beds in Queensland, but so far no corals have been
found. The so-called Carboniferous of Western Australia may be regarded
as Carbopermian or even of Permian age. The marine Carbopermian beds of
New South Wales contain several genera of Corals belonging to the group
Rugosa, as _Zaphrentis_ (Fig. 70 D), _Lophophyllum_, and _Campophyllum_.
Of the Tabulate corals may be mentioned _Trachypora wilkinsoni_, very
typical of the Upper Marine Series (Fig. 70 E) and _Cladochonus_.
In the Gympie beds of the same system in Queensland occur the following
rugose corals, _Zaphrentis profunda_ and a species of _Cyathophyllum_.
In the Carbopermian of Western Australia the rugose corals are represented
by _Amplexus_, _Cyathophyllum_, and _Plerophyllum_, which occur in rocks
on the Gascoyne River.
The imperfectly understood group of the Monticuliporoids, by some authors
placed with the Polyzoa (Order Trepostomata), are well represented in
Australia by the genus _Stenopora_ (Fig. 70 F). The corallum is a massive
colony of long tubes set side by side and turned outwards, the polyp
moving upwards in growth and cutting off the lower part of the tube by
platforms like those in the tabulate corals. Some of the species of
_Stenopora_, like _S. tasmaniensis_, of New South Wales and Tasmania,
are found alike in the Lower and Upper Marine Series. _S. australis_ is
confined to the Bowen River Coal-field of Queensland. _Stenopora_ often
attains a large size, the corallum reaching over a foot in length.
Neither Jurassic or Cretaceous Corals have been found in Australasia,
although elsewhere as in Europe and India, the representatives of modern
corals are found in some abundance.
=Cainozoic Corals.--=
In Tertiary times the marine areas of southern Australia were the home
of many typical solitary Corals of the group of the Hexacoralla. In the
Balcombian beds of Mornington, Victoria, for instance, we have genera
such as _Flabellum_, _Placotrochus_, _Sphenotrochus_, _Ceratotrochus_,
_Conosmilia_, _Trematotrochus_, _Notophyllia_ and _Balanophyllia_ (Fig.
71).
[Illustration: =Fig. 71.--CAINOZOIC CORALS.=
A--Flabellum victoriae, Duncan. Balcombian. Mornington, Vict.
B--Placotrochus deltoideus, Dunc. Balcombian. Muddy Creek, Hamilton,
Vic.
C--Balanophyllia seminuda, Dunc. Balcombian. Muddy Creek, Hamilton,
Vic.
D--Stephanotrochus tatei, Dennant. Janjukian. Torquay, near Geelong,
Vict.
E--Thamnastraea sera, Duncan. Janjukian. Table Cape, Tas.
F--Graphularia senescens. Tate sp. Janjukian. Waurn Ponds, near
Geelong, Vic.
G--Trematotrochus clarkii, Dennant. Kalimnan. Gippsland Lakes, Vic.
]
Corals especially characteristic of the Janjukian Series are _Paracyathus
tasmanicus_, _Stephanotrochus tatei_, _Montlivaltia variformis_,
_Thamnastraea sera_ and _Dendrophyllia epithecata_. The stony axis of the
Sea-pen, _Graphularia senescens_, a member of the Octocoralla, is also
typical of this stage, and are called "square-bones" by the quarrymen at
Waurn Ponds, near Geelong, where these fossils occur.
The Kalimnan Corals are not so abundantly represented as in the foregoing
stages, but certain species of _Flabellum_ and _Trematotrochus_, as _F.
curtum_ and _T. clarkii_, are peculiar to those beds. Several of the
Janjukian Corals persist into Kalimnan times, some dating as far back as
the Balcombian, as _Sphenotrochus emarciatus_. The Sea-pen, _Graphularia
senescens_ is again found at this higher horizon, at Beaumaris; it
probably represents a varietal form, the axis being smaller and more
slender.
Other examples of the Octocoralla are seen in _Mopsea_, two species of
which are found in the Janjukian at Cape Otway; the deeper beds of the
Mallee; and the Mount Gambier Series.
A species of the Astraeidae (Star-corals) of the reef-forming section,
_Plesiastraea st.vincenti_, is found in the Kalimnan of Hallett's Cove,
South Australia.
_HYDROZOA._
The few animals of this group met with in fossil faunas are represented by
the living _Millepora_ (abundant as a coral reef organism), _Hydractinia_
(parasitic on shells, etc.), and _Sertularia_ (Sea-firs).
