FOSSIL TRILOBITES, CRUSTACEA AND INSECTS.
=Arthropods and their Structure.--=
The above-named fossil groups are included by zoologists in the
sub-kingdom Arthropoda ("joint-footed animals"). The Arthropods possess a
body and limbs composed of a number of jointed segments covered externally
with a hard, shelly material and separated by a softer, flexible skin.
They have no internal skeleton, and therefore the only portion which can
be preserved in the fossil state is the harder part of the outer covering.
Under exceptional conditions of fossilisation, however, even frail insects
such as ants, wasps and dragon-flies are sometimes found more or less
wholly preserved and showing their original minute structure.
=Subdivisions of Arthropoda.--=
The principal representatives of the group of the Arthropods which are
found as fossils include the Trilobites; various Crustacea proper, as
Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, Pod-shrimps and Water-fleas; the Insects;
and occasionally Spiders and Scorpions (Arachnida). The King-crabs and
Eurypterids (as the extinct _Pterygotus_) form a separate sub-class, the
Merostomata, which are placed by some authors in the group of Spiders and
Scorpions: their remains date back to the time when the older Palaeozoic
strata were deposited.
=Crustacea, an Archaic Group.--=
A typical division of the Arthropod group, and one which was well
represented from the earliest period up to the present day, is the
_CRUSTACEA_. As the name denotes, these animals are generally invested
with a strong shelly covering or "crust," usually of horny or chitinous
material, which in some forms is strengthened by deposits of phosphate
of lime. Of the horny condition of the shell the groups of the bivalved
Crustacea (Ostracoda) and the "water-fleas" (Entomostraca) supply notable
instances; whilst the limy-structured shell is seen in the common crab.
Some authorities separate the great extinct group of the Trilobites
from the rest of the Crustacea; but it will here be convenient, in a
preliminary study, to consider them together.
=Development of Crustacea.--=
The development of the lower forms of the Crustacea is interesting,
from the fact that the young usually escapes from the egg in a larval
state known as a "nauplius." In this stage there are no segments to
the body, and but a solitary median eye, such as may be seen in the
common water-flea known to microscopists as _Cyclops_. The three pairs
of appendages seen in this larval crustacean represent the two pairs of
antennae and the jaws or mandibles of the full-grown form.
Among the higher Crustacea, however, there is no larval form; the young
escaping from the egg in a more or less highly developed condition
resembling the adult. The group of the Crabs, Lobsters and Shrimps (or
Decapoda, _i.e._, having ten ambulatory feet) exhibit a larval stage in
which the young form ("zoea") has a segmented abdomen and seven pairs of
appendages.
=Trilobites.--=
The first group of arthropods here described is that of the _TRILOBITES_.
These were so named on account of the three-lobed form of the body.
This particular feature distinguishes them from the Crustacea proper;
which includes the Phyllopods (with leaf-like limbs), as the freshwater
_Estheria_, the Ostracoda or Bivalved Water-fleas, the Barnacles or
Cirripedia and the Higher Crustacea (Malacostraca), including Shrimps,
Crabs, and Lobsters, of which the oldest representatives are the
Pod-shrimps (Phyllocarida).
=Habits of Trilobites.--=
The remains of these primitive but often strikingly ornamented
crustacean-like animals, the trilobites, are found in comparative
abundance in the limestones, mudstones, and even the sandstones of the
older sedimentary rocks of Australasia. They were amongst the most
prolific types of animal life existing in the seas of Palaeozoic times,
and are especially characteristic of Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian
rocks. Trilobites, as a group, seem to have adapted themselves to almost
all conditions of marine life: some are found in the hardened black mud
of shallow waters, whilst others are to be looked for in the limestones
and excessively fine sediments of deeper waters. In all probability
certain of these forms crawled over the soft, oozy sea-bed in order to
obtain their food, and consequently their remains in the stratified rocks
would be restricted to the fine black shales; whilst the freely swimming
forms could change their habitat at will, and would be found alike in
sandy or clayey deposits. As some indication of their varied habits, the
eyes of trilobites differ greatly in size. They are always compound like
the eye of the house-fly, though of a semi-lunar shape. In some forms the
eyes are very small or even absent, whilst in others they are exceedingly
large and prominent. This latter feature probably indicates their
frequenting moderately deep water.
[Illustration: =Fig. 107--Diagram-restoration of an Australian Trilobite.=
(Dalmanites meridianus, Eth. fil. and Mitch, sp.)
To show the sutures or joints, and the structure of the back of the
carapace.
About 2/3 natural size.
]
=Structure of Trilobites.--=
The complete structure and zoological relationship of the trilobites has
always been open to some doubt. As regards the former, within recent
years exceptionally well-preserved specimens from the Utica Slates and
the Cincinnati Limestone of Ohio, rocks of Ordovician age, have been
discovered and dissected, whereby our knowledge of the organisation of
this group is greatly advanced. These remarkable fossil remains show that
the Trilobites bore on their under surface a number of appendages, one
pair to each segment, except that of the anal. The front pair is whip-like
and served as antennae; the others are branched, the forward portion being
a crawling limb, and the hinder, which was fringed with bristles or thin
plates, may have served either for swimming or breathing. At the base of
the four pairs of appendages attached to the head there was an arrangement
for biting the food, from whence it was passed to the mouth. Taking one
of the commonest Australasian trilobites, _Dalmanites meridianus_, for
an example of general structure, and looking at the back of the shell or
upper surface, we see the trilobate (three-lobed) form well defined (Fig.
107). The central ridge is termed the axis, and on either side of this are
arranged the pleural lobes, each well marked transverse division of which,
in the central or thoracic region, being a pleuron or rib. The whole body
is divided into three more or less distinct portions,--the head-shield or
cephalon, the thorax, and the tail-shield or pygidium. The central area
of the head-shield is called the glabella or cranidium, against which, on
either side, are placed the free cheeks carrying the compound sessile eyes
when present. The appendages of the head are pediform or leglike, arranged
in five pairs, and biramous or forked, excepting the antennae, which are
simple and used as sensory organs. In front of the mouth is the hypostoma
or forelip, and behind it is the metastoma or hind-lip. The segments of
the head-shield are most closely united, and in all the trilobites are of
the same number. Those of the thorax have flexible joints and are variable
in number. The segments of the abdomen are fused together and form a
caudal shield or pygidium.
The larval stage of the trilobite was a protonauplian form (that is more
primitive than the nauplius), the protoaspis; the adult stage, being
attained by the addition of segments at the successive moults.
The earliest known trilobites in Australia are some Cambrian species from
South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.
=Lower Cambrian Trilobites.--=
[Illustration: =Fig. 108--CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES.=
A--Ptychoparia howchini, Eth. fil. L. Cambrian. South Australia
B--Dolichometopus tatei, H. Woodw. L. Cambrian. South Australia
C--Agnostus australiensis, Chapm. Up. Cambrian. Victoria
D--Ptychoparia thielei, Chapm. Up. Cambrian. Victoria
E--Dikellocephalus florentinensis, Eth. fil. L. Cambrian. Tasmania
]
In the Lower Cambrian Limestone of Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, the
following trilobites occur:--a species doubtfully referred to _Olenellus_
(? _O. pritchardi_); _Ptychoparia howchini_ (Fig. 108 A); _P. australis_;
_Dolichometopus tatei_ (Fig. 108 B); and _Microdiscus subsagittatus_.
The Cambrian of the Northern Territory contains _Olenellus brownii_. In
Western Australia _Olenellus forresti_ is found in similar beds.
=Upper Cambrian Trilobites.--=
The Dolodrook Limestone (Upper Cambrian) of Gippsland, Victoria,
contains the remains of the primitive little trilobite _Agnostus_ (_A.
australiensis_, Fig. 108 C); _Crepicephalus_ (_C. etheridgei_); and
_Ptychoparia_ (_P. thielei_ (Fig. 108 D) and _P. minima_). The Upper
Cambrian sandstones of Caroline Creek, Tasmania, contain _Dikellocephalus_
(_D. tasmanicus_); a species of _Asaphus_ and _Ptychoparia_ (_P.
stephensi_). Beds of the same age in the Florentine Valley, Tasmania, have
yielded _Dikellocephalus_ (_D. florentinensis_, Fig. 108 E).
=Ordovician Trilobites.--=
Trilobites of Lower Ordovician age or even older, are found in the
Knowsley beds near Heathcote in Victoria. They are referred to two genera,
_Dinesus_ and _Notasaphus_. Both forms belong to the ancient family
of the Asaphidae. Associated with these trilobites are some doubtful
species of sea-weed, spicules of siliceous sponges, traces of threadlike
hydrozoa, some fragments of graptolites allied to _Bryograptus_, and
several brachiopods. At the Lyndhurst Gold-fields, near Mandurama, New
South Wales, trilobites related to the genus _Shumardia_ have been found
associated with brachiopods (lamp-shells), pteropods (sea-butterflies),
and graptolites (hydrozoa) of an Upper Ordovician facies.
The limestone beds at Laurie's Creek and other localities in Central
Australia contain remains of _Asaphus illarensis_, _A. howchini_ and _A.
lissopelta_; whilst in the limestone and quartzite of Middle Valley, Tempe
Downs, _A. thorntoni_ also occurs.
=Silurian Trilobites.--=
[Illustration: =Fig. 109--OLDER SILURIAN TRILOBITES.=
A--Ampyx parvulus, Forbes, var. jikaensis, Chapm. Silurian (Melb.)
Victoria
B--Cypaspis spryi, Gregory. Silurian (Melb.) Victoria
C--Homalonotus harrisoni, McCoy. Silurian (Melb.) Victoria
D--Phacops latigenalis, Eth. fil. and Mitch. Silurian. N.S. Wales
]
Trilobites are well-known fossils in the Australasian Silurian strata. As
they occur rather abundantly along with other fossils in rocks of this age
they are extremely useful aids in separating the system into the different
beds or zones. In Victoria the Silurian is divisible into two sets of
beds: an older, or Melbournian stage (the bed-rock of Melbourne) and a
younger, Yeringian (Lilydale series). Trilobites of Melbournian age are
found to belong to the genera _Ampyx_, _Illaenus_, _Proetus_, _Cyphaspis_,
_Encrinurus (Cromus)_ and _Homalonotus_. The commonest species are
_Cyphaspis spryi_ (Fig. 109 B), and _Encrinurus (Cromus) spryi_ from the
South Yarra mudstones; and _Ampyx parvulus_, var. _jikaensis_ (Fig. 109
A), and _Homalonotus harrisoni_ (Fig. 109 C), from the sandstone of Moonee
Ponds Creek.
The handsome _Dalmanites meridianus_ and _Homalonotus vomer_ occur at
Wandong in what appear to be passage beds between the Melbournian and
Yeringian.
The Yeringian of Victoria is far richer in trilobites than the preceding
series, and includes the genera _Proetus_, _Cyphaspis_, _Bronteus_,
_Lichas_, _Odontopleura_, _Encrinurus_, _Calymene_, _Homalonotus_,
_Cheirurus_, and _Phacops_. The rocks in this division occur as mudstones,
limestones, and occasionally sandstones and conglomerates. The mudstones,
however, prevail, and these pass insensibly into impure limestones of
a blue-black colour, weathering to brown, as at Seville; the change of
structure indicating less turbid water. At Lilydale, and on the Thomson
River, as well as at Loyola and Waratah Bay, almost pure limestone
occurs, which represents clear water conditions, not necessarily deep;
there, however, trilobites are scarce, and the prevailing fauna is that
of an ancient coral reef. Some described Yeringian species are _Lichas
australis_ (Fig. 110 A), _Odontopleura jenkinsi_ (Fig. 110 B) (found
also in New South Wales), _Encrinurus punctatus_ (Fig. 110 C), _Calymene
tuberculosa_, _Bronteus enormis_, _Phacops sweeti_, and _P. serratus_
(Fig. 110 E). In _Calymene_ ("covered up") the joints of the thorax
are facetted at the angles, so that each pleuron could work over that
immediately behind; in consequence of this it could roll itself up like
a woodlouse or slater, hence the name of the genus. This trilobite also
occurs in England, and is there known amongst the quarry men and fossil
collectors as the "Dudley Locust." Perhaps the most characteristic and
common trilobite of the Yeringian series in Victoria is _Phacops sweeti_
(Fig. 110 D), formerly identified with Barrande's _P. fecundus_, from
which it differs in the longer and larger eye with more numerous lenses.
It is found in Victoria in the Upper Yarra district near the junction
of the Woori Yallock and the Yarra Rivers; north-west of Lilydale; near
Seville; at Loyola near Mansfield; and at Fraser's Creek near Springfield,
Kilmore.
[Illustration: =Fig. 110--NEWER SILURIAN TRILOBITES.=
A--Lichas australis, McCoy. Silurian (Yeringian). Victoria
B--Odontopleura jenkinsi. Eth. fil. and Mitch. Silurian. N.S. Wales
C--Encrinurus punctatus, Brunnich sp. Silurian. N.S. Wales.
