•

V.- f

^'.t-

I.I I 5KAKV

I Hi

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

i ; I I i ( 1 1

ions 7v'o.»5t5~75~/. CV./ss No.

Vol. I.

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

Wagner Free Institute
of Science

OF

PHILADELPHIA.

PUBLISHED UiVDER THE DIRECTION OF THE FACULTY.

May, 1887.

UITI7ERSITT

PHILADELPHIA:
WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE,

MONTGOMERY AVE. AND I7TH ST.

rtffZ'

WflGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

OF

PHILADELPHIA.

TRUSTEES.

SAMUEL WAGNER, President. RICHARD B. WESTBROOK, Treasurer.

S. T. SKIDMORE, Secretary.

J. VAUGHAN MERRICK. SAMUEL H. CRAMP.

JOSEPH WILLCOX. GEORGE INMAN RICHE.

FACULTY.

PROF. JOSEPH LEIDY, M.D., LL.D., President.

Department of Chemistry (including Agriculture and Analytical Mineralogy"],

PROF. HENRY LEFFMANN, M.D.

Department of Geology (including Paleontology and Descriptive Mineralogy),

PROF. ANGELO HEILPRIN.

Department of Biology (Zoology, Botany and Physiology),

PROF. BENJAMIN SHARP, M.D.

Curator of Mineian, Librarian and Secretary,

ANGELO HEILPRIN. HENRY LEFFMANN.

EXPLORATIONS

ON THE

WEST COAST OF FLORIDA

AND IX THE OKEECHOBEE WILDERNESS.

With Special Reference to the Geology and Zoology of the Floridian Peninsula.

A NARRATIVE OF RESEARCHES UNDERTAKEN UNDER THE AUSPICES

OF THE WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

OF PHILADELPHIA,

BY

AXGELO HEILPRIN,

Professor of Geology in the Wagner Free Institute of Science ; Professor of Invertebrate Paleontology at,

and Curator-In-Chargc of, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ;

Member of the American Philosophical Society, etc.

ACTHOR OF

*' Contributions to the Tertiary Geology and Paleontology of the United States," " Town Geology :
The Lesson of the Philadelphia Rocks," and " The Geographical and Geological Distribution of Animals "

(International Scientific Series).

PUBLISHED BY THE

WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

O-F PHILADELPHIA.

1887.

INTRODUCTION.

THE Wagner Free Institute of Science was founded by the late
William Wagner, a citizen of Philadelphia, who devoted a long lifetime
to the study and advancement of the sciences, especially the different
branches of natural history. Mr. Wagner, during his life, formed a large
museum, a library and a collection of chemical and physical apparatus.
He established annual courses of lectures on various scientific subjects,
in which he personally took an active part, which were continued for
thirty years, and which were always open free to the public. In 1855,
under the above name, the Institute was incorporated by an act of the
Legislature.

Mr. Wagner bequeathed his property to the Institute, vested in a
Board of Trustees. Since his death in January, 1885, the Trustees have
been actively engaged in carrying out his plans, and, in accordance with
his views, have elected a faculty of four professors, to take charge of the
museum and library, to give lectures free to the public, and to teach the
method of, and also to make, research. The first annual course of free
lectures was given by the faculty during the season of 1885 and 1886.
The sphere of usefulness of the Institute will expand as the pecuniary
circumstances are adjusted and will permit That the benefits of the
Institute shall not be restricted to its locality, but may be widespread as
possible, the Trustees propose to make provision in aid of original research
and the publication of its results, towards the increase and diffusion ot
knowledge among men.

Mr. Joseph Willcox, one of the Trustees, who had spent several suc-
cessive winters in Florida, in speaking of his observations in that State,
suggested the interest it would be to the Institute and to science to make

ii INTRODUCTION.

an expedition to certain portions of the country, to make collections and
investigations in their geology and fauna. Liberally offering his pecuni-
ary and personal aid, and encouraged by the Academy of Natural Sciences,
the Trustees of the Institute made the necessary provision, and the last
winter sent Prof. Heilprin on the proposed expedition in company \vith
Mr. Willcox. The results were valuable collections in zoology, and
especially in geology, together with important investigations and discov-
eries in the latter, an account of which is presented in the following report
by Prof. Heilprin. The well-observed facts of the report must greatly
modify the opinions which have been generally held in regard to the
geological construction of the peninsula of Florida ; and altogether Prof.
Heilprin's researches must be considered as an important contribution to
science.

JOSEPH LEIDV,

President of the Faculty.