=Milleporids and Stylasterids.--=
Although so abundant at the present time, the genus _Millepora_ does
not date back beyond the Pleistocene. The Eocene genus _Axopora_ is
supposed to belong here, but is not Australian. Of the Stylasterids one
example is seen in _Deontopora_, represented by the branchlets of _D.
mooraboolensis_, from the Janjukian limestone of the Moorabool Valley,
near Geelong.
=Hydractinia.--=
_Hydractinia_ dates from the Upper Cretaceous rocks in England, and in
Australia its encrusting polypidom is found attached to shells in the
polyzoal limestone of Mount Gambier (Miocene).
Stromatoporoids.
An important group of reef-builders in Palaeozoic times was the organism
known as _Stromatopora_, and its allies. The structures of these hydroid
polyps resemble successional and repetitional stages of a form like
_Hydractinia_. As in that genus it always commenced to grow upon a base
of attachment such as a shell, increasing by successive layers, until the
organic colony often reached an enormous size, and formed great mounds
and reefs (see _antea_, Fig. 32). The stromatoporoid structure was formed
by a layer of polyp cells separated by vertical partitions, upon which
layer after layer was added until a great vertical thickness was attained.
This limestone-making group first appeared in the Silurian, and probably
reached its maximum development in Middle Devonian times, when it almost
disappeared, except to be represented in Carbopermian strata by a few
diminutive forms.
[Illustration: =Fig. 72.--STROMATOPOROIDEA and CLADOPHORA.=
A--Actinostroma clathratum, Nich. Devonian. Rough Range, W.A.
B--Actinostroma clathratum, Nich. Devonian. Rough Range, W.A. Vertical
section.
(_After G. J. Hinde_).
C--Callograptus sp. Up. Ordovician. San Remo, Vict.
(_After T. S. Hall_).
D--Ptilograptus sp. Up. Ordovician. San Remo, Vict.
(_After T. S. Hall_).
E--Dictyonema pulchellum, T. S. Hall. L. Ordov. Lancefield, Vict.
F--Dictyonema macgillivrayi, T. S. Hall. L. Ordov. Lancefield, Vict.
]
=Silurian Stromatoporoids.--=
In the Silurian limestones of Victoria (Lilydale, Waratah Bay, Walhalla
and Loyola), and New South Wales (near Yass), Stromatoporoids belonging to
the genera _Clathrodictyon_ (probably _C. regulare_), _Stromatopora_ and
_Idiostroma_ occur. _Stromatoporella_ has been recorded from the Silurian
rocks of the Jenolan Caves, New South Wales.
=Devonian Stromatoporids.--=
The Middle Devonian strata of Bindi, Victoria, yield large, massive
examples of _Actinostroma_. This genus is distinguished from the closely
allied _Clathrodictyon_ by its vertical pillars passing through several
laminae in succession. Rocks of the same age in Queensland contain
_Stromatopora_, whilst in Western Australia the Rough Range Limestone
has been shown to contain _Actinostroma clathratum_ (Fig. 72 A, B) and
_Stromatoporella eifeliensis_.
Cladophora.
=Palaeozoic Cladophora.--=
Some branching and dendroid forms of Hydrozoa probably related to
the modern Calyptoblastea ("covered buds"), such as _Sertularia_ and
_Campanularia_, are included in the Cladophora ("Branch bearers"). They
existed from Cambrian to Devonian times, and consist of slender, forking
branches sometimes connected by transverse processes or dissepiments, the
branches bearing on one or both sides little cups or hydrothecae which
evidently contained the polyps, and others of modified form, perhaps for
the purpose of reproduction. The outer layer, called the periderm was of
chitinous material. They were probably attached to the sea-floor like the
Sertularians (Sea-firs).
=Dictyonema and Allies.--=
Remains of the above group are represented in the Australian rocks by
several species of _Dictyonema_ (Fig. 72 E, F) occurring in the Lower
Ordovician of Lancefield, and in similar or older shales near Mansfield.
Some of these species are of large size, _D. grande_ measuring nearly a
foot in width. The genera _Callograptus_, _Ptilograptus_ (Fig. 72 C, D)
and _Dendrograptus_ are also sparsely represented in the Upper Ordovician
of Victoria, the two former from San Remo, the latter from Bulla.