D--Phacops sweeti, Eth. fil. and Mitch. Silurian. N.S. Wales
E--Phacops serratus, Foerste. Silurian. N.S. Wales
]
In New South Wales trilobites are abundant in the Yass district, amongst
other localities, where the upper beds, corresponding to the Yeringian
of Victoria, are well developed. _Dalmanites meridianus_ is common to
the Silurian of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. In Victoria
this handsome species is found in the hard, brown, sandy mudstone of
Broadhurst's and Kilmore Creeks, and, as previously noted, in the hard,
blue mudstone of Wandong. At the latter locality specimens may be found in
the railway ballast quarry, where they are known to the workmen as "fossil
butterflies." The species also occurs at the famous fossil locality of
Hatton's Corner, Yass; at Bowning; and at Limestone Creek, all in New
South Wales. Other trilobites occurring in the Silurian of New South Wales
are _Odontopleura jenkinsi_, _O. bowningensis_, _Cheirurus insignis_ and
_Phacops latigenalis_ (Fig. 109 D).
In the Wangapeka series of New Zealand the calcareous shales and
limestones of the upper division contain _Calymene blumenbachii_,
_Homalonotus knightii_ and _H. expansus_.
=Devonian Trilobites.--=
Trilobites suddenly became rare in the Australian Devonian. The only
known examples of trilobite remains belong to a species of _Cheirurus_
occasionally found in the Middle Devonian limestone of Buchan, Victoria;
and a species of _Proetus_ in the Devonian of Barker Gorge, Napier Range,
West Australia.
=Carbopermian Trilobites.--=
Trilobites of Carbopermian age are found in New South Wales, Queensland,
and Western Australia. All the genera belong to the family Proetidae.
The genera _Phillipsia_ (_P. seminifera_, Fig. 111 A), _Griffithides_
(_G. eichwaldi_, Fig. 111 B), and _Brachymetopus_ (_B. strzelecki_, Fig.
111 C) occur in New South Wales. _Griffithides eichwaldi_ is also found
in Queensland. Other Queensland species are _Phillipsia woodwardi_, _P.
seminifera_ var. _australasica_ and _P. dubia_. _Phillipsia grandis_ is
found in the Carbopermian of the Gascoyne River, Western Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 111--CARBONIFEROUS TRILOBITES and a PHYLLOPOD.=
A--Phillipsia seminifera, Phillips. Carboniferous. N.S. Wales
B--Griffithides eichwaldi, Waldheim. Carboniferous. N.S. Wales
C--Brachymetopus strzelecki, McCoy. Carboniferous. N.S. Wales
D--Estheria coghlani, Cox. Triassic. N.S. Wales
]
=Phyllopoda in Carboniferous, Triassic and Jurassic.=
The _PHYLLOPODA_, which belong to the Crustacea in the strict sense of
the term, comprise the Estheriidae and Cladocera (water-fleas). The
former group is represented by _Leaia mitchelli_, which is found in the
Upper Carboniferous or Carbopermian of the Newcastle District, New South
Wales. In the still later Hawkesbury series (Triassic) of New South Wales,
_Estheria coghlani_ (Fig. 111 D) occurs. This species is a minute form,
the carapace measuring from 1.25mm. to 2mm. in the longer diameter of
the shell. In the upper part of the Wairoa Series (Triassic) of Nelson,
New Zealand, there is found another species of _Estheria_, identified
with a European form _E. minuta_. _Estheria mangaliensis_ is another form
occurring in the Jurassic (Ipswich series) of Queensland. At the present
day these little _Estheriae_ sometimes swarm in countless numbers in
freshwater lakes or salt marshes.
=Ostracoda: Their Structure.--=
Passing on to the next group, the bivalved _OSTRACODA_, we note that these
have existed from the earliest geological periods to the present day. They
are usually of minute size, commonly about the sixteenth of an inch in
length, although some attained a length of nearly one inch (_Leperditia_).
Their bodies are indistinctly segmented, and are enclosed within a
horny or calcareous shell. This shell consists of two valves which are
joined along the back by a ligament or hinge, the ends and ventral edge
remaining quite free. The pairs of appendages present are the antennae
(2), mandibles (1), maxillae (2), and thoracic feet (2). The only portion
found in the fossil state is the bivalved carapace, the two valves being
frequently met with still united, especially when these tiny animals have
settled down quietly on the sea-bed and have been quickly covered with
sediment.
=Features of the Ostracod Carapace.--=
Since the body parts of the ostracod are wanting in the fossil examples,
the generic determination is attended with some difficulty, especially
in regard to the smooth or bean-shaped forms. The chief distinctive
characters to note are, the contour of the carapace seen in three
directions (top, side and end views), the structure of the hinge, and
the position and figure of the muscle-spots or points of adhesion of the
muscular bands which hold or relax the two valves. The valves in certain
genera fit closely upon one another. In others, one overlaps the other,
the larger being sometimes the right (as in _Leperditia_), sometimes
the left (as in _Leperditella_). The hinge-line is often simple or
flange-like, or it may consist of a groove and corresponding bar, or there
may be a series of teeth and sockets. Lateral eye-tubercles are sometimes
seen on the surface of the valve, whilst in the animal there was also a
small eye.
=Habits of Ostracoda.--=
Ostracoda swarmed in many of the streams, lakes and seas of past
geological times, and they still exist in vast numbers under similar
conditions. Like some other minute forms of life, they played a most
important part in building up the rock formations of the sedimentary
series of the earth's crust; and by the decomposition of the organism
itself they are of real economic value, seeing that in some cases their
decay resulted in the subsequent production of oil or kerosene shales
and bituminous limestones. The Carboniferous oil shales in the Lothians
of Scotland, for example, are crowded with the carapaces of Ostracoda
associated with the remains of fishes.
=Cambrian Ostracoda.--=
Some undescribed forms of the genus _Leperditia_ occur in the hard,
sub-crystalline Cambrian Limestone of Curramulka, South Australia.
=Silurian Ostracoda.--=
In Victoria and New South Wales the oldest rocks from which we have
obtained the remains of Ostracoda up to the present, are the uppermost
Silurians, in which series they occur both in the limestone and the
mudstone. In Victoria their bivalved carapaces are more often found in the
limestone; but one genus, _Beyrichia_, is also met with in abundance in
the mudstone. These mudstones, by the way, must have originally contained
a large percentage of carbonate of lime, since the casts of the shells of
mollusca are often excessively abundant in the rock, and the mudstone is
cavernous, resembling an impure, decalcified limestone. These Yeringian
mudstones of Victoria seem, therefore, to be the equivalent of the
calcareous shales met with in the Wenlock and Gotland Series in Europe;
a view entirely in accordance with the character of the remainder of
the fauna. One of the commonest of the Silurian ostracods is _Beyrichia
kloedeni_, a form having an extensive distribution in Europe. It occurs
in the Silurian mudstone of the Upper Yarra District. Other species of the
same genus are _B. wooriyallockensis_ (Fig. 112 A), distinguished from the
former by differences in the shape of the lobes and its longer valves;
also a form with narrow lobes, _B. kilmoriensis_; and the ornate _B.
maccoyiana_, var. _australis_. Of the smooth-valved forms, mention may be
made of _Bythocypris hollii_, _B. caudalis_ (Fig. 112 D), and the striking
form, _Macrocypris flexuosa_. Regarding the group of the _Primitiae_, of
which as many as thirteen species and varieties have been described from
the Lilydale Limestone, we may mention as common forms _P. reticristata_
(Fig. 112 E) and _P. punctata_. This genus is distinguished by the
bean-shaped or purse-shaped carapace, with its well developed marginal
flange and mid-dorsal pit. Other genera which occur in our Silurians and
are of great interest on account of their distribution elsewhere. are
_Isochilina_, _Aparchites_, _Xestoleberis_, _Aechmina_, and _Argilloecia_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 112--SILURIAN OSTRACODA.=
A--Beyrichia wooriyallockensis, Chapm. Silurian (Yer.) Victoria
B--Xestoleberis lilydalensis, Chapm. Silurian (Yer.) Victoria
C--Argilloecia acuta, Jones and Kirkby. Silurian (Yer.) Victoria
D--Bythocypris caudalis, Jones. Silurian (Yer.) Victoria
E--Primitia reticristata, Jones. Silurian (Yer.) Victoria
]
The largest ostracod yet described from Australia, measuring more than a
quarter of an inch in length, occurs in the Upper Silurian of Cliftonwood,
near Yass, New South Wales. It belongs to the genus _Leperditia_ (_L.
shearsbii_), and is closely related to _L. marginata_, Keyserling sp.;
which occurs in strata of similar age in the Swedish and Russian Baltic
area. A limestone at Fifield, New South Wales, probably of Silurian age,
contains _Primitia_, _Kloedenia_, and _Beyrichia_.
=Devonian Ostracoda.--=
The little _Primitia cuneus_ (Fig. 113 A) with a bean-shaped carapace and
median pit or depression occurs somewhat frequently in the Middle Devonian
Limestone of Buchan, Victoria. Another species, _Primitia yassensis_, is
found in the shaly rock of Narrengullen Greek, New South Wales. It is
probable that many other species of the group of the ostracoda remain to
be described from Australian Devonian rocks.
=Carboniferous Ostracoda.--=
In Queensland a conspicuous little ostracod is _Beyrichia varicosa_ from
the Star Beds of Corner Creek.
=Carbopermian Ostracoda.--=
In the Carbopermian of Cessnock, New South Wales, _Primitia dunii_ occurs;
and in that of Farley is found _Jonesina etheridgei_. From both these
localities _Leperditia prominens_ was also obtained. Another species from
New South Wales is _Entomis jonesi_ (Fig. 113 B), described from the Muree
Sandstone by de Koninck.
[Illustration: =Fig. 113--UPPER PALAEOZOIC and MESOZOIC OSTRACODA.=
A--Primitia cuneus, Chapm. Mid. Devonian. Victoria
B--Entomis jonesi, de Kon. Carboniferous. New South Wales
C--Synaphe mesozoica, Chapm. sp. Triassic. New South Wales
D--Cythere lobulata, Chapm. Jurassic. West Australia
E--Paradoxorhyncha foveolata, Chapm. Jurassic. West Australia
F--Loxoconcha jurassica, Chapm. Jurassic. West Australia
G--Cytheropteron australiense, Chapm. Jurassic. West Australia
]
=Triassic Ostracoda.--=
The Triassic (Wiannamatta Shales) of Grose Vale, New South Wales has
afforded a few specimens of ostracoda belonging to _Synaphe_ (_S.
mesozoica_, Fig. 113 C), _? Darwinula_, and _? Cytheridea_.
=Jurassic Ostracoda.--=
The marine Jurassic strata of Western Australia at Geraldton, have yielded
a small but interesting series of ostracoda, largely of modern generic
types. The genera, which were found in a rubbly _Trigonia_-Limestone, are
_Cythere_, _Paradoxorhyncha_, _Loxoconcha_, and _Cytheropteron_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 114--CAINOZOIC OSTRACODA.=
A--Bairdia amygdaloides, G. S. Brady. Balcombian. Victoria
B--Cythere clavigera, G. S. Brady. Balcombian. Victoria
C--Cythere scabrocuneata, G. S. Brady. Balcombian. Victoria
D--Cytherella punctata, G. S. Brady. Balcombian. Victoria
]
=Cainozoic Ostracoda.--=
The fossiliferous clays and calcareous sands of the southern Australian
Cainozoic beds often contain abundant remains of ostracoda. The moderately
shallow seas in which the fossiliferous clays, such as those of Balcombe's
Bay, were laid down, teemed with these minute bivalved Crustacea. All the
forms found in these beds are microscopic. They either belong to living
species, or to species closely allied to existing forms. Some of the more
prominent of the Balcombian species are _Cythere senticosa_, a form which
is now found living at Tenedos, and _C. clavigera_ (Fig. 114 B), with
the young form sometimes referred to as _C. militaris_, a species which
may still be dredged alive in Hobson's Bay. Other genera common in these
clays are _Bairdia_, with its broad, pear-shaped carapace, represented by
the still living _B. amygdaloides_ (Fig. 114 A). _Cytherella_, with its
compressed, subquadrate carapace, as seen in _C. punctata_ (Fig. 114 D),
a species having an elaborate series of muscle-spots, and which, like the
previous species, is found living in Australian seas; and _Macrocypris_,
with its slender, pointed, pear-shaped outline.
=Cirripedia: Their Habits and Structure.--=
_CIRRIPEDIA OR BARNACLES._--These curious modifications of the higher
group of Crustacea (Eucrustacea) date back to Ordovician times. They
appear to have tried every possible condition of existence; and although
they are mostly of shallow water habits, some are found at the great
depth of 2,000 fathoms (over two miles). Those which secrete lime or
have calcareous shells, attach themselves to stones, pieces of wood,
shell-fish, crabs, corals and sea-weeds. Others are found embedded in the
thick skin of whales and dolphins, or in cavities which they have bored
in corals or shells of molluscs. Some are found parasitic in the stomachs
of crabs and lobsters, or within other cirripedes. They begin life, after
escaping from the egg, as a free-swimming, unsegmented larva ("nauplius"
stage), and before settling down, pass through the free-swimming,
segmented "cypris" stage, which represents the pupa condition, and in
which state they explore their surroundings in search of a suitable
resting place for their final change and fixed condition. Just before
this occurs, glands are developed in the pupa barnacle, which open into
the suckers of the first pair of appendages or antennae. When a suitable
place for fixation has been found, these glands pour out a secretion which
is not dissolved by water, and thus the barnacle is fixed head downwards
to its permanent position. The compound eyes of the "cypris" stage
disappear, and henceforth the barnacle is blind. The characteristic plates
covering the barnacle are now developed, and the six pairs of swimming
feet become the cirri or plumes, with which the barnacle, by incessant
waving, procures its food. In short, as remarked by one authority, it is
a crustacean "fixed by its head, and kicking the food into its mouth with
its legs."