PHILADELPHIA, January, 1887.

PREFACE.

THE following pages briefly narrate observations made, during the
early part of i8cS6, in a region the greater part of which had most
singularly escaped the attention of the scientific world. Although nearly
seventy years have elapsed since the dominion of Florida was by act of
Congress constituted into a territorial government, and upwards of forty
years since admission into the Union was obtained, the State remains to
the present day, as far as its geographical, zoological and geological
features are concerned, very nearly the least-known portion of the national
domain. So vague, indeed, has been the general scientific knowledge
respecting the peninsula, that up to the time of our visit not even its
broader geological aspects had been determined ; that most fascinating of
theories which ascribed the formation of this long stretch of country to
the unceasing labors of the coral animal, and which, for nearly a full
quarter of a century, received the almost undivided support of naturalists of
both hemispheres, had only just begun to meet with its own disproof. The
labors of a number of investigators in the northern part of the peninsula
had already clearly demonstrated the inapplicability of the coral theory
of growth to the facts presented in that section of the State, but we were
as yet without data respecting the larger southern portion. With a view
of adding to our knowledge more particularly of this region, a veritable
terra incognita to science, the expedition, the details of which are here
recorded, was, with the generous co-operation of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of this city, and of Messrs. Joseph Willcox and Charles H.
Brock, organized by the Wagner Free Institute of Science.

The personnel of this expedition consisted of the gentlemen above
mentioned, of Captain Frank Strobhar, master of the schooner " Rambler,"
Moses Natteal, cook, and myself. Observations were conducted on
the west coast as far south as the mouth of the Caloosahatchie, whence
the expedition was deflected eastward into the Okeechobee wilderness.
The general results of our geological investigations are summarized on
pp. 65-67 of this report. The zoological researches were almost wholly
confined to an examination of the littoral oceanic fauna, and to the fauna
of the Okeechobee Lake region, which, I believe, had not hitherto been
systematically investigated. Our facilities for work in this direction were,

IV PREFACE.

unfortunately, not quite as ample as could have been desired, and the
results obtained perhaps not such as might have been anticipated. But
the material collected, only a portion of which has thus far been elabor-
ated, is sufficient to indicate the general faunal features of the region
traveled over. The Gulf dredgings were all confined to shallow water,
not exceeding twenty feet in depth.

A few words bearing upon the history of exploration of that myste-
rious body of water — Okeechobee — which had so long eluded research,
and about which so many mythical fancies have clung, will not be amiss
in this place.

It is not exactly easy to discover the earliest references to this lake.
Captain Bernard Romans, who appears to have made an extended exam-
ination of the peninsula in the latter part of the last century, refers in his
"Concise Natural History of East and West Florida" (p. 285)* to a large
interior lake, unquestionably Okeechobee, as follows : " This is the river
[St. Lucia], which, as i was told by a Spanish pilot of fishermen of good
credit, proceeds from the lake Mayacco, a lake of seventy-five miles in
circumference by his account. The man told me that he had formerly
been taken by the savages, and by them carried a prisoner, in a canoe, by
way of this river, to their settlements on the banks of the lake ; he says,
that at the disemboguing of the river, out of the lake, lies a small cedar
island ; he also told me that he saw the mouth of five or six rivers, but
whether falling out of, or into, the lake, i could not learn of him ; probably
some of the many rivers i crossed in my journey across this peninsula,
fall into it, and it is not improbable that St. John's river originates in it.
The large river in Charlotte harbour [meaning the Caloosa, doubtless],
by the direction of its course, meridian situation, and great width, i judge,
might, perhaps, spring from the same fountain ; however, the savages of
Taloffo Ochase told me, that in going far south, they go round a large
water, emptying itself into the west sea, i. e., Gulph of Mexico.

"Thus much have i been able to learn of this water, the exploring of
which i always intended ; whether there is really this lake, or not, i will
not be positive, but the above circumstances, joined to a dark account,
which the savages give of going up St. John's, and coming down another
river, to go into some far southern region of East Florida (on which
account the name of Ylacco, and the name given to St. Lucia by the
savages, both conveying indecent meanings, are by them given to these
rivers) seems to confirm it. That there is some such great water, is
further to be gathered from the profusion of fresh water which this river,

* Printed in New York, 1776. From a pencil inscription in a copy of this work in the
possession of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, it would appear that but
very few numbers were ever distributed. It was sold by R. Aitken, Front Street, New York,
"opposite the London Coffee House."

