Yol. 5 i.] rxsMI~,r r~rsr~wATra T.As~rr~raA~cr~,zA. .337 25. 21 CO~PAI~lS0N Of the PERMIAN FRI~SHWAT~'RLAI~ELLII3RAlqeHIATA from Russ1& with those from the KxRoo SYSTEM of SOUTr~ AfricA. By Dr. WLADIm~ AMALITSXY, Professor of Geology and Pal~eon- tology in the University of Warsaw. (Communicated by Dr. HaNsr WoovwArr, F.R.S., P.G.S. Read April 3rd, 1895.) [PLATESXII. & XIII.] I~TRO~VCTIO~r SoME palseontologists, such as Owen 1 (1876), Twelvetrees 2 (1880)., Trautschold 3 (1~84), and others, have pointed out the resemblance which exists between the reptilian fauna of Perm, in" Russia, and that of the Karoo formation of South Africa. This similarity was based on the fact that the reptiles of Perm described as /~ho- palodon, Fisch., Brithopus, Kut., OrthoT~, Kut., Deuterosaurus, Eichw., Cliorhizodon, Tul., Oudenodon, Traut., and ethers were referred to the Theriodontia, a group represented in the Karoo Series of South Africa. The Russian Permian reptiles referred to have been recently studied by Seeley,4 who has come to the conclusion that they are closely allied to the South A[rican types, but cannot be placed in the same subordinate groups. This author considers them as a new group, Deuterosauria, exhibiting a strong affinity with both the Placodontia and Theriodontia. In 1892,~ when describing the lamellibranchiate fauna from the Oka-Volga basin, I pointed out that the typical shells called Pala~o- mutela from these deposits were also known from the Karoo Series of South and Central Africa, and had been described as Iridina by Daniel Sharpe ~ and Profi T. Rupert 5ones.: At that time, not being in possession of the original forms from the Karoo Series, I, of course, could answer only for the identity of the genus, though, judging from the description given by Daniel Sharpe and Rupert Jones, it was easy to observe that they possessed characters cor- responding to those which I referred to the group of Palveomutela I, wstranzewi. I then expressed the opinion that, in consequence of so wide a distribution of Palceomutela, the species of this genus, Owen, 1~., ' On :Evidences of Theriodonts in Permian Deposits elsewhere than in South Africa,' Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxxii, p. 352. ') Twelvetrees, W. ]t., ' On Theriodont Humeri from Upper Permian in Orenburg,' Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, vol. lv. pt. i. p. 123. 3 Trautschold, 'Die Reste permischer Reptilien des pal~eontol. Cabinets d. Univ. Kasan,' Nouv. M~m. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, vol. xv. (1884). 4 Seeley, H. G., ' Further Evidences of the Skeleton in Deuterosaur~sand Rhopalodon from the Permian rocks of Russia,' Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. vol. clxxxv. (1894) p. 663. 5 , Ueber die Anthracosien der Permformation l~usslands,' Pa]seontographica, vol. xxxix, p. 209. 6 Sharpe, D., Trans. Geol. Soc. ser. ii. vol. vii. (1852) p. 226. 7 Jones, T. R., Geol. Mag. 1890, pp. 410 and 557. 2r2 338 1,aoF. w. A~AT.r~KY O~t P~RMIA~t [Aug. x895, after a closer study of the lamellibranchiata from the Karoo formation, might perhaps prove to be of value for instituting a parallel between the hornet,axial deposits of the Russian Permian and the Karoo system of South Africa. My recent studies of some lamellibranchiata from the Beaufort Beds of the Karoo system of South Africa, kindly placed at my disposal by the staff of the British Museum of Natural :History (David Fraser collection from Bedford, and fossils from the shales at Kimberley), and of those in the Museum of the Geological Society of London (Bain and Rubidge collection from Graaf Reinet), enable me to state that they are extremely like those from the :Permian freshwater deposits of I~ussia. From the Karoo system (Beaufort Beds of Graaf Reinet) of South Africa, the following lamellibranchiata were described by Daniel Sharpe : l Iridina (?) rhomboidalis, Iridina (?) ovata, Iridiaa, sp., and Cyrena, sp. Prof. T. Rupert Jones '~ has described Uyrena (?) neglects from the village of Balfour on the right bank of the Kat River, north of Graaf Reinet. After the study of the above- mentioned pal~eontological material I have defined the following forms :~ I. Group of Pal~omutela Inostranzewi. l. Pa~omutela rho mboidalig, Sharpe (Beaufort Beds, Graaf Reinet). 2. Palceomutela ovata, Sharpe (ibid.). II. Group of Paheomutelr Keyserlingi. ~}. Palceomutela, eL Keyserlin.qi, mihi (ibid.). 4. Pal~omutela, n. sp., aft. orthodonta, mihi (Shales at Kimberley Diamond Mines). 5. Palceomutela trigonalis, mihi (ibid.). 6. Palveomutela, n. sp., aft. Golowkin~kiana, mihi (ibid.). III. Group of Pal~omutela Verneuili. 7. Paleeomutela semilunulata, mihi (Beaufort Beds, Graaf Reinet). IV. Group of Pakeomutela Murchisoni. 8. Palovomutela Murchisoni, mihi (Beaufort Beds, Bedford). 9. Paleeomutela plans, mihi (Beaufort Beds, Graaf Reinet). V. Group of Pal~anodonta Fischeri. 10. Pal~anodonta subcastor, mihi (ibid.). 