Cirripedes may be roughly divided into two groups, the Acorn Barnacles
and the Goose Barnacles. Although dissimilar in general appearance, they
pass through identical stages, and are closely related in most of their
essential characters. The latter forms are affixed by a chitinous stalk or
peduncle, whilst the acorn barnacles are more or less conical and affixed
by the base.
=Silurian Cirripedes.--=
The stalked barnacles are probably the oldest group, being found as far
back as the Ordovician period. In Australia the genus _Turrilepas_ occurs
in Silurian rocks, _T. mitchelli_ (Fig. 115 A) being found at Bowning in
the Yass District of New South Wales. The isolated plume-like plates of
_T. yeringiae_ (Fig. 115 B) are not uncommon in the olive mudstone of the
Lilydale District in Victoria.
[Illustration: =Fig. 115--FOSSIL CIRRIPEDIA.=
A--Turrilepas mitchelli, Eth. fil. Silurian. New South Wales
B--Turrilepas yeringiae, Chapm. Silurian. Victoria
C--(?) Pollicipes aucklandicus, Hector sp. Cainozoic (Oamaru series).
New Zealand
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 116--LIVING AND FOSSIL CIRRIPEDES.=
A--Lepas anatifera, L. Common Goose Barnacle. Living
B--Lepas pritchardi, Hall. Cainozoic. Victoria
]
=Cainozoic Lepadidae.--=
The genus _Lepas_ (the modern goose barnacles) is represented by isolated
plates in the Cainozoic (Janjukian) limestones and marls of Waurn
Ponds, and Torquay near Geelong: it also occurs in a stratum of about
the same age, the nodule bed, at Muddy Creek, near Hamilton, Victoria
(_L. pritchardi_, Fig. 116). In New Zealand the gigantic cirripede,
_?Pollicipes aucklandicus_ (Fig. 115 C), occurs in the Motutapu beds.
=Cainozoic Balanidae.--=
The Acorn Barnacles are represented in our Cainozoic shell marls and
clays by a species of _Balanus_ from the Janjukian of Torquay; whilst
two species of the genus occur in the Kalimnan beds at Beaumaris, Port
Phillip, in similar beds in the Hamilton District, and at the Gippsland
Lakes.
=Phyllocarida: Their Structure.--=
A large and important group of the higher Crustacea, but confined to the
older rocks of Victoria, is the order _PHYLLOCARIDA_. This seems to form
a link between the Entomostraca, including the bivalved Ostracoda and the
well-known group of the lobsters, shrimps and crabs. The body of these
phyllocarids consists of five segments to the head, eight to the thorax,
and from two to eight to the abdomen. The portion usually preserved in
this group is the carapace, which covers the head and thorax, and although
often in one piece, is sometimes hinged, or otherwise articulated along
the back. In front of the carapace there is a moveable plate, the rostrum
or beak (Fig. 117). There are two pairs of antennae to the head, and the
animal is provided with a pair of stalked compound eyes. The thoracic
segments are furnished with soft leaf-like legs as in the Phyllopods.
The abdomen is formed of ring-like segments, and generally terminates
in a sharp tail-piece or telson, often furnished with lateral spines.
In many respects the ancient phyllocarids correspond with the living
genus _Nebalia_, which is found inhabiting the shallow waters of the
Mediterranean and elsewhere.
[Illustration: =Fig. 117--Ceratiocaris papilio, Salter.=
Silurian. Lanarkshire.
(_After H. Woodward_)
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 118--ORDOVICIAN PHYLLOCARIDS.=
A--Rhinopterocaris maccoyi, Eth. fil. sp. L. Ordovician. Victoria
B--Caryocaris angusta, Chapm. L. Ordovician. Victoria
C--Saccocaris tetragona, Chapm. L. Ordovician. Victoria
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 119--SILURIAN PHYLLOCARIDS.=
A--Ceratiocaris pritchardi, Chapm. Silurian. Victoria
B--Ceratiocaris cf. murchisoni, Agassiz sp. Silurian. Victoria
C--Ceratiocaris pinguis, Chapm. Silurian. Victoria
]
=Ordovician Phyllocarids.--=
Phyllocarids of the Lower Ordovician slates are referred to the genera
_Rhinopterocaris_, _Caryocaris_, _Saccocaris_ and _Hymenocaris_. The
first-named is the commonest type; and is found in slates of the
Lancefield, Bendigo and Castlemaine Series at the localities named,
as well as at Dromana. _Rhinopterocaris_ (Fig. 118 A) is readily
distinguished by its long--ovate outline, and this, together with its
wrinkled chitinous appearance makes it resemble the wing of a dipterous
insect. _Caryocaris_ (Fig. 118 B) is a smaller and narrower form which
occurs in the Victorian Lower Ordovician slates, as well as in ice-borne
blocks derived from the Ordovician, at Wynyard, in N.W. Tasmania.
=Silurian Phyllocarids.--=
The chief type of Phyllocarid in the Silurian is _Ceratiocaris_ (Fig.
119). The carapace is typically ovate, straight on one edge, the dorsal,
and convexly curved on the other, the ventral. They resemble bean-pods in
outline, hence the name "pod-shrimps." Several species are known from the
Victorian shales, mudstones, and sandstones; the forms found in Australia
if complete would seldom attain five inches in length, whilst some British
species are known to reach the exceptional length of two feet. The long,
grooved and jointed telson is not uncommon in the sandstones of Melbourne
and Kilmore. Other genera described from Victoria are _Aptychopsis_ and
_Dithyrocaris_.
=Lower Cretaceous Crab.--=
The earliest example of the _DECAPODA_ in the Australian rocks, so far
recorded, is the Lower Cretaceous _Prosopon etheridgei_ (Fig. 120 A) from
Queensland, which has affinities with some Jurassic and Neocomian crabs
found in Europe. Other crustacean remains of less decipherable nature
occur in this same deposit.
[Illustration: =Fig. 120--FOSSIL CRABS and INSECTS.=
A--Prosopon etheridgei, H. Woodw. L. Cretaceous. Queensland
B--Ommatocarcinus corioensis, Cressw. sp. Cainozoic (Jan.) Vic.
C--Harpactocarcinus tumidus, H. Woodw. Cainozoic (Oamaru). New Zealand
D--Aeschna flindersensis, H. Woodw. L. Cretaceous. Queensland
E--Ephemera culleni, Eth. fil. and Olliff. Cainozoic (Deep Leads). New
South Wales
]
=Cainozoic Crabs.--=
Of the Cainozoic decapod Crustacea there is a Victorian species of a
stalk-eyed crab, _Ommatocarcinus corioensis_ (Fig. 120 B), found in the
marls of Curlewis and Port Campbell, and probably of Janjukian age.
Various portions of similar Crustacea, consisting of claws and fragmentary
carapaces, are found from time to time in the Victorian clays and
limestones of Balcombian and Janjukian ages, but they are insufficient
for identification. A carapace of one of the Oxystomata (with rounded
cephalo-thorax and non-salient frontal region) has occurred in the
Kalimnan marl of the Beaumaris Cliffs, Port Phillip. It is closely allied
to a crab now found in Hobson's Bay and generally along the Victorian
coast.
Remains of a shore-crab (Fam. Cancridae) are found at three localities,
in the Oamaru Series, in New Zealand; near Brighton, in Nelson and at
Wharekuri in the Waitaki Valley. It has been described under the name of
_Harpactocarcinus tumidus_ (Fig. 120 C), a genus of the Cyclometopa or
"bow crabs."
=Pleistocene Lobster.--=
Numerous remains of a lobster, _Thalassina emerii_ (see _antea_, Fig. 20),
supposed to be of Pleistocene age, occur in nodules found on Queensland
and North Australian (Port Darwin) beaches.
=Eurypterids in the Silurian.--=
The order _EURYPTERIDA_ comprises an extinct group of Crustacea closely
allied to the modern King-crab (_Limulus_). The body was covered with a
thin chitinous skeleton, ornamented with regular scale-like markings. This
group is represented in Victorian rocks by the remains of _Pterygotus_
("Sea-scorpions"), animals which often attained a length of six feet.
_Pterygotus_ (see Fig. 121 A) had the fore part of the body fused, forming
the cephalo-thorax, which was furnished with anterior, marginal facetted
eyes and central ocelli or smaller simple ones. To the ventral surface
of the body were attached six pairs of appendages. The first pair are
modified antennae with pincer-like terminations, used for prehensile
purposes. Then come four pairs of slender walking feet. The sixth pair of
appendages is in the form of powerful swimming feet or paddles, at the
bases of which are the comb-like jaws. The abdomen consists of thirteen
joints, the last of which, the telson, is spatulate and posteriorly
pointed. Fragments of a tolerably large species of _Pterygotus_ occur in
the Silurian shales of South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria. It was probably
about 18 inches in length when complete. Of this form, known as _P.
australis_ (Fig. 121 B), portions of the chelate (clawed) appendages, and
parts of the abdominal segments have been found from time to time, but no
complete fossil has yet been discovered.
[Illustration: =Fig. 121--SILURIAN EURYPTERIDS.=
A--Pterygotus osiliensis, Schmidt. I. of Oesel. (_After Schmidt_)
B--Pterygotus australis, McCoy. Part of a body-segment. Silurian
(Melb.) Victoria
]
=Jurassic Insects.--=
Of the group of the _INSECTA_, the Ipswich Coal measures (Jurassic)
of Queensland have yielded an interesting buprestid beetle
(_Mesostigmodera_), whilst beds of the same age in New South Wales contain
the remains of a probable _Cicada_, associated with leaves of the fern
_Taeniopteris_.
=Lower Cretaceous Dragon-fly.--=
From the Lower Cretaceous of the Flinders River district, Queensland,
there has been obtained a fossil dragon-fly, _Aeschna flindersensis_ (Fig.
120 D).
=Cainozoic Insects.--=
Certain Cainozoic beds of New South Wales, of the age of the Deep-leads
of Victoria, and probably equivalent to the Kalimnan terrestrial series,
contain a species of _Cydnus_, a bug-like insect belonging to the order
Rhynchota; and there are in the same series a Midge (_Chironomus_),
a Day-fly (_Ephemera_, Fig. 120 E) and several beetles (? _Lagria_,
_Palaeolycus_, _Cyphon_ and _Oxytelus_). The occurrence of these insects
of the Deep-leads helps to complete the landscape picture of those
far-off Lower Pliocene times, when the old river systems brought down
large contributions of vegetable waste from higher lands, in the form of
twigs with leaves and fruits; with occasional evidences of the rich and
varied fauna of insect life which was especially promoted in the damp and
vegetative areas of the lower lands.
COMMON OR CHARACTERISTIC SPECIES OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER.
TRILOBITES.
_Ptychoparia howchini_, Eth. fil. Lower Cambrian: South Australia.
_Dolichometopus tatei_, H. Woodward. Lower Cambrian: South Australia.
_Olenellus browni_, Eth. fil. Lower Cambrian: Northern Territory.
_Agnostus australiensis_, Chapm. Upper Cambrian: Victoria.
_Ptychoparia thielei_, Chapm. Upper Cambrian: Victoria.
_Dikellocephalus florentinensis_, Eth. fil. Upper Cambrian: Tasmania.
_Dinesus ida_, Eth. fil. Lower Ordovician: Victoria.
_Asaphus illarensis_, Eth. fil. Ordovician: Central S. Australia.
_Ampyx parvulus_, Forbes, var. _jikaensis_, Chapm. Silurian
(Melbournian): Victoria.
_Illaenus jutsoni_, Chapm. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Proetus euryceps_, McCoy. Silurian: Victoria.
_Cyphaspis spryi_, Gregory. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Bronteus enormis_, Eth. fil. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Lichas australis_, McCoy. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Odontopleura jenkinsi_, Eth. fil. Silurian: New South Wales. Silurian
(Yeringian): Victoria.
_Encrinurus punctatus_, Brunnich sp. Silurian: New South Wales.
Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Encrinurus (Cromus) murchisoni_, de Koninck. Silurian: New South
Wales.
_Encrinurus (Cromus) spryi_, Chapm. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Calymene blumenbachii_, Brongn. Silurian (Wangapeka Series): New
Zealand.
_Homalonotus expansus_, Hector. Silurian (Wangapeka Series): New
Zealand.
_Homalonotus knightii_, König. Silurian (Wangapeka Series): New
Zealand.
_Homalonotus harrisoni_, McCoy. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Homalonotus vomer_, Chapm. Silurian: Victoria.
_Cheirurus insignis_, Beyrich. Silurian: New South Wales.
_Phacops sweeti_, Eth. fil. and Mitch. Silurian: New South Wales.
Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Phacops serratus_, Foerste. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria. Silurian:
New South Wales.
_Dalmanites meridianus_, Eth. fil. and Mitch, sp. Silurian: New South
Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
_Cheirurus_ sp. Middle Devonian: Victoria.
_Proetus_ sp. Devonian: Western Australia.
_Phillipsia seminifera_, Phillips. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Phillipsia grandis_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: W. Australia and
Queensland.
_Griffithides eichwaldi_, Waldheim. Carbopermian: New South Wales and
Queensland.
_Brachymetopus strzelecki_, McCoy. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
PHYLLOPODA.
_Leaia mitchelli_, Eth. fil. Upper Carboniferous: New South Wales.
_Estheria coghlani_, Cox. Trias: New South Wales.