PREFACE. V

St. Lucia, pours down. Such is the immense quantity that the whole
sound between the abovenamcd island and the main, though an arm of
the sea, situate in a very salt region, and in general two miles wide, is
very often rendered totally fresh thereby; in so much, that it has made
the very speculative Mr. De Brahm insist upon having seen mangrove
stumps in fresh water. This lake has given rise to the intersected and
mangled condition in which we see the peninsula exhibited in old maps."

It seems pretty certain from the above statement that little or nothing
very definite was known of the lake before this period, except, perhaps,
to a few who had accidentally visited its shores. The reference, however,
to the " intersected and mangled condition " in which the peninsula
appears in the earlier maps, clearly indicates that reports of the existence
of such a lake had been broadly current, and not impossibly some
accounts from personal observations had already been published. Indeed,
on the map accompanying the " Account of the First Discovery and
Natural History of Florida " of Roberts and Jefferys, published in
London in 1763, the Laguna del Kspiritu Santo is made to occupy
approximately the position of our Okecchobee, although given a much
greater extent than the lake actually occupies. A broad arm of the sea,
designated the Bahia del Espiritu Santo, and corresponding in part with
the modern Tampa Bay, is represented as opening into it from the west.
Possibly the open water-way of the Manatee River suggested this
connection. The lake is thus described (p. 18): "Laguna del Espiritu
Santo is situated between the islands, extending from north to south
about 27 leagues [Si miles], and is near eight leagues wide; it has several
communications with the bays on the west side of the peninsula, as well
as with the Gulf of Florida. The principal and best known entrance is
about three leagues almost west from the Punta de Florida, which lies in
26 deg. 20 min. N. latitude. This entrance is two leagues nearly N. W.,
and at the end of it, in the lake, arc two shoals and six islands, called the
Cayos del Espiritu Santo ; this large lake is as yet but little known."
The entrance above referred to corresponds to'a position a little to the
north of Hillsborough River.

It is remarkable that these earliest accounts of the lake are but little
less vague than those which have been published at various times during
the succeeding hundred years, and surprising that our geographical
knowledge of so large a portion of the national domain as is covered by
the Okeechobee wilderness should have made such little headway. The
great difficulty of gaining access to the region, doubtless, in great part
accounts for this continued obscurity. Prior to the opening of the
Okeechobee canal almost the only available approach was by way of the
Kissimmee River. The beautiful waters of the Caloosahatchie, which
are unquestionably fed by the Okeechobee swamps, lose themselves

VI PREFACE.

before the lake is reached, and thus what appears to be the direct
water-way, was in reality, until the last two or three years, all but
inaccessible. The difficulties of this passage are thus described by
engineer J. L. Meigs, who, in 1879, undertook an exploration of the
region under the direction of the Government: "On the I4th of March
the united parties attempted to force a skiff, by wading, dragging and
pushing, through the burnt stubble across the marsh intervening between
Lakes Hikpochee and Okeechobee. After a day of exhausting toil,
struggling through water and mire for tho most part 2 feet deep, they
arrived late in the afternoon within ^ of a mile of the western shore oi
Lake Okeechobee, but their progress was arrested by vast beds of water-
lilies, careless and frog weeds, and wild lettuce, filling the entire space
between them and the lake, across which they were unable, by their united

strength, to force the boat Reluctantly the effort

to enter Okeechobee was abandoned, and the parties retraced their steps,
arriving in camp after midnight in a state of exhaustion after 16 hours
of continued wading through water and mire" (Report of the Chief of
Engineers, 1879, p. 865).

The author wishes to express his indebtedness to Mr. George \Y.
Tryon, Jr., Conservator of the Conchological Section of the Academy of
Natural Sciences, for much valuable aid received in the preparation of
this report, and to the Levytype Photo-Engraving Co., of this city, for
the very perfect rendering of the illustrations of new fossil species. The
figures are reproductions direct from the specimens themselves.

A. H.

CONTENTS.

THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA.

Configuration of the coast line, page i ; Vegetation, 2 ; Homosassa River, 3 ;
Cheeshowiska River, 4; Nummulitic deposits, 6; Animal life, 7; Anclote Keys, 7 ;
Tampa and Hillsboro Bays, 9; Ballast Point, 10; Manatee River, 12; SarasotaBay, 14;
Fossil man, 15; Little Sarasota Bay, 16; Gasparilla Inlet, 18; Charlotte Harbor, 21.

THE CALOOSAHATCHIE.