11. Palo~anodonta okengis, mihi (ibid.). All these groups and the following speeies--Pala~omutela Ke.y- serlingi, P. trigonali~, P. 8emilunulata, P. Murchisoni, P. 21ana, Trans. Geol. See. set. 2, vol. vii. (1852) p. 226. Geol. b[ag. 1890, p. 410. ~rOl' 5 I.] I~RESHWATERLAMELLIBRANCHIATA~ 339 P. subcaztor, and P. okensis--are known in Russia from the upper horizons (A, B, C) of the Permian marls and sandstones of th~ Oka-Volga basin, l These upper horizons, according to the facts ex- plained in my above-quoted paper, 2 I determine as the freshwater equivalent of the German Zechstein. Consequently, the Beaufort Beds of the Karoo Series, if considered as a hom5taxial equivalent of those deposits, ought to be regarded as Upper Permian. But it is necessary to remark here that, with regard to the age of these rocks, Russian geologists cannot come to any fixed conclusion. The majority refer them to the Upper Permian, and only a few regard them as passage-beds between Permian and Trias. From what ]: have said above it is evident that the lamellibranchiata of the Upper Permian marls and sandstones of Russia resemble those from the Beaufort Beds of South and Central Africa. The Permian freshwater lamellibranchiata of Russia, which bear traces of genetic relationship with the Carboniferous Anthracosid~e, and were already well represented in Permo-Carboniferous and Lower Permian times, are undoubtedly much older than the African fauna of the Beaufort Beds; this, we may conclude, emigrated from Russia. It is probable that the Gondw~na Beds of India have been the con- necting-link between these deposits. But even if we admit, during the Permian epoch, the existence of an uninterrupted Russian- Indo-African Continent, the similarity of the freshwater fauna of such distant localities as Eastern Russia and South and Central Africa will still remain one of the most interesting problems of geology. The flora and even the rich vertebrate fauna from these Russian Upper Permian deposits, which I consider as homotaxial and synchronous with the Beaufort Beds of the Karoo Series, have not yet been described. The numerous remains of reptiles found in these deposits will probably prove, after a close study, to have a greater resemblance to the African Theriodontia than the new group of Deuterosauria, created by Prof. ]5. G. Seeley, which includes forms from the lower horizons of the Russian Permian formation. DESCRIPTION OF FOSSILS. During my residence in London I have been enabled to study the following collections from the Karoo Series of South and Central Africa :-- 1. Those in the Museum of the Geological Society of London, made by Mr. Bain and Dr. Rubidge, some of which specimens required development before I could ascertain their characters. A. Lo~alitie$. South Africa, Karoo Desert and its vicinity, and Graaf Reinet. A reddish-brown sandstone with fossils, amongst which the following are described by Daniel Sharpe : Zridina (?) rhomboidalis, 1 Last year Netshayeff found some species of the above-mentioned groups iu marls and sandstones of Eastern Russia, but I regret that I am unable to agree with most of his definitions, Trans. Nat. I-list. $oc. Kasan, vol. x~vii. (1894) p. 4, 2 Pal~eontographica, voL xxxix, p. 210. 340 PRo1,. w. AxAr.ITsxZ O~ I'ZZMIA~ [Aug. ~895, Xridina (?) ovata, Irldina (?), sp., Iridina (?), sp., ~frena (?). This sandstone, which consists of casts of lamellibranchs, resembles iu external appearance and other characters the rock developed near Nishny-Novgorod in the upper horizon (B) of Permian marls and sandstones. Among these shells it was easy to recognize forms of the group Pal~eomutela Inostranzewi, but I am unable to give a more definite description, as I had to deal with casts only, though one impression, showing the irregularly striated hinge-margin so very typical of Palceomutela, was well preserved. I was very glad to find the original from which Sharpe made his drawing of the multi- dentate hinge of Iridina (?). These teeth are small and very irregular, though on Sharpo's drawing they appear quite regular. There are a great many small casts, undoubtedly identical with Russian forms from the same deposits, but unfortunately in a bad state of preservation. Some of these small casts belong to the groups : Paleeomutela Keyserlingi (very like the species P. ovalis, m.) and Palceomutela Murchisoni (very like the species P. lcevis). B. Locality marked. South Africa : Karoo Desert. Some pieces of a dark calcareous shale containing shells with external sculpture and hinge-margins preserved. From this shale I cleared off some shells, which proved to be Pal~anodonta (Naiadites) aubca.stor, mihi, and Palceomutela semilunulata, mihi. The first is found on the Russian horizons B and C, and the second on the horizons C and D of Permian marls and sandstones near Nishny- Novgorod. C. Locality marked. Karoo Series: Graaf Reinet. The same calcareous shale containing Palceanodonta (Naiadites) olcensis, mihi, and Palceomutela, cf.