_Estheria minuta_, Alberti sp. Trias: New Zealand.
_Estheria mangaliensis_, Jones. Jurassic: Queensland.
OSTRACODA.
_Leperditia_ sp. Lower Cambrian: S. Australia.
_Beyrichia kloedeni_, McCoy. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Beyrichia wooriyallockensis_, Chapm. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Beyrichia maccoyiana_, Jones, var. _australis_, Chapm. Silurian:
(Yeringian): Victoria.
_Bythocypris hollii_, Jones. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Macrocypris flexuosa_, Chapm. Silurian (Yeringian) Victoria.
_Primitia reticristata_, Jones. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Leperditia shearsbii_, Chapm. Silurian: New South Wales.
_Primitia cuneus_, Chapm. Middle Devonian: Victoria.
_Beyrichia varicosa_, T. R. Jones. Carboniferous: Queensland.
_Primitia dunii_, Chapm. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Jonesina etheridgei_, Chapm. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Entomis jonesi_, de Koninck. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Synaphe mesozoica_, Chapm. sp. Trias: New South Wales.
_Cythere lobulata_, Chapm. Jurassic: W. Australia.
_Paradoxorhyncha foveolata_, Chapm. Jurassic: W. Australia.
_Loxoconcha jurassica_, Chapm. Jurassic: W. Australia.
_Cytheropteron australiense_, Chapm. Jurassic: W. Australia.
_Bairdia amygdaloides_, Brady. Cainozoic and living: Victoria.
_Cythere senticosa_, Baird. Cainozoic. Also living: Victoria.
_Cythere clavigera_, G. S. Brady. Cainozoic and living: Victoria.
_Cytherella punctata_, G. S. Brady. Cainozoic and living: Victoria.
_Cytherella pulchra_, G. S. Brady. Cainozoic and living: Victoria.
CIRRIPEDIA.
_Turrilepas mitchelli_, Eth. fil. Silurian: New South Wales.
_Turrilepas yeringiae_, Chapm. Silurian (Yeringian): Victoria.
_Lepas pritchardi_, Hall. Cainozoic (Janjukian): Victoria.
_(?) Pollicipes aucklandicus_, Hector sp. Cainozoic (Oamaru Series):
New Zealand.
_Balanus_ sp. Cainozoic (Janjukian and Kalimnan): Victoria.
PHYLLOCARIDA.
_Rhinopterocaris maccoyi_, Eth. fil. sp. Lower Ordovician: Victoria.
_Hymenocaris hepburnensis_, Chapm. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Caryocaris marri_, Jones and Woodw. L. Ordovician: Victoria and
Tasmania.
_Caryocaris angusta_, Chapm. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Saccocaris tetragona_, Chapm. L. Ordovician: Victoria.
_Ceratiocaris_ cf. _murchisoni_, Agassiz sp. Silurian: Victoria.
_Ceratiocaris pinguis_, Chapm. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Ceratiocaris pritchardi_, Chapm. Silurian: Victoria.
_Aptychopsis victoriae_, Chapm. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
_Dithyrocaris praecox_, Chapm. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
DECAPODA.
_Prosopon etheridgei_, H. Woodw. Lower Cretaceous: Queensland.
_Ommatocarcinus corioensis_, Cresswell sp. Cainozoic (Janjukian):
Victoria.
_Ebalia_ sp. Cainozoic (Kalimnan): Victoria.
_Harpactocarcinus tumidus_, H. Woodw. Cainozoic (Oamaru Series): New
Zealand.
_Thalassina emerii_, Bell. (?) Pleistocene: Queensland and Northern
Territory.
EURYPTERIDA.
_Pterygotus australis_, McCoy. Silurian (Melbournian): Victoria.
INSECTA.
_Mesostigmodera typica_, Etheridge fil. and Olliff. Jurassic:
Queensland.
_(?) Cicada lowei_, Etheridge fil. and Olliff. Jurassic: New South
Wales.
_Aeschna flindersensis_, H. Woodward. Lower Cretaceous: Queensland.
_Chironomus venerabilis_, Eth. fil. and Oll. Cainozoic: New South
Wales.
_Ephemera culleni_, Eth. fil. and Oll. Cainozoic: New South Wales.
_Palaeolycus problematicum_, Eth. fil. and Oll. Cainozoic: New South
Wales.
* * * * *
LITERATURE.
TRILOBITES.
McCoy, F. Prod. Pal. Vict., Dec. III. 1876, pp. 13-20, pls. XXII.
and XXIII. (Silurian). Hector, J. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. IX.
1877, p. 602, pl. XXVII. (_Homalonotus_). Woodward, H. Geol.
Mag., Dec. III. vol. I. 1884, pp. 342-344, pl. XI. (Cambrian).
Mitchell, J. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. II. 1888,
pp. 435-440, pl. XI. (Silurian). Foerste, A. F. Bull. Sci. Lab.
Denison Univ., vol. III. pt. V. 1888, pp. 122-128, pl. XIII.
Etheridge, R. jnr. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. V.
pp. 501-504, pl. XVIII. (_Bronteus_). Idem, Parl. Papers, Leg.
Assemb. S.A., vol. I. No. 23, 1892; ibid., vol. 2, No. 52, 1893
(_Asaphus_). Id., Geol. Queensland, 1892, pp. 214-216, pls.
VII. VIII. and XLIV. (Carboniferous). Id., Proc. R. Soc. Vict.,
vol. VI. (N.S.), 1894, pp. 189-194, pl. XI. (_Bronteus_). Id.,
ibid, vol. VIII. (N.S.), 1896, pp. 56, 57, pl. I. (_Dinesus_).
Id., Rec. Austr. Mus., vol. V. No. 2, 1904, pp. 98-101, pl. X.
(Cambrian). Id., Trans. R. Soc. S. Austr., vol. XXII. 1898, pp.
1-3, pl. IV. (Cambrian). Etheridge, R. jnr. and Mitchell, J.
Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. VI. 1892, pp. 311-320, pl.
XXV.; ibid., vol. VIII. 1894, pp. 169-178, pls. VI. VII.; ibid.,
vol. X. 1896, pp. 486-511, pls. XXXVIII.-XL.; ibid., vol. XXI.
1897, pp. 694-721, pls. L.-LV. Tate, R. Rep. Horn Exped., 1896,
Part 3, Palaeontology, pp. 111, 112, pl. III. De Koninck, L. G.
Mem. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, Pal. No. 6, 1898, pp. 36-47 pl.
I. (Silurian); pp. 276-281, pl. XXIV. (Carboniferous). Gregory,
J. W. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XIII. (N.S.) pt. II, 1901, pp.
179-182, pl. XXII. (_Cyphaspis_). Ibid., vol. XV. (N.S.) pt.
II. 1903, pp. 154-156, pl. XXVI. (_Dinesus_ and _Notasaphus_.)
Chapman, F. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XXIII. (N.S.), pt. II.
1910, pp. 314-322, pls. LVIII. and LIX. (Cambrian). Ibid.,
vol. XXIV. (N.S.) pt. II. 1912, pp. 293-300, pls. LXI.-LXIII.
(Silurian).
PHYLLOPODA.
Cox, J. C. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. V., pt. 3, 1881, p.
276 (_Estheria_). Etheridge, R. jnr. ibid., vol. VII. 1893, pp.
307-310, text fig. (_Leaia_). Idem, Mem. Geol. Surv. New South
Wales, Pal. No. 1, 1888, pp. 6-8, pl. I. (_Estheria_).
OSTRACODA.
Brady, G. S. in Etheridge, jnr. Geol. Mag., 1876, p. 334 (Cainozoic).
De Koninck, L. G. Mem. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, Pal. No.
6, 1898, pp. 33, 36 (Silurian); ibid., pp. 275, 276, pl. XXIV.
(Carboniferous). Chapman, F. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XVI.
(N.S.), pt. II. 1904, pp. 199-204, pl. XXIII. (Jurassic).
Idem, ibid., vol. XXII. (N.S.), pt. I. 1909, pp. 1-5, pl. I.
(_Leperditia_). Idem, Rec. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, vol.
VIII. pt. 4, 1909, pp. 1-3, pl. LIV. (Triassic). Idem, Rec.
Geol. Surv. Vict., vol. III. pt. 2, 1912, p. 221, pl. XXXVI.
(_Primitia_). Idem, Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XV. (N.S.), pt.
II. 1903, pp. 109-113, pl. XVI. (_Beyrichia_). Ibid., vol. XVII.
(N.S.) pt. I. 1904, pp. 299-312, pls. XIII.-XVII. (Silurian).
CIRRIPEDIA.
Etheridge, R. jnr. Geol. Mag., Dec. III. vol. VII. 1890, pp. 337, 338,
pl. XI. (_Turrilepas_). Hall, T.S. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol.
XV. (N.S.) pt. I. 1902, pp. 83, 84, pl. XI. (_Lepas_). Benham,
W. B. Geol. Mag., Dec. IV. vol. X. pp. 110-119, pls. IX. X. (_?
Pollicipes_). Chapman, F. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. vol. XXII. (N.S.)
pt. II. 1910, pp. 105-197, pls. XXVIII. XXIX. (_Turrilepas_).
PHYLLOCARIDA.
Etheridge, R. jnr. Rec. Geol. Surv. New South Wales, vol. III. pt. I.
1894, pp. 5-8, pl. IV. (Ordovician). Chapman, F. Proc. R. Soc.
Vict. vol. XV. (N.S.), pt. II. 1903, pp. 113-117, pl. XVIII.
(Ordovician); ibid., vol. XVII. (N.S.) pt. I. 1904, pp. 312-315,
pl. XVII.; ibid., vol. XXII. (N.S.), pt. II. 1910, pp. 107-110,
pl. XXVIII. (Silurian). Idem, Rec. Geol. Surv. Vict., vol. III.
pt. 2, 1912, pp. 212, 213, pls. XVII. XVIII. (Ordovician).
DECAPODA.
Bell, T. Proc. Geol. Soc. Lond., vol. I. 1845, pp. 93, 94. Text-fig.
(_Thalassina_). Woodward, H. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol.
XXXII. 1876, pp. 51-53, pl. VII. (_Harpactocarcinus_). Idem.,
Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. VII. (2), pt. 2, 1892, pp.
301-304 pl. IV. (_Prosopon_).
Hall, T. S. Proc. R. Soc. Vict., vol. XVII. (N.S.) pt. II. 1905, pp.
356-360, pl. XXIII. (_Ommatocarcinus_).
EURYPTERIDA.
McCoy, F. Geol. Mag. Dec. IV. vol. VI. 1899, pp. 193, 194, text fig.
(_Pterygotus_).
INSECTA.
Woodward, H. Geol. Mag. Dec. III. vol. I. 1884, pp. 337-339, pl. XI.
(_Aeschna_). Etheridge, R. jnr. and Olliff, A. S. Mem. Geol.
Surv. New South Wales, Pal. No. 7, 1890 (Mesozoic and Cainozoic).
CHAPTER XII.
FOSSIL FISHES, AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES, BIRDS, AND MAMMALS.
=Vertebrates.--=
The above-named classes of animals are distinguished from those previously
dealt with, by the presence of a vertebral column. The vertebral axis
may be either cartilaginous as in some fishes, or bony as in the greater
number of animals belonging to this sub-kingdom.
=Chordata.--=
_LINKS BETWEEN THE INVERTEBRATES AND FISHES._--The curious little
ascidians or "sea-squirts," belonging to the group Tunicata, are held
by some authorities to be the degenerate descendants of a free-swimming
animal having a complete notochord and nerve-tube, structures which
are now only seen in the tails of their tadpole-like larvae. The fully
developed tunicate is generally sessile and provided with a thick outer
coat (tunic) and muscular inner lining. This outer coat in some forms, as
_Leptoclinum_, is strengthened with tiny calcareous spicules, and these
are sometimes found in the fossil state in Cainozoic clays, as well as
in some of the calcareous deep-sea oozes. The little stellate spicules of
_Leptoclinum_ are abundant in the Balcombian clays of Mornington, Victoria.
Another primitive form with a notochord is the Lancelet, but this, having
no hard parts, is not found in the fossil state.
=Primitive Types of Fishes.--=
_FISHES._--The remains of fishes are naturally more abundant in the
fossil condition, owing to their aquatic habits, than those of other
vertebrates. The earliest fishes were probably entirely cartilaginous,
and some have left only a mere trace or impression on the rocks in which
they were embedded. These primitive fishes have no lower jaw, and are
without paired limbs. They are sometimes placed in a class by themselves
(_AGNATHA_). The orders of this primitive fish series as represented in
Australasia are the Osteostraci ("bony shells"), of which the remains of
the _Cephalaspis_-like head-shield of _Thyestes_ has been found in the
Silurian of N.E. Gippsland, Victoria (Fig. 122); and the Antiarchi, with
its many-plated cuirass, armoured body-appendages, internal bony tissue,
and coarsely tuberculated exterior, as seen in _Asterolepis australis_,
a fossil occasionally found in the Middle Devonian Limestone of Buchan,
Gippsland.