Characters of the stream, 22; Natural history of the, 24; Geological features,
26 ; Fort Myers, 26 ; Thorpe's, 28 ; " Floridian " formation, 29 ; Fort Thompson
Limestone, 32.

THE OKEECHOOBEE WILDERNESS.

Okeechobee canal, 34; Alligators, 35; Lake Hikpochee, 36; Everglades, 37;
Fauna of the canal, 38.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

Geography of the lake, 39; Physical features, 41; Observation Island, 43;
Taylor's Creek, 44; Vegetation, 45; Animal life, 46; Alligators, 47; Serpents, 48 ;
Fauna of the lake, 50.

GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Historical survey, 52; Outline of formations, 56; Coral theory of growth, 56;
Geology of the Homosassa (Oligocene), 3, 57; of the Cheeshowiska (Nummulitic), 6,
57; of the Pithlachascootie (Oligocene?), 60; Ballast Point, Hillsboro Bay (Miocene),
10, 6 1 ; Hillsboro River, 12, 62; Manatee River (Miocene), 13,63; Sarasota Bay, 14,
64; Little Saratosa Bay (Mio-Pliocene ?), 17, 64A; Caloosahatchie (Pliocene), 28-32,
643; General summary and conclusions, 65.

PALEONTOLOGY OF THE PENINSULA.

Fossils of the Pliocene deposits ("Floridian") of the Caloosahatchie, 68-104;
Miocene fossils of Ballast Point, Hillsboro Bay, 105-123; Fossils from localities north
of Ballast Point, 124; Table of Atlantic and Gulf Tertiaries of the United States, 127.

' .

.. " • x

7ER3ITT)
V

THE WEST COAST OP FLORIDA.

Our observations on the west coast of the peninsula were confined to
the tract included between Cedar Keys and the mouth of the Caloosa-
hatchie (Punta Rassa), or over an area measured by somewhat less than
three degrees of latitude. Along this entire reach the coast is very low,
rarely rising more than from five to ten feet above water-level in the
immediate neighborhood of the ocean border. The most elevated point
would seem to be the dune at Clearwater, which, according to an official
railroad survey, rises to a height of thirty-two feet; a portion of this
" bluff" is made up of the remains of an ancient Indian shell mound,
the wreck of which is clearly indicated in the large conchs, Fulgur pcr-
versum, Mcloiigcna corona, etc., which lie scattered about. Immediately
back of the town of Tampa, about a quarter of a mile up the Hillsboro
River, and a little to the inland of the left bank, the solid rock rises to a
height of some fifteen or twenty feet, but southward, again, even these
minor elevations disappear, and the coast for the greater distance presents
the appearance of a tide-level reach.

Contrary to what is generally supposed, solid rock enters very largely
into the formation of the peninsular border, and its outcrops can be
observed as well without as within the river channels. Thus, it is exposed
on the Homosassa River a short distance (a mile or more) above its
mouth, at various points on the Cheeshowiska, on John's Island at the
mouth of that river, along the Pithlachascootie, on Clearwater beach,
at Ballast Point on Hillsboro Bay, at the locality above Tampa already
indicated, and at numerous other points. The rock is almost everywhere
a more or less compact limestone, heavily charged with fossil remains,
and at a few localities, as at Ballast Point and along the bed of the Hills-
boro River, largely impregnated with silica, forming a tough siliceous
matrix which readily yields to the hammer. Where the solid rock is not
visible the eye rests upon a beach of homogeneous white or yellowish
sand, which in some places is almost wholly deficient in shell-fragments,
while in others it is literally packed with them. The most extensive shell-
bank observed forms the ocean front between Little Sarasota Inlet and
Casey's Pass, where, in a thickness of 4-5 feet, the greater number of the
molluscan species now inhabiting this part of the coast can be found.
A true coquina rock was found at the entrance to Little Sarasota Inlet,
1

2 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

and again on Philippi's Creek (tributary of Big Sarasota Bay) — at the
latter locality overlying a fossiliferous arenaceous limestone — the first
time, I believe, that it had been noticed on the west coast of the State.