Graptolites (Graptolitoidea).--
=Value of Graptolites to Stratigraphist.--=
The Graptolites were so named by Linnaeus from their resemblances to
writing on the slates in which their compressed remains are found. They
form a very important group of Palaeozoic fossils in all parts of the
world where these rocks occur, and are well represented in Australasia.
The species of the various Graptolite genera are often restricted to
particular beds, and hence they are of great value as indicators of
certain horizons or layers in the black, grey or variously coloured slates
and shales of Lower Ordovician to Silurian times. By their aid a stratum
or set of strata can be traced across country for long distances, and the
typical species can be correlated even with those in the older slates and
shales of Great Britain and North America.
=Nature of Graptolites.--=
The Graptolites were compound animals, consisting of a number of polyps
inserted in cups or thecae which budded out in a line from the primary
sicula or conical chamber, which chamber was probably attached to floating
sea-weed, either by a fine thread (nema), or a disc-like expansion. This
budding of the polyp-bearing thecae gives to the polypary or colony the
appearance of a fret-saw, with the teeth directed away from the sicula.
The habit of the earlier graptolites was to branch repeatedly, as
in _Clonograptus_, or to show a compound leaf-like structure as in
_Phyllograptus_. Later on the many-branched forms had their branches
reduced until, as in _Didymograptus_, there were only two branches.
Sometimes the branches opened out to direct the thecae upwards, the better
to procure their food supply. In _Diplograptus_ the thecae turned upwards
and acquired a support by the formation of a medium rod (virgula), often
ending in a disc or float. In Silurian times _Monograptus_ prevailed, a
genus having only a single row of thecae supported by a straight or curved
virgula. In _Retiolites_ the polypary opened out by means of a net-work
of fine strands, rendering it better able to float, at the same time
retaining its original strength.
=Lower Ordovician Graptolites, Victoria.--=
The Lower Ordovician slates and shales of Victoria have been successfully
divided into several distinct series by means of the Graptolites. These,
commencing at the oldest, are:--
(1) Lancefield Series. Characterised by _Bryograptus clarki_, _B.
victoriae_, _Didymograptus pritchardi_, _D. taylori_ and _Tetragraptus
decipiens_. Other forms less restricted are, _Clonograptus magnificus_
(measuring over a yard in breadth), _C. flexilis_, _C. rigidus_,
_Leptograptus antiquus_ and _Tetragraptus approximatus_ (Fig. 73).
(2) Bendigo Series. Characterised by _Tetragraptus fruticosus_, _T.
pendens_, _Trichograptus fergusoni_ and _Goniograptus thureaui_. This
series also contains _Tetragraptus serra_ (ranging into Darriwill
Series), _T. bryonoides_, _T. quadribrachiatus_, _T. approximatus_ (base
of the series), _Phyllograptus typus_, _Dichograptus octobrachiatus_,
_Goniograptus macer_ and many _Didymograpti_, including _D. bifidus_ (Fig.
74).
[Illustration: =Fig. 73.--LOWER ORDOVICIAN GRAPTOLITES.=
A--Bryograptus clarki, T. S. Hall. L. Ordovician. Lancefield, Vict.
B--Tetragraptus fruticosus, J. Hall sp. L. Ordovician. Lancefield.
C--Phyllograptus typus, J. Hall. L. Ordovician. Lancefield.
D--Goniograptus macer, T. S. Hall. L. Ordovician. Lancefield.
E--Didymograptus caduceus, Salter. L. Ordovician. Lancefield.
F--Trigonograptus wilkinsoni, T. S. Hall. L. Ordov. Darriwill, Vict.
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 74.--LOWER ORDOVICIAN GRAPTOLITES.=
A--Loganograptus logani, J. Hall sp. L. Ordov. Newham, Vict.
B--Tetragraptus approximatus, Nich. L. Ordovician. Canada and Victoria.
(_After Nicholson_)
C--Tetragraptus serra, Brongn. sp. L. Ordovician. Lancefield, Vict.
D--Didymograptus bifidus, J. Hall. L. Ordovician. Guildford, Vict.
]
(3) Castlemaine Series. Characterised by _Didymograptus bifidus_, _D.
caduceus_ and _Loganograptus logani_. _Phyllograptus_ persists from the
Bendigo Series. It also contains _Tetragraptus serra_, _T. bryonoides_,
_T. quadribrachiatus_, _Goniograptus macer_ and several _Didymograpti_.
(4) Darriwill Series. Characterised by _Trigonograptus wilkinsoni_.