=True Fishes.--Devonian.--=
Of the true fishes (Pisces), the Elasmobranchii ("slit-gills"), a
sub-class to which the modern sharks belong, are represented in the
Devonian series by the paired spines of a form resembling _Climatius_,
found both in Victoria and New South Wales. Remains of Dipnoi
("double-breather" or lung-fishes) occur in the Devonian of Barker Gorge,
Western Australia, represented by a new species allied to _Coccosteus_
("berry-bone" fish); and in a bed of the same age at the Murrumbidgee
River, New South Wales by the cranial buckler of _Ganorhynchus süssmilchi_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 122--Incomplete Head-Shield= of Thyestes magnificus,
Chapm. From the Silurian (Yeringian) of Wombat Creek, N.E. Gippsland. 4/5
nat. size]
[Illustration: =Fig. 123=
=Gyracanthides murrayi=,
A. S. Woodw.
L. Carboniferous. Mansfield, Victoria.
(Restoration).
About 1/12 nat. size]
[Illustration: =Fig. 124--TEETH and SCALES of PALAEOZOIC and MESOZOIC
FISHES.=
A--Strepsodus decipiens, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. Victoria
B--Elonichthys sweeti, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. Victoria
C--Corax australis, Chapm. L. Cretaceous. Queensland
D--Belouostomus sweeti, Eth. fil. and Woodw. L. Cretaceous. Q.
]
=Carboniferous Fishes.--=
The Lower Carboniferous sandstone of Burnt Creek and other localities near
Mansfield, Victoria, contains an abundant fish fauna, associated with
stems of _Lepidodendron_. The slabs of sandstone are often ripple-marked
and show signs of tracks and castings of shore-living animals. These
deposits were probably laid down in shallow water at the shore margin
or in salt lagoons or brackish areas skirting the coast, into which
at intervals the remains of the giant lycopods were drifted. The more
important of these fish remains are Elasmobranchs, as _Gyracanthides
murrayi_ (Fig. 123) and _Acanthodes australis_; the Dipnoan, _Ctenodus
breviceps_; a Rhizodont or fringe-finned ganoid, _Strepsodus decipiens_
(Fig. 124 A); and a genus related to _Palaeoniscus_, _Elonichthys_
(_E. sweeti_, Fig. 124 B, and _E. gibbus_). The defence spines of
_Gyracanthides_ are fairly abundant in the sandstones; whilst on some
slabs the large enamelled scales of _Strepsodus_ are equally conspicuous.
From the sandstones of the same age, Lower Carboniferous, in the Grampians
of Western Victoria, some small but well-preserved spines belonging to the
genus _Physonemus_ have been found associated with a new variety of the
well-known European Carboniferous brachiopod, _Lingula squamiformis_ (var.
_borungensis_).
=Carbopermian Fishes.--=
In the Carbopermian (Gympie Beds) of the Rockhampton District, Queensland,
a tooth of a Cochliodont ("snail tooth") occurs, which has been doubtfully
referred to the genus _Deltodus_ (? _D. australis_). The Cochliodontidae
show dentition remarkably like that of the _Cestracion_ or Port Jackson
Shark. Another tooth having the same family relationship has been
referred to _Tomodus ? convexus_, Agassiz; this is from the Carbopermian
of the Port Stephen district of New South Wales. From the Newcastle Coal
Measures in New South Wales a _Palaeoniscus_-like fish, _Urosthenes
australis_ has been described.
Carbopermian fish remains are rare in Western Australia. They comprise
a wrinkled tooth of _Edestus_ (_E. davisii_) from the Gascoyne River,
belonging to a fish closely related to the Port Jackson shark; and a
cochliodont, _Poecilodus_ (_P. jonesi_, Ag.) from the Kimberley district.
=Triassic Fishes.--=
Fossil fishes are important and numerous in Australian Triassic beds,
especially in New South Wales. At the base of the Hawkesbury or close
of the Narrabeen series, the railway ballast quarry near Gosford has
yielded an extensive and extremely interesting collection. Near the floor
of the quarry there is a band of sandy shale and laminated sandstone 5
feet 9 inches in thickness, and this contains the following genera:--A
dipnoan, _Gosfordia_; and the following ganoids or enamelled scale
fishes--_Myriolepis_, _Apateolepis_, _Dictyopyge_, _Belonorhynchus_,
_Semionotus_, _Pristisomus_ (see _antea_, Fig. 18), _Cleithrolepis_ (Fig.
125), _Pholidophorus_ and ? _Peltopleurus_.
=Upper Triassic Fishes.--=
In the middle of the Wianamatta or Upper Trias Series at St. Peter's,
near Sydney, which contains a fauna described as slightly older in aspect
than that of Gosford, having Carbopermian affinities, there occur in
the hard shale or clay stone the genera _Pleuracanthus_ (a Palaeozoic
shark); _Sagenodus_ (a dipnoan related to _Ctenodus_ of the Victorian
Carboniferous); and the following ganoids,--_Palaeoniscus_, _Elonichthys_,
_Myriolepis_, _Elpisopholis_, _Platysomus_ and _Acentrophorus_. From the
soft shales were obtained _Palaeoniscus_, _Semionotus_, _Cleithrolepis_
and _Pholidophorus_; an assemblage of genera somewhat comparable with the
Gosford fauna.
[Illustration: =Fig. 125--Cleithrolepis granulatus, Egerton.=
Triassic (Hawkesbury Series). Gosford, New South Wales. 3/4 nat. size.
(_After Smith Woodward_.)
]
=Lower Mesozoic Fishes.--=
From the Lower Mesozoic sandstone (?Triassic) of Tasmania, two species of
_Acrolepis_ have been described, viz., _A. hamiltoni_ and _A. tasmanicus_.
The former occurs in the thick bed of sandstone, of nearly 1,000 feet,
at Knocklofty; the latter species in the sandstone with _Vertebraria_
conformably overlying the Carbopermian at Tinderbox Bay.
[Illustration: =Fig. 126--REMAINS of JURASSIC and OTHER VERTEBRATES.=
1--Ceratodus avus, A. S. Woodw. Left splenial with lower tooth. Cape
Paterson, Victoria. About 1/3 nat. size
2--Ceratodus forsteri, Krefft. Left lower tooth. Living. Queensland.
About 1/3 nat. size
3--Phalangeal of Carnivorous Dinosaur. Cape Paterson. About 1/3 nat.
size
4--Phalangeal of Megalosaurian. Wealden, Sussex, England. 1/4 nat. size
]
=Jurassic Fishes.--=
The Jurassic beds of Victoria contain three genera. _Psilichthys selwyni_,
a doubtful palaeoniscid was described from Carapook, Co. Dundas; whilst
_Leptolepis_, a genus found in the Trias of New South Wales and the Lias
and Oolite of Europe, is represented by _L. crassicauda_ from Casterton,
associated with the typical Jurassic fern, _Taeniopteris_. In the Jurassic
beds of South Gippsland, at Cape Paterson, an interesting splenial tooth
of the mudfish, _Ceratodus_, was found, named _C. avus_ (Fig. 126). Since
then, in a bore-core from Kirrak near the same place a fish scale was
discovered (Fig. 127) which, by its shape, size and structure seems to
differ in no way from the living lung-fish of Queensland (Fig. 128). It
is reasonable to infer that tooth and scale belong to the same species;
and in view of the close relationship of the tooth with that of the living
mudfish, rather than with that of the _Ceratodus_ found fossil in the
Mesozoic of Europe, it may be referred to _Neoceratodus_, in which genus
the living species is now placed.
[Illustration: =Fig. 127--Scale of Ceratodus (Neoceratodus)= (?)avus, A.
S. Woodw. Jurassic. Kirrak, S. Gippsland, Victoria. About nat. size]
[Illustration: =Fig. 128--The Queensland Lung-Fish=
or Barramunda (Neoceratodus forsteri). About 1/12th. nat. size
(_After Lydekker, in Warne's Natural History_)
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 129--Leptolepis gregarius=, A. S. Woodw.
Talbragar Series, Jurassic. Talbragar River, New South Wales 1/2 nat.
size]
From the Jurassic beds (Talbragar Series) of New South Wales, an
interesting collection of ganoid fishes has been described, comprising
_Coccolepis australis_, _Aphnelepis australis_, _Aetheolepis mirabilis_,
_Archaeomaene tenuis_, _A. robustus_, _Leptolepis talbragarensis_, _L.
lowei_ and _L. gregarina_ (Fig. 129).
=Lower Cretaceous Fishes.--=
Fish remains are fairly abundant in the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland.
They comprise both the sharks and the ganoids. Of the sharks, a specimen,
showing seven conjoined vertebrae has been named _Lamna daviesii_, from
the Richmond Downs, Flinders River district; and a tooth referred to
_Lamna appendiculatus_, Agassiz, from Kamileroy, Leichhardt River, N.W.
Queensland. The typical Cretaceous genus _Corax_ is represented by a
small tooth named _C. australis_ (Fig. 124 C), from the Hamilton River,
Queensland, and which closely approaches the tooth of _Corax affinis_,
Agassiz, from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe. Of the ganoid fishes two
genera, both members of the family _Aspidorhynchidae_, have been found
in Queensland. _Aspidorhynchus_ sp. and _Belonostomus sweeti_ (Fig. 124
D) have both occurred at Hughenden, Flinders River district. The former
genus has a slender body and produced rostrum; in Europe it is more
characteristic of Jurassic strata. _Belonostomus_ ranges from the Upper
Oolite, Bavaria, to the Upper Cretaceous in other parts of the world.
Remains of a species of _Portheus_, one of the predaceous fishes which
lived in the Cretaceous period, consisting of a portion of the cranium
with the anterior part of the jaws, has been obtained from the Rolling
Downs Formation (Lower Cretaceous) near Hughenden, Queensland.
=Cretaceous Fishes, New Zealand.--=
[Illustration: =Fig. 130--CRETACEOUS and CAINOZOIC FISH-TEETH.=
A--Notidanus marginalis, Davis. Cainozoic. New Zealand
B--Callorhynchus hectori, Newton. Cainozoic. New Zealand
C--Oxyrhina hastalis, Ag. Cainozoic. Victoria
D--Lamna apiculata, Ag. Cainozoic. Victoria
E--Carcharodon auriculatus, Blainv. sp. Cainozoic. Victoria
F--Sargus laticonus, Davis. Cainozoic. New Zealand
]
The Cretaceous beds of New Zealand are grouped in ascending order as the
Waipara Greensands, the Amuri Limestone and the Weka Pass Stone. In the
Waipara beds occur the teeth of _Notidanus marginalis_ (Fig. 130 A), and
_N. dentatus_. In the Amuri Limestone _N. dentatus_ is again found, as
well as the genus _Lamna_, represented by _L. compressa_, Ag. (originally
described as _L. marginalis_, Davis), _L. carinata_ and _L. hectori_. Two
forms of "Elephant fish" are represented by their dental plates, namely
_Callorhynchus hectori_ (Fig. 130 B) and _Ischyodus thurmanni_, Pictet and
Campiche (recorded as _I. brevirostris_, Ag.).
=Cainozoic Fishes.--=
Fish remains principally consisting of teeth, are common fossils in the
Cainozoic beds of southern Australia, particularly in Victoria, and also
in New Zealand.
=Balcombian Series, Southern Australia.--=
The Balcombian beds as seen at Mornington and in the Lower Beds at Muddy
Creek, Hamilton, contain the teeth of sharks as _Odontaspis contortidens_,
_Lamna crassidens_, _L. apiculata_, _Oxyrhina hastalis_ (rarely), _O.
minuta_, _Carcharodon megalodon_, and _C. robustus_.
=Janjukian.--=
The Janjukian Series (Miocene), represented at Torquay, Waurn Ponds and
Table Cape, contains an abundant fish fauna, including amongst sharks,
_Cestracion cainozoicus_, _Asteracanthus eocaenicus_, _Galeocerdo davisi_,
_Carcharoides totuserratus_, _Odontaspis contortidens_, _O. incurva_,
_O. cuspidata_, _Lamna crassidens_, _L. apiculata_ (Fig. 130 D), _L.
compressa_, _L. bronni_, _Oxyrhina hastalis_ (occasional) (Fig. 130 C),
_O. desori_, _O. retroflexa_, _O. minuta_, _Carcharodon auriculatus_ (Fig.
130 E), _C. megalodon_ and _C. robustus_. A species of chimaeroid or
Elephant fish is represented by a left mandibular tooth named _Ischyodus
mortoni_, from the Table Cape Beds, Tasmania.
The Corio Bay series contains teeth of _Acanthias geelongensis_, _Sphyrna
prisca_, _Odontaspis contortidens_, _O. attenuata_, _Oxyrhina minuta_,
_Carcharodon megalodon_, amongst sharks; whilst the spine of a Porcupine
Fish, _Diodon connewarrensis_ has been obtained from the clays of Lake
Connewarre, Victoria.
=Kalimnan.--=
[Illustration: =Fig. 131--CAINOZOIC FISH REMAINS.=
A--Carcharoides tenuidens, Chapm. Cainozoic (Janj.) Victoria
B--Odontaspis contortidens. Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) Victoria
C--Galeocerdo latidens, Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) Victoria
D--Myliobatis morrabbinensis, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.)
Victoria
E--Labrodon confertidens. Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.
F--Diodon formosus, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.
]
The Kalimnan Series is also prolific in the remains of fishes, the
principal localities being Beaumaris and Grange Burn, Hamilton. Amongst
the sharks there found are, _Notidanus jenningsi_ (related to the Indian
Grey Shark), _Cestracion cainozoicus_ (related to the Port Jackson
Shark), _Asteracanthus eocaenicus_, _Galeocerdo davisi_, _G. latidens_
(Fig. 131 C), _G. aduncus_, _Odontaspis contortidens_ (Fig. 131 B),
_O. incurva_, _O. cuspidata_, _O. attenuata_, _Lamna apiculata_, _L.
compressa_, _Oxyrhina hastalis_ (abundant), _O. desori_, _O. retroflexa_,
_O. eocaena_, _O. minuta_, _Carcharodon auriculatus_ and _C. megalodon_.