Everywhere along the border the oceanic floor shelves very gradually,
so that at even considerable distances out to sea only a few feet of water
can be obtained. Whether or not a distinct channel depression exists
beyond the mouths of all the various streams discharging on the coast,
our means did not permit us to determine with any amount of positive-
ness, but it would seem that such is the case in at least some instances.
Admitting this configuration of the bottom, it could readily be accounted
for on the hypothesis of a steady or continued subsidence of the land, to
which numerous facts, not necessary to be indicated in this place,
seem to point. It is barely possible that the acidulated waters of the
outflowing streams could have produced any measurable amount of
subaqueous erosion. The mouths of the northern streams more espe-
cially— Homosassa, Cheeshowiska, etc. — are very largely obstructed by
oyster-reefs, which, in some places, appear above water-level during low
water, and render difficult a passage of the channel to all but the smallest
craft. These reefs are rapidly developing, and must ultimately com-
pletely bar the passages.

The vegetation along the west coast may be said to be fairly luxu-
riant. A semi-tropical character prevails in the northern tracts, especially
well-marked along the upper Cheeshowiska, where the forest unfolds
itself in its noblest and most magnificent proportions. The bay, water-
oak, live-oak, cypress, and palmetto stand out as the most prominent
features of this confused vegetable maze, whose penetrability is rendered
possible only through the small bayous or narrow water-courses which
partially enter the inner recesses of the wilderness. Southward, as at
Dunedin, etc., where the thickness of the sand deposit very materially
increases, the virgin forest largely disappears, and is replaced by a much
weaker growth of yellow-pine and saw-palmetto, the latter forming an
undergrowth rarely rising above three or four feet. This stretch of pine
land extends for a very considerable distance down the shore, relieved
here and there by recurrences of the more vigorous tropical jungle, a
feature observed along some of the larger water-courses. Much of the
thicket has been removed from the banks of the Hillsboro, but on the
Big Manatee, a short distance above Braidentown, the palm forest assumes
its pristine character. Along the protected bays and lagoons, formed
by the outlying sand keys — Sarasota Bay, Gasparilla — the outer border
more especially (or the keys) is fringed by a dense growth of mangrove,
which continues with but slight interruption to the southern end of
Charlotte Harbor. Its greatest development is seen here, where the
" bushes " attain the dimensions of small forest trees. At the time of

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

our visit the foliage wore an autumnal aspect, the sere and purple leaves,
the result of the recent cold wave, severely recalling the end of a northern

season.

OFF ST. MARTIN'S REEF AND THE HOMOSASSA RIVER. — Somewhat to
the north of the mouth of the Homosassa River the coast is bordered
by a long line of broken reef, under whose lee we anchored the first
night after leaving Cedar Keys (February 14). Here, in water of 6-7
feet depth, we obtained, by means of the scoop-net and hook, numerous
sponges and several corals, the former of which thrives here in abun-
dance. A large specimen of the logger-head sponge was found to
measure nearly 17 inches in greatest diameter and eight inches in height.
A number of these were immediately put in alcohol, and others placed
on deck to dry, but the highly offensive odor resulting from decom-
position necessitated their early restoration to the oceanic medium. The
corals belonged to the genus Orbicella (0. [_Siiti'ri>ia~\ galaxid), and were
dead, but traces of the animal substance, still highly colored, showed that
their existence had but recently ended. I believe this is the most northern
point in the Gulf at which coral life has thus far been determined.

On the following morning we pushed our skiff up the Homosassa.
My own observations were restricted to the lower two miles, but special
information as to the upper course was brought to me by Mr. Willcox,
who on many previous occasions ascended the stream to its source, for
a further distance of about six miles. The fountain is described as a
transparent pool of considerable depth, lodged in a basin of compact
limestone, probably of the same character and age as that which appears
not very far from the mouth of the river. At Wheeler's (left bank),
somewhat more than a mile from the Gulf, this limestone was exposed
at the time of our visit some one and a-half to two feet above the water,
which has honeycombed it in all directions. Great numbers of Mytihts
Iiatnatus are here attached to the rock. A number of caverns and sinks
appear some little distance from the bank, evidently excavated by the
water of the stream gaining access into the numerous fissures that
traverse, and are being cut into, the fundament. Large lumps of rock,
collected from a well-digging, show an unmistakable fossiliferous char-
acter, but the fossils are mainly in the form of casts or impressions, and
barely permit even of the determination of genera (mollusks). The
immediate border rock is much more compact, and in a rapid inspection
might be taken to be non-fossiliferous, but a magnifying lens readily
reveals its true nature. The innumerable casts and impressions of the
miliolite genera Biloculina, Triloculina, Quinqueloculina, Sphaeroidina,
and other kindred forms, clearly betray its foraminiferal structure, and
point to its deep-sea origin or formation. I propose to designate this

4 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

limestone the " Miliolite Limestone," representing one of four distinct
types of foraminiferal rock found in the State, the others being the
Orbitoide, Nummulitic, and Orbitolite limestones. It certainly forms
part either of the Oligocene formation or of the Upper Eocene, much
more likely the former, and may possibly be in part synchronous with a
portion of the West European miliolite rock.