Also contain _Diplograptus_, _Glossograptus_ and _Lasiograptus_, whilst
_Didymograptus_ is rare.
=Lower Ordovician Graptolites, New Zealand.--=
In New Zealand Lower Ordovician Graptolites are found in the Kakanui
Series, at Nelson, north-west of South Island. Some of the commoner forms
are _Didymograptus extensus_, _D. caduceus_, _Loganograptus logani_,
_Phyllograptus typus_, _Tetragraptus similis_ and _T. quadribrachiatus_.
Graptolites agreeing closely with those of the Lancefield Series of
Victoria occur near Preservation Inlet in the extreme South-west, and have
been identified as _Clonograptus rigidus_, _Bryograptus victoriae_ and
_Tetragraptus decipiens_.
=Upper Ordovician Graptolites, Victoria.--=
The Upper Ordovician rocks of Victoria, as at Wombat Creek and Mount
Wellington in Gippsland, and at Diggers' Rest near Sunbury, contain the
double branched forms like _Dicranograptus ramosus_, _Dicellograptus
elegans_ and _D. sextans_; the sigmoidal form _Stephanograptus gracilis_;
and the diprionidian (biserial) forms as _Diplograptus tardus_,
_Climacograptus bicornis_, _Cryptograptus tricornis_, _Glossograptus
hermani_ and _Lasiograptus margaritatus_ (Fig. 75).
[Illustration: =Fig. 75.--UPPER ORDOVICIAN and SILURIAN GRAPTOLITES.=
A--Dicranograptus ramosus, J. Hall sp. Up. Ordovician. Victoria.
B--Dicellograptus elegans, Carruthers sp. Up. Ordovician. Victoria.
C--Diplograptus carnei, T. S. Hall. Up. Ordovician. N. S. Wales.
D--Climacograptus bicornis, J. Hall. Up. Ordovician. Victoria.
E--Glossograptus hermani, T. S. Hall. Up. Ordovician. Victoria.
F--Retiolites australis, McCoy. Silurian. Keilor, Victoria.
G--Monograptus dubius, Suess. Silurian. Wood's Point, Victoria.
]
=Upper Ordovician Graptolites, New South Wales.--=
In New South Wales, at Tallong, the Upper Ordovician Graptolites are well
represented by such forms as _Dicellograptus elegans_, _Dicranograptus
nicholsoni_, _Diplograptus carnei_, _D. foliaceus_, _Cryptograptus
tricornis_ and _Glossograptus quadrimucronatus_, etc. Other localities in
New South Wales for this Graptolite fauna are Stockyard Creek, Currowang,
Tingaringi, Lawson, and Mandurama.
=Tasmania.--=
From Tasmania a _Diplograptus_ has been recorded, but the particular
horizon and locality are uncertain.
=Silurian Graptolites, Victoria.--=
In the Silurian shales at Keilor, in Victoria, _Monograptus_ is a common
genus, and _Cyrtograptus_ and _Retiolites australis_ (Fig. 75 F) also
occur. Several species of _Monograptus_ have also been found at South
Yarra and Studley Park. At the latter place and Walhalla _Monograptus
dubius_, which is a Wenlock and Ludlow fossil in Britain, has been found
in some abundance (Fig. 75 G).
* * * * *
COMMON OR CHARACTERISTIC FOSSILS OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER.
SPONGES.
_Protospongia_ sp. Cambrian: S. Australia.
_Hyalostelia_ sp. Cambrian: S. Australia.
_Protospongia oblonga_, Hall. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Stephanella maccoyi_, Hall. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Carpospongia_ sp. Silurian: Yass, New South Wales.
_Receptaculites fergusoni_, Chapman. Silurian: Victoria.
_Receptaculites australis_, Salter sp. Devonian: Victoria and New
South Wales. Carboniferous: Queensland.
(?) _Lasiocladia hindei_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: Queensland.
_Purisiphonia clarkei_, Bowerbank. Lower Cretaceous: Queensland.
_Geodia_ sp. Cainozoic: W. Australia.
_Tethya_ sp. Cainozoic: W. Australia.
_Ecionema newberyi_, McCoy sp. Cainozoic: Victoria.
_Plectroninia halli_, Hinde. Cainozoic (Janjukian): Victoria.
_Tretocalia pezica_, Hinde. Cainozoic (Janjukian): Victoria.
ARCHAEOCYATHINAE.
_Protopharetra scoulari_, Etheridge, fil. Cambrian: S. Australia.