An extinct species of Sting Ray, _Myliobatis moorabbinensis_ (Fig. 131 D),
is found at Beaumaris, represented by occasional palatal teeth. Mandibular
and palatine teeth of an extinct genus of Elephant Fish, _Edaphodon_
(_E. sweeti_) are occasionally found at Beaumaris, and at Grange Burn
near Hamilton. Two extinct forms of the Wrasse family, the Labridae, are
found in Victoria; the pharyngeals of _Labrodon confertidens_ (Fig. 131
E), occurring at Grange Burn, Hamilton, and those of _L. depressus_, at
Beaumaris. The palatal jaws of a Porcupine Fish, _Diodon formosus_ (Fig.
131 F), are frequently met with at the base of the Kalimnan Series, both
at Grange Burn and Beaumaris.
=Oamaru Series, New Zealand.--=
In New Zealand the Oamaru Series, which is comparable in age with the
Victorian Janjukian, contains numerous fish remains, chiefly teeth
of sharks. These are: _Notidanus primigenius_, _N. marginalis_ (also
occurring in the Waipara Series), _Galeocerdo davisi_, _Odontaspis
incurva_, _O. cuspidata_, _O. attenuata_, _Lamna apiculata_, _L.
compressa_, _Oxyrhina retroflexa_, _Carcharodon auriculatus_, _C.
megalodon_ and _C. robustus_. The teeth of a Sting Ray, _Myliobatis
plicatilis_ and of a species of Sea-bream, _Sargus laticonus_, also occur
in this series (Fig. 130 F).
=Pleistocene.--=
A species of fish belonging to the family of the Perches, _Ctenolates
avus_, has been described from freshwater carbonaceous shale of
Pleistocene age from Nimbin on the Richmond River, New South Wales.
=Amphibians: Their Structure.--=
_AMPHIBIANS._--This group includes amongst living forms the Frogs,
Toads, Newts, and Salamanders. The remains of amphibia are rare in
Australasian rocks, and practically limited to the group of the Triassic
Labyrinthodonts. The Amphibia are distinguished from Reptiles by certain
changes which their young undergo after leaving the egg. In this
intermediate stage they breathe by external gills, these being sometimes
retained together with the internal lungs in the adult stage. In the
older forms of this group the vertebra is of the nature of a notochord,
the joints consisting of a thin bony ring with a gelatinous interior.
The Labyrinthodontia have a long, lizard-like body, short pectoral limbs
as compared with the pelvic, and five-toed feet. The skull is completely
roofed over. The teeth are pointed, with a large pulp cavity and wall of
infolded or plicated dentine (hence the name labyrinthodont--maze-tooth).
The vertebrae are hollow on both sides, sometimes imperfectly ossified,
and with a notochordal canal. Ventral aspect with bony thoracic plates.
Cranial bones deeply sculptured, and carrying mucus canals.
=Carbopermian Labyrinthodonts.--=
The genus _Bothriceps_, probably an Archegosaurian, is represented by two
species, _B. australis_ and _B. major_ from New South Wales (Fig. 132).
The latter species occurs in the Oil Shale (Carbopermian) of Airly.
[Illustration: =Fig. 132--Bothriceps major, A. S. Woodward.=
Carbopermian. New South Wales. About 1/11th. nat. size
(_After A. S. Woodward_).
]
=Triassic Labyrinthodonts.--=
From the Hawkesbury Series near Gosford, New South Wales, the
labyrinthodont, _Platyceps wilkinsoni_ has been described. The skeleton
is nearly complete and exposed on the ventral face; the head is 27mm.
long and 32mm. broad. This specimen is associated with the remains of
ganoid fishes, as _Palaeoniscus_ and _Cleithrolepis_, together with the
equisetum-like plant _Phyllotheca_.
Other, somewhat doubtful remains having similar affinities to the
labyrinthodonts are also recorded from the Wianamatta beds (Upper Trias)
at Bowral, New South Wales, consisting of a maxilla with teeth and 11
vertebrae with ribs of the left side. Remains of a labyrinthodont,
_Biloela_, supposed to be related to _Mastodonsaurus_, have been
recorded from the Hawkesbury Series of Cockatoo Island, Port Jackson,
New South Wales, by W. J. Stephens, and consisting of a pectoral plate
compared by that author with _M. robustus_ (now transferred to the genus
_Capitosaurus_).
The only other recorded remains of this group in Australasia are those
noted by W. J. Stephens from the Kaihiku Series (Trias) at Nugget Point,
Otago; and in the Otapiri Series (Upper Trias) of the Wairoa district, New
Zealand.
=Reptilia: Their Structure.--=
_REPTILIA._--The Reptiles are cold-blooded, vertebrated animals, with
a scaly skin or armour. Their respiration is essentially by means of
lungs, and they are terrestrial or aquatic in habit. The skeleton is
completely ossified (bony). Reptiles, although resembling amphibians
externally, are more differentiated in structure and of generally
larger proportions. They exhibit great diversity of form, especially as
regards their extremities. They were even adapted for flying, as in
the Pterosaurs ("Flying Dragons") with their membranous wing attached
to the anterior limb. The Deinosaurs ("Terrible Reptiles") were often
of great size, exceeding the dimensions of any land mammals, and their
limbs were adapted for walking. The marine reptiles, as the Ichthyosauria
("Fish-lizards") and Sauropterygia ("lizard-finned") had the limbs
transformed into paddles. The neural spines in the vertebra of the Turtles
are laterally expanded into a carapace and united with dermal plates.
The vertebrae of Reptilia show great variation of form, being biplanate
(amphiplatyan), biconcave (amphicoelus), hollow in front (procoelus),
or hollow at the back (opisthocoelus). In the case of Reptiles having
both pairs of limbs developed, the cervical, dorsal, sacral and caudal
regions may be separately distinguished. Amongst the Ophidia (Snakes),
Pythonomorpha ("Sea-lizards") and Ichthyosaurs ("Fish-lizards") there is
no differentiated sacral region. The skull of the Reptiles is nearer that
of Birds than Amphibians. The basiocciput (basal bone of the skull at the
back) articulates with the atlas (top joint of the backbone) by means of
a single condyle (protuberance). All reptiles, with the exception of the
Chelonians (Turtles), and a few others, are furnished with teeth: these
are formed chiefly of dentine with a layer of enamel.
=Dentition.--=
Some teeth have solid crowns (pleodont); some grow from persistent pulps
(coelodont); socketed teeth (thecodont) are inserted in alveoli; some are
fused with the supporting bone along the outer rim or top (acrodont);
whilst others are developed laterally along the flange-like inner rim of
the jaw (pleurodont).
=Permian and Triassic Reptiles.--=
The history of Reptilia commences in Permian and Triassic times, when
they were notably represented by the Theromorphs, _Pareiasaurus_
and _Tritylodon_ in South Africa; the Proterosauria of the European
and American Permian and Trias, represented by the lizard-like
_Palaeohatteria_ and the dorsally frilled _Dimetrodon_, with its
formidable array of neural spines; also the Rhynchosauria, with their
beak-like jaws of the same formations. These two groups constitute the
order Rhynchocephalia, which is represented at the present day by the
Tuatera of New Zealand.
=Triassic Reptile, New Zealand.--=
The earliest Australian reptilian record is that of a vertebra of
_Ichthyosaurus_ from the Kaihiku Series of Mount Potts, New Zealand
(Triassic). This specimen was named _I. australis_ by Hector, but since
that species name was preoccupied by McCoy in 1867 it is suggested here
that the New Zealand species should be distinguished as _I. hectori_. The
New Zealand occurrence of _Ichthyosaurus_ makes the geological history of
the genus very ancient in this part of the world.
=Jurassic Reptiles.--=
At Cape Paterson, Victoria, in the Jurassic coal-bearing sandstone
an extremely interesting discovery was made a few years ago, of the
ungual bone (claw) of a carnivorous Deinosaur, probably related to
_Megalosaurus_ of the European Jurassic and Cretaceous beds (See Fig. 126,
3, 3 A). The presence of an animal like this in Australia points to the
former existence of a concomitant terrestrial animal fauna, upon which the
deinosaur must have preyed.
[Illustration: =Fig. 133--Ichthyosaurus australis, McCoy.=
A--Part of head, showing eye protected by sclerotic plates
B--Left pectoral paddle. L. Cretaceous. Flinders River, Queensland.
1/8 nat. size
(_Nat. Mus. Coll._)
]
=Lower Cretaceous Reptiles.--=
The Rolling Downs formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Thompson and
Flinders Rivers in Queensland has yielded remains of a Tortoise,
_Notochelone costata_ (see _antea_, Fig. 17); and the interesting
Fish-lizard _Ichthyosaurus_. Numerous and well preserved remains of _I.
australis_ McCoy come from the Flinders River (Fig. 133); whilst _I.
marathonensis_ is recorded from Marathon Station, Queensland. The former
species is typically represented by a nearly complete skeleton, and was
considered by McCoy to be one of the largest examples of the genus,
since a perfect specimen would probably reach the length of 25 feet. Its
teeth resemble those of _I. campylodon_, Carter, from the English Chalk.
Of the Sauropterygia two species of _Pliosaurus_ (_P. macrospondylus_
and _P. sutherlandi_) have been described from the Lower Cretaceous
of the Flinders River; whilst the latter species has also occurred at
Pitchery Creek, Central Queensland and at Marathon. _P. macrospondylus_
is distinguished from _P. sutherlandi_ by the roughened edges of
the vertebral centra. Another genus of the "lizard-finned" reptiles
(Sauropterygia), viz., _Cimoliosaurus_, occurs in the Upper Cretaceous of
White Cliffs, New South Wales (Fig. 134 B, C.)
[Illustration: =Fig. 134--FOSSIL REPTILES.=
A--Taniwhasaurus oweni. Hector. (Lower jaw). Cretaceous. New Zealand
B--Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Teeth). Up. Cretaceous. New
South Wales
C--Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Phalangeal). Up.
Cretaceous. New South Wales
D--Miolania oweni, A. S. Woodw. Pleistocene. Queensland
]
=Cretaceous Reptiles, New Zealand.--=
The Waipara Series (Cretaceous) of New Zealand contains a fairly large
number of reptilian species belonging to several genera among which may
be mentioned _Plesiosaurus_, _Polycotylus_, and _Cimoliosaurus_ among the
Sauropterygia; and _Tylosaurus_ and _Taniwhasaurus_ (Fig. 134 A), marine
lizard-like reptiles, belonging to the sub-order Pythonomopha.
=Cainozoic and Pleistocene Reptiles.--=
The later Cainozoic deposits of Queensland contain remains of Crocodiles
referred to _Pallymnarchus pollens_ (from Maryvale Creek) and _Crocodilus
porosus_ (from Chinchilla and Arcola, near Brisbane, Queensland). The
former species has also occurred at Clunes, whilst _Crocodilus porosus_ is
recorded from the Loddon Valley, both in Victoria. Another late Tertiary
reptile is the remarkable Horned Turtle, _Miolania oweni_, which is found
in Queensland in Pleistocene deposits (Fig. 134 D), and in the Pliocene
(Deep Leads) of Gulgong, New South Wales; whilst a second species of the
same genus, _M. platyceps_, is found in coral sand at Lord Howe Island,
400 miles distant from Australia. This genus has a skull with large bony
protuberances, giving it a horned appearance, and the tail is encased in
a bony sheath. A species of _Miolania_ is also described from Patagonia.
The Cave deposits of Wellington Valley, New South Wales, as well as the
fluviatile deposits of Queensland, have, yielded the bones of several
genera of lizards, including the Giant Lizard (_Megalania_), which, in its
length of 20 feet exceeded that of most living crocodiles.
=Birds.--=
_BIRDS (AVES)._--These warm-blooded animals are closely related to
Reptiles in many essential particulars; and are generally considered
to more nearly approach the Deinosaurs than any other group. The
Ratitae ("Raft-breasted" or keel-less birds) and Carinatae (with keeled
breast-bones), a sub-class including most modern birds, were probably
differentiated before the Cainozoic period.
=Jurassic Bird.--=
The oldest recorded bird, the remarkable _Archaeopteryx_, of the
Upper Jurassic of Bavaria in Europe, belonging to the Saururae
(Reptilian-tailed) is, so far, restricted to the beds of that age.
=Miocene Bird, New Zealand.--=
The earliest known birds in Australasia occur in the Miocene rocks (Oamaru
Series), of New Zealand. In this series, in the Marawhenua Greensands,
a Giant Penguin, _Palaeeudyptes antarcticus_ is found at Kakanui near
Oamaru, at Curiosity Shop near Christchurch and at Brighton near Nelson,
New Zealand: this interesting occurrence shows that these restricted
antarctic birds had already become an established type as early as the
Miocene.
=Victorian Cainozoic Bird.--=
The impression of a bird's feather, probably of a Wader, has lately been
described from Western Victoria (see _antea_ Fig. 16 and Fig. 135). This
occurs in ironstone, on the surface of which are also impressions of Gum
(_Eucalyptus_) and Native Honeysuckle (_Banksia_) leaves, of species
closely related to those now growing in the same locality. This ironstone
is probably of Janjukian age, and may therefore be coincident with the New
Zealand occurrence of the _Palaeeudyptes_ in the Oamaru Series.