The banks of the Homosassa are beautifully wooded, presenting in
the profusion of the palmetto and yucca growths a partially tropical
aspect. I was much surprised at the general absence of indications of
animal life, the forest being as silent as the inner recesses of our more
sombre northern wilds. An occasional flock of herons or white ibises
would, perhaps, for a moment cloud the firmament, a mullet spring from
the water, or the cardinal grosbeak peal its clear whistle, but otherwise an
impressive silence pervaded the entire solitude. This was in marked
contrast to some of our later experiences, and was probably accidental.
A few days before our arrival, I was informed by Mr. Wheeler, a large
spotted cat, of a light color, and somewhat smaller in size than the
panther or Florida lion, had been killed in this neighborhood. To my
numerous inquiries as to its identity with a species of lynx or catamount,
or one of the better-known tiger-cats, I was only able to elicit a nega-
tive reply. Its distinctness from all of these forms was independently
confirmed by our cook, an experienced huntsman of the upper Homo-
sassa, whom we obtained later in the course of the day. Is it possible
that the ocelot is an inhabitant of these wilds, and that it should have
escaped the notice of traveling naturalists ?

OFF THE CHEESHOWISKA RIVER. — On the 1 6th .and i/th the " Ram-
bler" remained at anchor off" the mouth of the Cheeshowiska River, giving
us an opportunity to explore several miles of this exquisitely beautiful
stream. The vast oyster reef at its mouth rendered the passage of the
channel intricate, and in a manner dangerous, and on our return journey
one of the boats had to be partially relieved of its load and hauled over
the shells. On John's Island, which guards the mouth of the river
within the reef, we found innumerable aboriginal implements, some very
rude, others more perfect, fashioned from a siliceous rock which appears
to be identical with the rock exposed on a small island about three miles
S. E. of the mouth of the Homosassa. The great number of partially
finished implements and chips, and the masses of the nearly crude rock
lying about, leave little doubt in my mind that the island, as first
suggested by Mr. Willcox, was the true factory where these implements
were manufactured.

At low water a somewhat spongy limestone, containing numerous
molluscan impressions and a few Orbitoides, appears on the ocean front;

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 5

in nearly all instances where large masses of this limestone are examined
they are seen to be bordered by, or enclosed in, a limestone of a somewhat
different character and color, which, in addition to numerous fragments
of marine-type fossils, contains the remains, beautifully preserved in many
cases, of freshwater organisms, such as Vivipara (V. Waltonii) and Am-
pullaria (A. deprcssa], and of species which still inhabit the existing
waters. The working over or re-formation of the original limestone is
thus established beyond a doubt. The same limestone is exposed about
a mile further up the river, where a clump of palmettos marks a turn in
the stream.

For some distance above and below this point the region may be
described as a grass or meadow land, subject to periodical overflows from
the numerous tidal channels that intersect it in all directions, and which
in a measure disguise the principal stream. Terra firma appears only at
intervals, but is then clearly marked by the inevitable growth of palmetto
which clothes it. The tall sedges were alive with the busy and ever
garrulous gracklc or "jackdaw" (Qiiiscalits major), whose familiar notes
were poured forth in one almost continuous strain. We observed
numerous egrets and snow-herons, and an occasional blue-heron. Where
perching room was afforded we were almost sure to meet with one or
more individuals of the snake-bird (Plains anhinga), with expanded drying
wings, or the dreamy cormorant quietly watching its opportunity. Two
raccoons appeared on a mud flat within easy gun-shot of our boat —
remarkably enough, if we except a limited number of deer, rabbits and
squirrels from the upper Caloosahatchie — the only terrestrial mammals
encountered by our party during the entire trip of six weeks.