_Coscinocyathus australis_, Taylor. Cambrian: S. Australia.
_Archaeocyathina ajax_, Taylor. Cambrian: S. Australia.
CORALS.
_Cyathophyllum approximans_, Chapman. Silurian: Victoria.
_Tryplasma liliiformis_, Etheridge, fil. Silurian: New South Wales.
_Favosites grandipora_, Etheridge fil. Silurian: Victoria.
_Pleurodictyum megastomum_, Dun. Silurian: Victoria.
_Halysites peristephicus_, Etheridge, fil. Silurian: New South Wales.
_Heliolites interstincta_, Linné sp. Silurian: Victoria.
_Campophyllum gregorii_, Eth. fil. Middle Devonian: Victoria and
Queensland.
_Cystiphyllum australasicum_, Eth. fil. Middle Devonian: New South
Wales and Queensland.
_Favosites multitabulata_, Eth. fil. Middle Devonian: Victoria and New
South Wales.
_Pachypora meridionalis_, Eth. fil. Middle Devonian: Queensland.
_Zaphrentis culleni_, Eth. fil. Carboniferous: New South Wales.
_Lophophyllum corniculum_, de Koninck. Carboniferous: New South Wales.
_Zaphrentis profunda_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: Queensland.
_Campophyllum columnare_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Trachypora wilkinsoni_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Stenopora tasmaniensis_, Lonsdale. Carbopermian: Tasmania and New
South Wales.
_Flabellum gambierense_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria, S. Australia and
Tasmania.
_Placotrochus deltoideus_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria, S. Australia
and Tasmania.
_Sphenotrochus emarciatus_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria, S. Australia,
and Tasmania.
_Ceratotrochus exilis_, Dennant. Cainozoic: Victoria.
_Conosmilia elegans_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria.
_Balanophyllia armata_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria.
_Thamnastraea sera_, Duncan. Cainozoic: Victoria and Tasmania.
_Graphularia senescens_, Tate sp. Cainozoic: Victoria and S. Australia.
HYDROZOA.
_Clathrodictyon_ (?) _regulare_, Rosen sp. Silurian: Victoria.
_Actinostroma clathratum_, Nicholson. Devonian: W. Australia.
_Stromatoporella eifeliensis_, Nich. Devonian: W. Australia.
_Dictyonema pulchella_, T. S. Hall. Lower Ordovician: Victoria.
_Ptilograptus_ sp. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Callograptus_ sp. Lower Ordovician: Victoria.
GRAPTOLITES.
_Bryograptus victoriae_, T. S. Hall. Lower Ordovician (Lancefield
Series): Victoria.
_Tetragraptus fruticosus_, J. Hall. L. Ordovician (Bendigo Series):
Victoria.
_Didymograptus caduceus_, Salter. L. Ordovician (Castlemaine Series):
Victoria. Also New Zealand.
_Didymograptus bifidus_, J. Hall. L. Ordovician (Castlemaine Series):
Victoria. Also New Zealand.
_Trigonograptus wilkinsoni_, T. S. Hall. L. Ordovician (Darriwill
Series): Victoria.
_Dicranograptus ramosus_, J. Hall sp. Upper Ordovician: Victoria.
_Monograptus dubius_, Suess. Silurian: Victoria.
_Retiolites australis_, McCoy. Silurian: Victoria.
* * * * *
LITERATURE.
SPONGES.
Cambrian.--Tate, R. Trans. R. Soc. S. Austr., vol. XV. (N.S.), 1892,
p. 188.
Ordovician.--Hall, T. S. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. I. pt. I. 1889, pp.
60, 61 (_Protospongia_). Idem, ibid., vol. XI. (N.S.), pt. II.
1899, pp. 152-155 (_Protospongia and Stephanella_).
Silurian to Carboniferous.--Salter, J. W. Canad. Org. Rem. Dec. I.
1859, p. 47. Etheridge, R. jnr. and Dun, W. S. Rec. Geol. Surv.
New South Wales, vol. VI. 1898, pp. 62-75. Chapman, F. Proc. R.
Soc. Vict. vol. XVIII. (N.S.), pt. 1, 1905, pp. 5-15.
Carbopermian.--Etheridge, R. jnr., in Geol. and Pal. Q., 1892, p. 199.
Cretaceous.--Bowerbank, J. S. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1869, p. 342.