=Pliocene Moa, New Zealand.--=
In the Wanganui System (Pliocene) the Putiki Beds have yielded bones of a
small Moa (_Dinornis_), probably the oldest example of the group of great
flightless birds which later predominated in New Zealand.
[Illustration: =Fig. 135--Impression of Bird's Feather in Ironstone.=
Wannon River, Victoria. (Enlarged).]
=Pleistocene Struthious Birds, Australia.--=
Bones of a struthious or Ostrich-like bird, described by Owen under
the name of _Dromornis australis_, a bird as large as the Moa, have
been recorded from the Pleistocene of Peak Downs and the Paroo River,
Queensland. Indeterminate species of the same genera occur in Phillip Co.,
New South Wales, and the Mount Gambier Caves, South Australia; whilst
_Dromaeus patricius_ is known from King's Creek, Darling Downs, Queensland.
_Genyornis newtoni_ is an extinct bird allied to the Emeus; it has been
found in Pleistocene deposits at Lake Callabonna, South Australia, and
other fragmentary remains have been identified by Dr. Stirling and Mr.
Zietz from Mount Gambier and Queensland. Regarding the build and habits
of _Genyornis_, those authors remark that "Its legs combine a huge femur
nearly as massive, in all but length, as that of _Dinornis maximus_, and
a tibia equalling that of _Pachyornis elephantopus_ with the relatively
slender metatarse of _Dinornis novae-zealandiae_ (_ingens_) and toes which
are insignificant beside those of any of the larger moas."... "In height
it may be confidently stated to have been from 6 feet to 6 feet 6 inches,
that is if the neck should have been of proportions similar to those of
_Pachyornis elephantopus_." Those authors also attribute a slow, sluggish
habit to the bird, and suggest that herbage rather than roots formed its
food. It is very probable that the footprints of birds found in the older
dune rock of Warrnambool, Victoria, associated with the doubtful "human
footprints" may have been made by _Genyornis_ or a related form.
An extinct Emu, _Dromaeus minor_, has lately been described from the
sub-recent deposits in King Island, Bass Strait.
=Pleistocene Carinate Birds, Australia.--=
Many genera of carinate birds belonging to living Australian types have
been identified by De Vis from the fluviatile deposits on the Darling
Downs, Queensland. These include Falcons (_Taphaetus_ and _Necrastur)_;
a Pelican (_Pelicanus_); an Ibis (_Palaeopelargus_); a Spoonbill
(_Platalea_); Ducks (_Anas_, _Dendrocygna_, _Biziura_ and _Nyroca_); a
Darter (_Plotus_); a Pigeon (_Lithophaps_); a Ground-pigeon (_Progura_); a
Mound-builder (_Chosornis_); a Rail (_Porphyrio_); Moor-hens (_Gallinula_,
_Tribonyx_ and _Fulica_); and a Stork (_Xenorhynchus_).
=Pleistocene and Holocene Birds, New Zealand.--=
In New Zealand numerous remains of birds are found, chiefly in the
Pleistocene strata, associated with Moa bones: such are _Cnemiornis_, the
Flightless Pigeon Goose (Fig. 135); _Harpagornis_, a predatory hawk-like
bird larger than any existing eagle; and _Aptornis_, an extinct Rail. The
sand-dunes, peat bogs, swamps, river alluvium, caves and rock shelters
of New Zealand often contain numerous remains of the gigantic Moa birds
included in the genera _Dinornis_, _Pachyornis_ and _Anomalopteryx_, of
which perhaps the best known are _D. giganteus_, _D. maximus_ (Fig. 136),
_D. robustus_, _P. elephantopus_ (Fig. 137), and _A. antiqua_. Some of the
species have become so recently extinct that remains of their skin and
feathers have been preserved in fissures in the rocks where they were
shielded from the influence of air and moisture. The remains of Moa birds
are very abundant in some of the localities as at Hamilton in Southland,
where, as Hutton estimated, the remains of at least 400 birds were
contained within a radius of 25 feet.
[Illustration: =Fig. 136--Cnemiornis calcitrans, Owen.=
Pleistocene. New Zealand. 1/15th. nat. size
(_After Owen_).
]
[Illustration:=Fig. 137--Dinornis maximus, Owen. (Great Moa).=
Pleistocene and Holocene. New Zealand.
Vertical height, 8 ft. Measured along spine, 10 ft. 8 in.
(_Nat. Mus. Coll._)
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 138--Pachyornis elephantopus, Owen sp.=
Pleistocene. New Zealand. About 1/26th. nat. size.
(_After Owen_).
]
=Mammalia: Early Types.--=
_MAMMALIA._--The history of those warm-blooded animals, the mammals,
commences in the early part of the Mesozoic period. It was then that the
skull began to assume the characters seen in the modern quadrupeds, and
their well-formed limb-bones, and fusion of the three bones on each side
of the pelvic arch to form the innominate bone, also show relationship to
the later types. The earliest ancestral mammalian forms seem to be related
to the theromorphic reptiles, predominant in the Permian and Trias. The
mammals first to make their appearance were probably related to those of
the Monotreme and Marsupial orders. More nearly related to the former is
the group of mammals of the Mesozoic period, the Multituberculata.
=Multituberculata.--=
This group comprises the Triassic _Tritylodon_ (South Africa and Germany);
the Upper Jurassic _Bolodon_ (England and United States); the Upper
Jurassic to Lower Cainozoic _Plagiaulax_ (England, United States and
France); and the Lower Eocene _Polymastodon_ (New Mexico). The molar teeth
are ridged longitudinally, and carry numerous tubercles, hence the name of
the group, and resemble the deciduous teeth of the Duck-billed Platypus
(_Ornithorhynchus_).
=Monotremata.--=
The Monotremata are represented at the present day in Australia and New
Guinea by the _Echidna_ or Spiny Anteater, and by the _Ornithorhynchus_ or
Duck-billed Platypus of Eastern Australia and Tasmania. These egg-laying
mammals show relationship towards the reptiles both in structure and in
methods of reproduction.
A Pliocene species of _Ornithorhynchus_ (_O. maximus_) has been recorded
from the Deep-leads of Gulgong, New South Wales, and the same beds have
yielded the remains of _Echidna (Proechidna) robusta_. Remains of another
species, _Echidna, (P.) oweni_, have been described from the Pleistocene
Cave-breccias of the Wellington Valley Caves, New South Wales; and
_Ornithorhynchus agilis_ is found in deposits of similar age in Queensland.
=Marsupials.--=
The Marsupials or pouched mammals belong to the sub-class Metatheria. They
are divided into Diprotodontia and Polyprotodontia, accordingly as they
possess a single pair of incisor teeth in the lower jaw, or many front
teeth, hence the names of the two sub-orders. A later classification of
the Marsupials is that of their division into syndactyla and diadactyla.
The diadactyla have the second and third toes separate, and are
represented by the family Dasyuridae or Native Cats. These are
polyprotodont. They are the most archaic of the marsupial group. Remains
of _Dasyurus_, both of extinct and still living species are found in
Pleistocene Cave-breccias in Victoria and New South Wales. The Tasmanian
Devil (_Sarcophilus ursinus_) (Fig. 138, 139) and the Tasmanian Wolf
(_Thylacinus cynocephalus_), still living in Tasmania, have left numerous
remains on the mainland, in Victoria and New South Wales. Of the latter
genus an extinct species is _T. major_ from the Pleistocene of Queensland
(Fig. 140).
[Illustration: =Fig. 139=
=Skeleton of Sarcophilus ursinus, Harris sp. (Tasmanian devil).=
(_F. J. Moore, prep._)
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 140=
=Skull of Sarcophilus ursinus, Harris sp. (Tasmanian devil).=
Pleistocene. Queenscliff, Victoria. About 1/2 nat. size
(_After McCoy_).
]
The syndactyla have the second and third toes enclosed in a common skin.
The Peramelidae and the Notoryctidae are polyprotodont. The remainder are
all diprotodont. The Peramelidae or Bandicoot family are represented in
Pleistocene Cave-breccias in New South Wales by the genera _Peragale_ and
_Perameles_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 141--Thylacinus major, Owen.=
Hind part of mandible, outer side. Pleistocene. Queensland.
1/2 nat. size]
=Pleistocene Diprotodonts.--=
Pleistocene remains of the diprotodont forms of this syndactylous group
are _Phascolomys_ (the Wombat), perhaps ranging as low as Upper Pliocene
(_P. pliocenus_) (Fig. 141); _Phascolonus (P. gigas)_ (Fig. 142 A)[4],
a large Wombat from Queensland and New South Wales and South Australia;
the Giant Kangaroos, as _Macropus titan_ (Queensland, New South Wales,
Victoria and South Australia), _Procoptodon goliah_ (Queensland, New South
Wales and Victoria), _Sthenurus atlas_ (New South Wales, Queensland,
Victoria and South Australia), _Palorchestes azael_ (Victoria, New
South Wales and Queensland); also the great _Diprotodon_, the largest
known marsupial, as large as, and rather taller than, a rhinoceros,
found in almost every part of Australia, with an allied form referred
to _Nototherium_ occurring also in Tasmania (Figs. 143, 144, 145).
_Nototherium_ (Queensland, South Australia and Victoria), was a smaller
animal than _Diprotodon_, with a shorter and broader skull and similar
dentition. Remains of the extinct "Marsupial Lion," _Thylacoleo carnifex_,
an animal allied to the phalangers, have been found in Cave-deposits in
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. Incised bones
of other animals, which are believed to have been gnawed by _Thylacoleo_,
have been found associated with its remains. _Thylacoleo_ possessed a
peculiar dentition, the first pair of incisors in the upper jaw being
very large and trenchant, whilst the canine and two anterior premolars
are small and functionless: the lower jaw has also a pair of large
first incisors, behind which are two small premolars, and an enormous
chisel-edged last premolar biting against a similar tooth in the upper jaw
(Fig. 146).
[Footnote 4: This genus was described by Owen in 1872 as a sub-genus of
_Phascolomys_ founded on some cheek-teeth; and subsequently, in 1884,
the same author described some incisors under the name of _Sceparnodon
ramsayi_, which are now known to belong to the same animal that bore the
cheek-teeth.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 142--Mandible of Phascolomys pliocenus, McCoy.=
(?) Upper Pliocene ("Gold Cement.") Dunolly, Vict.
About 1/2 nat. size.
(_After McCoy_).
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 143--CAINOZOIC TEETH and OTOLITH.=
A--Phascolonus gigas, Owen. (Molar). Pleistocene. Queensland
B--Parasqualodon wilkinsoni, McCoy. (Molar). Cainozoic (Janj.) Vict.
C--Parasqualodon wilkinsoni, McCoy. (Incisor). Cainozoic (Janj.) Vict.
D--Metasqualodon harwoodi, Sanger sp. (Molar). Cainozoic (Janj.) South
Australia
E--Kekenodon onamata, Hector. (Molar). Cainozoic (Oamaruian). New
Zealand
F--Cetotolithes nelsoni, McCoy. (Tympanic bone). Cainozoic (Janj.)
Victoria
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 144--Diprotodon australis, Owen.=
Pleistocene. South Australia.
(_After Stirling and Zeitz_).
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 145--Upper Surface of the Right Hind Foot of
Diprotodon australis=.
A--With the Astragalus (ankle-bone) in position.
B-- " " " " removed.
Cir. 1/8 nat. size.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 146--Diprotodon australis, Owen. (Restored).=
From a sketch by C. H. Angas.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 147--Thylacoleo carnifex, Owen.=
Right lateral aspect of skull and mandible.
Pleistocene. Australia. 1/5th nat. size.
c, canine. i, incisors. m, molars. pm, premolars.
]
[Illustration: =Fig. 148--Wynyardia bassiana, Spencer.=
Upper Cainozoic (Turritella bed). Table Cape. Tasmania.
2/7th nat. size.
(_Casts in Nat. Mus. Coll._)
]
=Oldest Known Marsupial.=
The oldest marsupial found in Australia is probably _Wynyardia bassiana_
(Fig. 147), whose remains occurred in the _Turritella_-bed at Table
Cape, which is either of Miocene or Lower Pliocene age. This stratum
occurs above the well-known _Crassatellites_-bed (Miocene) of that
locality. So far as can be gathered from its incomplete dentition,
_Wynyardia_ represents an annectant form between the Diprotodonts and the
Polyprotodonts.
=Pleistocene Genera, also Living.--=
Besides the genera above enumerated, many other marsupials of well-known
living species are represented by fossil remains in Cave-deposits and on
"sand-blows" in most of the Australian States. The genera thus represented
in the Pleistocene deposits of Australia are _Bettongia_ (Prehensile
Rat-Kangaroo); _Dasyurus_ (Native Cat); _Hypsiprymnus_ (Rat-Kangaroo);
_Macropus_ (Kangaroo); _Perameles_ (Bandicoot); _Petaurus_ (Flying
Phalanger); _Phalanger_ (Cuscus); _Phascolomys_ (Wombat); _Sarcophilus_
(Tasmanian Devil); _Thylacinus_ (Tasmanian Wolf).
=Cetacea.--=
The order Cetacea includes Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. The earliest
known forms belong to the sub-order Archaeoceti, and whilst absent from
Australian deposits, are found in the Eocene of Europe, Northern Africa
and North America.