At about four miles above its mouth the stream emerges from the
virgin forest, which extends in an almost unbroken belt to the limits of
vision. To one who has never before contemplated the beauties of a
southern vegetation it is impossible to convey an idea of the magnificence
of this semi-tropical jungle — the endless variety of contrasts that are pre-
sented in the vegetable outlines, the luxuriance that is ever manifest, and
above all the brilliant greens that peer refreshingly through the outer
dense masses of foliage ! The eye never tires of following the delicate
tracery of the innumerable climbing plants that hang festooned from the
arms of some noble forester, or shroud the palmetto in a garden of its own,
or of gazing upon the rugged trunks of the live-oak and water-oak that
rise above these, and rear their crowns, heavily draped in Spanish moss,
against a firmament of deepest blue. Everything was bright and fresh,
and it seemed as though a region had been found where neither the
chilling blasts of winter nor the parched tongue of summer had as yet
been able to penetrate. I observed a marked deficiency of plants in
bloom; indeed, as far as my own observations went, all the visible

6 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

flowers were confined to a limited number of water or marsh-plants —
lily, flag, etc.

At Loenecker's, a short piece beyond the outer border of the woods,
is the locality whence Mr. Willcox obtained the nummulites described
by me some four years ago as Ninnmiilitcs WUlfoxi, the first representa-
tives of the genus that had up to that time been found on the North
American continent. The exact spot is a ploughed field, cleared from
the bush, about five minutes from the right bank of the river, and
elevated, according to a rough estimate made by us, about 4-6 feet above
the surface of the water. The rocks containing the fossils occur loose
in the soil, and, doubtless, have in great part been thrown up by the
plough. No trace of a solid outcrop was anywhere visible. While,
therefore, the presumptive evidence is that these rocks have been moved,
and are, consequently, no longer in their normal positions, yet it is highly
probable that the parent rock is not far distant. Indeed, I am assured
by Mr. Willcox that he has observed the " Nummulitic " in situ at a
locality distant some fifteen miles in a N. K. direction. We found the
rock at Loenecker's literally charged with the tests of nummulites and
orbitoides, so much so, in fact, as to present the appearance of being
built up almost entirely of the hard parts of this lowest group of
animal organisms. Many of the larger fragments or boulders, as on
John's Island, were encased in a newer matrix of considerably darker
color, in which the remains of the recent shells already referred to, and
some others — Mytilus ? — were found embedded in a beautiful state of
preservation. To what extent this newer freshwater formation extends,
or if it constitutes but a mere strip formed as a fringe to the older
(marine) deposits, our means did not permit us to determine. But
manifestly, there must have been considerable changes in the topography
of the region since the river limestones, of comparatively recent date,
were added to, and united with, the marine limestones of the Nummu-
litic (Oligocene) period.

In company with one of our boatmen I ascended the river for a
further distance of about a mile and a-half, in the hope of discovering an
outcrop. This we found in a mass of rock jutting out from the bottom
of the channel, but barely reaching the surface of the water, and in a
number of rounded ledges whose outlines we could distinguish through
the limpid waters. With the assistance of a mattock we succeeded in
detaching several fragments, but the toughness of the rock, and the
difficulty of striking below the water, prevented us from obtaining as
many specimens as we should have desired. Much to my surprise
the rock contained not a fragment of either of the two forms of Foram-
inifera which were so abundant at Loenecker's, and so eminently serve
to characterize the formation in which they occur. Indeed, the only

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 7

fossil impressions were those of two species of bivalves, which, from
their imperfect state of preservation, can only doubtfully be referred to
Modiola and Cytherea.

The lateness of the hour prevented any further exploration in this
direction, and compelled us to retrace our steps in the direction of the
schooner. Evening had now fairly set in, and the exuberance of animal
life that everywhere greeted us on our ascent vanished as if forever.
A stray flock of herons or ibises might still be seen wending its path in
the direction of some secluded heronry, an occasional hawk gracefully
circling in its aerial height, but the hushed silence of eventide hung like
a pall over the landscape. The numerous turkey-buzzards which earlier
in the day hovered like so many spectres over the objects of their special
adoration, flitting their shadows, as ethereal clouds, across the emerald
wall of the forest, now clung noiselessly to the withered branches of
some former pride of the wilderness. Thirty or forty, or even more,
of these birds could frequently be counted on a single tree, perched
like so many black statues in silent contemplation of the visions of
departed day.

Only the waters still gave evidence of unabated animal vitality. The
myriads of fish — mullet, skip-jack, etc. — that disported in the tangle
of grass which everywhere covered the floor of the river, formed a most
interesting picture, and one decidedly refreshing in its novelty. We
observed two individuals of the alligator-gar.