Etheridge, R. jnr. in Geol. and Pal. Queensland, 1892, pp. 438,
439 (_Purisiphonia_).
Cainozoic.--McCoy, F. Prod. Pal. Vict., Dec. V. 1877. Chapman, F.
Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XX. (N.S.), pt. 2, 1908, pp. 210-212
(_Ecionema_). Hinde, G. J. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol. LVI.,
1900, pp. 50-56 (calcisponges). Idem, Bull. Geol. Surv. W.
Austr., No. 36, 1910, pp. 7-21 (sponge-spicules).
ARCHAEOCYATHINAE.
Etheridge, R. jnr., Trans. R. Soc. S. Austr., vol. XIII. 1890, pp.
10-22. Taylor, T. G. Mem. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., vol. II., pt. 2,
1910 (a monograph).
CORALS.
Silurian.--Etheridge, R. jnr. Rec. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, vol.
II. pt. 1, 1890, pp. 15-21 (Silurian and Devonian). Idem, ibid.,
vol. II. pt. 4, 1892, pp. 165-174 (Silurian and Devonian). Idem,
in Pal. and Geol. Queensland, 1892. Idem, Rec. Austr. Mus., vol.
I., No. 10, 1891, pp. 201-205 (_Rhizophyllum_). Id., ibid., vol.
III. No. 2, 1897, pp. 30-33 (_Columnaria_). Id., Prog. Rep. Geol.
Surv. Vict., No. 11, 1899, pp. 30-36. Idem, Mem. Geol. Surv. New
South Wales, No. 13, pt. I., 1904 (_Halysites_). Id., ibid., No.
13, pt. 2, 1907 (_Tryplasma_). De Koninck, L. G. ibid., Pal. No.
6, 1898. Shearsby, A. J. Geol. Mag., Dec. V., vol. III. 1906,
pp. 547-552. Chapman, F. Rec. Geol. Surv. Vict., vol. II. pt. 1,
1907, pp. 67-80.
Devonian.--Etheridge, R. jnr. and Foord, A. H. Ann. Mag. Nat.
Hist., ser. V., vol. XIV., 1884, pp. 175-179 (_Alveolites_ and
_Amplexopora_ = _Litophyllum_). Etheridge, R. jnr., in Geol. and
Pal. Queensland, 1892. Idem, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales,
vol. IX. 1895, pp. 518-539. Id., Rec. Geol. Surv. New South
Wales, vol. VI. pt. 3, 1899, pp. 152-182 (Tamworth District).
Id., Rec. Austr. Mus., vol. IV. No. 7, 1902, pp. 253-260. De
Koninck, L. G. Mem. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, Pal. No. 6,
1898. Chapman, F. Rec. Geol. Surv. Vict., vol. III, pt. 2, 1912,
pp. 215-222.
Carbopermian.--Etheridge, R. jnr. Mem. Geol. Surv. New South Wales,
Pal. No. 5, 1891. Idem, in Geol. and Pal. Queensland, 1892. Id.,
Bull. Geol. Surv., W. Austr., No. 10, 1903, pp. 8-10.
Cainozoic.--Duncan, P. M. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol. XXVI. 1870,
pp. 284-318; vol. XXXI. 1875, pp. 673-678; vol. XXXII. 1876, pp.
341-351. Woods, T. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. XI.,
1878, pp. 183-195; ibid., vol. XXX. 1879, pp. 57-61. Idem, Trans.
Roy. Soc. S. Austr., vol. I., 1878, pp. 104-119. Dennant, J.
Trans. R. Soc. S. Austr., vols. XXIII. (1899) to XXVIII. (1904).
STROMATOPOROIDS.
Hinde, G. J. Geol. Mag., Dec. III. vol. VII, 1890, p. 193.
GRAPTOLITES.
McCoy, F. Prod. Pal. Vict., Decades I. (1874): II. (1875): V. (1877).
Hall, T. S. Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict., vol. IV. p. I. 1892, pp. 7,
8 (_Dictyonema_). Idem, Geol. Mag. Dec. IV. vol. VI. 1899, pp.
438-451; Id., Rep. Austr. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Brisbane, 1909, pp.
318-320. Id., Rec. Geol. Surv. Vict., vol. I. pt. 4, 1906, pp.
266-278. Id., ibid., vol. III. pt. 2, 1912, pp. 188-211. Idem,
Rec. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, vol. VII. part 1, 1910, pp. 16,
17. Ibid., pp. 49-59.