=Odontoceti: Toothed Whales.--=
Remains of Cetacea are first met with in Australian rocks in the Oligocene
(Balcombian) of Victoria. At Muddy Creek near Hamilton fragments of ribs
and other bones of cetacea, not yet determined, occur in the tenacious
blue clays of the lower part of the Clifton Bank section. In Australia
and New Zealand the oldest determinable remains of this order belong to
the Odontoceti, members of which range from Miocene to Pliocene. Teeth
of the toothed whales like _Squalodon_ of the Miocene of France and
Bavaria have been found in New Zealand (_Kekenodon_); in South Australia
(_Metasqualodon_); and in Victoria (_Parasqualodon_). In Victoria the
teeth of Squalodontidae occur in the Janjukian beds of Cape Otway,
Waurn Ponds and Torquay, represented by molars and anterior teeth of
_Parasqualodon wilkinsoni_ (Fig. 142 B, C). The same species also occurs
at Table Cape, Tasmania, in beds of similar age. Teeth of _Metasqualodon
harwoodi_ (Fig. 142 D) occasionally occur in the white polyzoal rock of
the Mount Gambier district, South Australia. The gigantic toothed whale,
_Kekenodon onamata_ (Fig. 142 E) occurs in the Marawhenua Greensands
(Oamaru Series) at Waitaki Valley, Waihao, Ngapara, Waikouaiti and Milburn
in New Zealand. The molar teeth of this striking species, with their
serrated crowns, measure nearly five inches in length.
=Ear-bones of Whales.--=
The tympanic bones of whales are not uncommon in the Janjukian beds of
Waurn Ponds, near Geelong, Victoria; and they are occasionally found
in the basement bed of the Kalimnan at Beaumaris, Port Phillip. In the
absence of any distinctive generic characters they have been referred
to the quasi-genus _Cetotolithes_ (Fig. 142 F). McCoy has expressed the
opinion that they may perhaps be referable to the ziphioid or beaked
whales, for undoubted remains of that group, as teeth of _Ziphius
geelongensis_, occur in these same beds; as well as portions of their
rostrate crania, in the Kalimnan basement beds at Grange Burn, near
Hamilton. The large curved and flattened teeth of _Ziphius (Dolichodon)
geelongensis_ are occasionally found, more or less fragmentary, in the
polyzoal rock of Waurn Ponds.
[Illustration: =Fig. 149.--Tooth of Scaldicetus macgeei, Chapm.=
An Extinct Sperm Whale.
From the Kalimnan beds of Beaumaris, Port Phillip, Victoria.
About 3/4 nat. size.]
=Kalimnan-Scaldicetus.--=
From the Kalimnan Series (Lower Pliocene) of Beaumaris, Port Phillip,
there was described a short time since, a remarkably well preserved
specimen of _Scaldicetus_ tooth belonging to a new form, _S. macgeei_
(Fig. 148). Another species of the genus, with teeth of a slender form,
has been found in the same geological series, at Grange Burn, near
Hamilton. In only one other locality besides Australia does the genus
occur, viz., at Antwerp, Belgium, in Crag deposits of Lower Pliocene age.
=Sirenia.--=
The order Sirenia (Manatees and Dugongs) is represented in the Australian
Pleistocene by _Chronozoön australe_. The remains consist of the parietal
and upper part of the occipital bones of the skull, and were discovered
in the fluviatile deposits on the Darling Downs, Queensland. This fossil
skull, according to De Vis, had a shallower temporal fossa and feebler
masticating muscles, as well as a less highly developed brain than the
existing Dugong.
=Carnivora.--=
The order Carnivora is represented in Australia by the Native Dog or Dingo
(_Canis dingo_). It is by no means a settled question whether the Dingo
can boast of very great antiquity. The evidence of its remains having
been found under volcanic tuff beds in Victoria is not very convincing,
for the original record does not indicate the precise position where
the bones were found. The fact of the remains of the Dingo having been
found in Cave deposits often associated with extinct marsupials, goes a
good way to prove its antiquity. McCoy was strongly inclined to the view
of its Pleistocene age, and points out that it shows cranial characters
intermediate between the Dogs of South America and the Old World. Fossil
remains of the Dingo, associated with Pleistocene mammalian forms have
been recorded from the Wellington, Valley Caves, New South Wales; from
the Mount Macedon Cave, near Gisborne; and in the neighbourhood of
Warrnambool, Western Victoria.
=Pinnipedia.--=
Of the fin-footed Carnivores or Seals and Walruses, the earliest
Australasian record is that of the remains of a small seal in the Okehu
shell-beds near Wanganui, found in association with the bones of a small
Moa-bird (_Dinornis_).
=Newer Pliocene Seal.--=
This seal was referred by Hector to _Arctocephalus cinereus_, a species
synonymous, however, with the widely distributed living Seal, _Otaria
forsteri_, Lesson, of the Southern Ocean. Another and larger species of
eared seal allied to the living Fur Seal, _Otaria forsteri_, occurs in
Victoria.
=Pleistocene Seal.--=
This fossil was named _Arctocephalus williamsi_ by McCoy, and was found
in Pleistocene deposits at Queenscliff, Port Phillip, at 5 feet below the
surface, in marl and sand stone overlain with limestone. Although referred
at the time of description to the Pliocene, it has since been proved
that at this locality there is a considerable thickness of practically
sub-recent material which is more accurately classed with the Pleistocene.
Similar remains of eared seals are not uncommon in the Pleistocene
deposits of the Otway Coast.
=Subrecent Human Remains.=
On turning to the occurrence of "human fossils" in Australia we find the
geological evidence for any great antiquity of man on this continent to
be very scanty and inconclusive. This does not, however, imply that
man's existence in Australia will not eventually be proved to date back
far beyond the period of the "kitchen middens" of modern aspect, such as
are now exposed on the slopes behind the sea-beaches, and on the inland
camping grounds. Almost all the records of Australian human remains that
have been found in other than ordinary burial places, have proved to be
of comparatively recent date. For example, the partially lime-encrusted
body found in the cave in the Mosquito Plains, north of Penola, South
Australia, recorded by Tenison Woods, is that of an aborigine who, in the
early days of settlement, crawled into the cave in a wounded condition.
Other occurrences of human remains in caves, but of fairly recent date
are, a child's skull found in a small cave at Bungonia, Co. Argyle, New
South Wales, recorded by Etheridge; and the non-petrified limb-bones
found in a cave at Wellington, New South Wales, recorded by Krefft, which
were probably washed in from the surface in recent times. As regards the
former, in Western Australia, as observed by Froggatt, the natives at the
present time seek shelter in caves, where these occur, instead of building
mia-mias.
A more interesting, because probably much older, occurrence of human
remains has been described by Etheridge and Trickett from one of the
Jenolan Caves (Skeleton Cave); and those authors conclude from "The
great lapse of time that must have accrued to enable the changes already
outlined to have taken place since the introduction of the remains into
the Skeleton Cave," that these remains are ancient.
[Illustration: =Fig. 150--Impressions of Footprints in dune sand-rock.=
Warrnambool, Victoria. 1/9 nat. size.
(_F. C. Photo_). (_Warrnambool Museum_).
]
Curious footprints supposed to resemble impressions of human feet with
accompanying impress as if made by natives seated, have been long known
from the older sand-dune rock of Warrnambool. They were found at Kellas'
Quarry, on the Port Fairy Road in 1890 and at a depth of 54 feet. In
November, 1912, a further discovery of similar footprints were found at
Messrs. Steere Bros.' Quarry, Warrnambool, at a depth of 10 feet, as a
block of stone was being removed for building purposes. These footprints
are even more obscure than those previously found, and it would be unsafe
to affirm their human origin, although they are suggestive of such. Their
antiquity is certainly great, since the lavas and tuffs of the Tower
Hill district are found overlying this old dune-rock. Other footprints
associated with these resemble those of the Dingo and a gigantic bird,
possibly like _Genyornis_.
=Probable Origin of Aborigines.--=
Ethnology appears to throw more light upon the subject than does geology.
Australia has in the past been peopled by two distinct types of man.
(1), the ancestors of the Tasmanians, now alas, extinct, who according
to some authorities came by way of Australia from Papua through the
Malay Peninsula, passing over to Tasmania from the mainland before the
separation caused by the subsidence of the Bass Strait area; and who
were represented by a negroid or woolly-haired type: (2), the present
aboriginals of Australia, showing affinities with the Dravidians of
Southern India, a primitive race from whose original stock the white
Caucasian races of Europe were derived. By intermarriage with a negroid
race like the Melanesian, it is supposed that the black Caucasian gave
rise to the present Australian mixed aboriginal type, with negroid
features, but possessing the long black hair and keener intellect of the
"melanochroi," as the dark Eurasian stock was termed by Huxley.
=Aboriginal Implements.--=
The stone implements fashioned by the Tasmanian aboriginals were roughly
chipped and of primitive type, of such forms as used at the present day by
the Bushmen of South Africa, and representing the eoliths and palaeoliths
of early man in the south of England. The implements of the Australian
aboriginals on the other hand include besides these both flakes and
worked and polished tools, such as were produced by the Neolithic men of
Europe, as contrasted with the typically rough palaeolithic tools of the
Tasmanian, who never grooved his axes for hafting as did the Australian
aboriginal. According to some authorities the Tasmanians represent
palaeolithic or even eolithic man in the character of their implements;
whilst the Australian resembles the Middle or Mousterian stage of early
man in certain of their ethnological characters and in the forms of their
implements, although a marked exception is seen in their manufacture of
polished adzes, of the neolithic period and in the use of bone implements
such as were used in Europe in Upper Palaeolithic times. So far no human
remains or handiwork in the form of chipped implements have been found
in other than superficial deposits, either in Tasmania or Australia. The
incised bone-fragment found near Ballarat, in a bed of silt beneath a
sheet of basalt which flowed from Mount Buninyong, is believed by some
to be evidence of man's handiwork in the early Pleistocene, though by
others thought to have been cut by the teeth of the "marsupial lion"
(_Thylacoleo_). A stone axe of basalt, grooved for the purpose of
mounting in a handle, was found in gravel at Ballarat at a depth of 22
inches from the surface. This, however, is no proof of man's antiquity,
for superficial deposits of much greater depth are easily accumulated
within a short period. Another implement was found at Maryborough in
Queensland in gravels at a depth of 4 feet from the surface, but not
below the basalt of the main lead. In this case it is believed that the
implement may have fallen into a natural hollow or wombat-burrow. A bone
pointer, such as used by native medicine men, was some years ago found
buried in the Miocene marls of Waurn Ponds near Geelong. Its presence in
so old a rock is easily explained from the fact that in the aboriginal
ceremonies the pointer was buried after the incantations. Seeing the
difficulties in the way of discovering reliable occurrences of man's
handiwork in isolated examples amongst the older superficial deposits of
silt and gravels, the ancient sand-dunes of Victoria, which date back
at least to Upper Pliocene, should afford favourable conditions for the
preservation of any really ancient kitchen middens, did such exist.
Moreover, these deposits would have been less liable to disturbance when
once they were covered, than the inland deposits, for the former are now
consolidated into a tolerably hard stone.
=Antiquity of Man in Australia.--=
A strong argument in favour of a considerable antiquity for man in
Australia is the fact that the dialects are many, and marriage and tribal
customs more complex and intricate than would be found in a comparatively
recent primitive race. In any case, it is quite possible, if not probable,
that man was in southern Australia before the termination of the last
phase of volcanic activity, since the tuff beds of Koroit, for example,
are quite modern and were laid down on a modern sea-beach strewn with
shells identical in species and condition with those now found thrown
up in the vicinity at high tide. This view is quite compatible with the
occurrence of dingo remains (assuming this animal was introduced by man)
in cave deposits in Australia, associated with extinct forms of marsupials.
* * * * *
COMMON OR CHARACTERISTIC FOSSILS OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER.
FISHES.
_Thyestes magnificus_, Chapman. Silurian: Victoria.
_Asterolepis australis_, McCoy. Middle Devonian: Victoria.
_Ganorhynchus süssmilchi_, Etheridge fil. Devonian: New South Wales.
_Gyracanthides murrayi_, A. S. Woodward. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_Acanthodes australis_, A. S. Woodward. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_Ctenodus breviceps_, A. S. Woodward. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_Strepsodus decipiens_, A. S. Woodward. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_Elonichthys sweeti_, A. S. Woodward. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_Physonemus micracanthus_, Chapman. Lower Carboniferous: Victoria.
_(?) Deltodus australis_, Eth. fil. Carbopermian: Queensland.
_Tomodus (?) convexus_, Agassiz. Carbopermian: New South Wales.
_Edestus davisii_, H. Woodward. Carbopermian: W. Australia.
_Peocilodus jonesi_, Agassiz. Carbopermian: W. Australia.
_Gosfordia truncata_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Myriolepis clarkei_, Egerton. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Apateolepis australis_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Dictyopyge robusta_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Belonorhynchus gigas_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Semionotus australis_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Pristisomus latus_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Cleithrolepis granulatus_, Egerton. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Pholidophorus gregarius_, A. S. Woodw. Triassic: New South Wales.
_Pleuracanthus parvidens_, A. S. Woodw. Upper Trias: New South Wales.
_Sagenodus laticeps_, A. S. Woodw. Upper Trias: New South Wales.
_Palaeoniscus crassus_, A. S. Woodw. Upper Trias: New South Wales.
_Elonichthys armatus_, A. S. Woodw. Upper Trias: New South Wales.