AXCLOTE KEYS. — In our anxiety to make the best of our sailing time
we grounded on a grass shoal just beyond Anclote, and anchored for the
night ( 1 8th). Low water early in the morning permitted of a considerable
amount of wading, and we had thus a very favorable opportunity pre-
sented for studying the zoological features of our anchorage. We found
a spinose star-fish (Kchinaster sp. ?) fairly abundant, and secured a
number of specimens, but this was the only species of the group observed
here. There were no urchins — at least, we failed to detect any if
present. We hooked up a number of the bright yellow sponges of the
genus Rhaphyrus (ft. Griffiths!), and with our landing-net scooped in a
fair supply of one or more species of simple ascidians (Ascidia ovalis?).
Much of the grass was found coated with the compound masses of a
species of Botryllus. Among the other forms of animal life taken here
were the scallop (Pectcn nucleus), sea-spider (Libinia canaliculata), cow-
fish (Ostracion quadricorne], zebra-fish (Chilomycterus geomctricus), and a
pipe-fish (Syngnathus), besides a considerable number of diminutive
moiluscan forms (Columbella, Nassa, Cerithium, etc.). The tulip-shell
(Fasciolaria ttdipci) was fairly abundant.

We floated off on high-water, and steered southward to Dunedin.

8 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Here we were informed of the recent finding of mastodon remains at a
locality some three miles distant, but, unfortunately, the limited time at
our command did not permit us to visit the spot. I followed the coast
line for about a mile south of the town, through a dreary sand tract of
yellow pine and saw-palmetto, in the hopes of finding an outcrop of rock,
but without success. At Clearwater the most elevated point of land on
the west coast, the dune, to which reference has already been made in
the introduction, makes its appearance, rising to the very modest height
of 32 feet. Immediately north of the landing a tough siliceo-calcareous
rock juts out from the ocean beach, but the scanty and unsatisfactory
condition of its contained organic remains precluded the positive deter-
mination of its position in the geological scale, although in all proba-
bility a belonging of the Oligocene series.

We grounded again just off the passage of Sand Key, and remained
becalmed and anchored for a full day and a half in a somewhat unprofit-
able position. The sand-beach on the ocean side of the key was literally
packed with the shells of Venus cancellata, but I failed to observe a single
live animal of that species, although undoubtedly an inhabitant of the
adjoining waters. Among the living Mollusca, Strotnbus pugilis, Fascio-
laria tulipa, and Fiilgur pcrvcrsnin were sufficiently abundant ; the last,
however, was most numerously represented on the inner side of the
key, on the mud-flats, where its egg-capsules or spawn-ribbons, many
of them evidently only recently deposited, lay scattered about. Although
our attention was centred in that direction, we observed but few indi-
viduals in the virtual act of depositing this ribbon, but, doubtless, many
others performing the operation escaped our notice. In these instances
the animal was in greater part buried in the sand or mud, the spawn-
ribbon being anchored by the smaller end to a shell or pebble. On lifting
the animal from its cover, the ribbon was almost immediately ejected.

The crown-conch (Melongoia corona), judging from its abundance,
evidently found here a most congenial home among the mud-flats. In
shoal water the bottom was covered for acres with two species of
sea-anemone (Cerianthus), whose habits could be very easily studied
through the transparent water. Owing to the depth, a foot or more, to
which the animals were immersed in the sand, and the tenacity with
which they held on to their anchorages, it was almost impossible to
obtain perfect specimens. I observed that the body portion, or external
tunic of the animal, was much more sensitive to impacts than the tentac-
ular ; thus, if touched on the body, the animal almost instantly withdrew,
whereas if the tentacular portion only was touched, there was frequently
a decided hesitancy on the part of the animal to withdraw. This was not
always the case, however. When once retracted the animal remained in
this condition for a considerable period. I noticed, too, that a cloud ot

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 9

sand or mud precipitated over the animal produced no sensible effect '
upon its movements. Pelagic forms of life, such as jelly-fishes, were
decidedly scanty, and it must be admitted that their absence was a source
of no little disappointment. Unfortunately, we were not sufficiently
equipped for prosecuting zoological researches by night, otherwise as
far as the pelagic fauna is concerned, our efforts at collecting might
have been attended with better success. Toward evening we obtained a
number of Idyas of the form of Idya roseola, only colorless, which were
retained alive in a basin of sea-water for very nearly two days.

While in our enforced captivity off Sand Key we were much inter-
ested in watching the habits of the hundreds of pelicans, cormorants, and
gulls that frequented a small sand island or shoal in the mkldle of the
harbor. The pelicans and cormorants seemed to mingle indiscriminately
into a single household, but the gulls evidently preferred an independent
position of their own, ranging themselves in linear series, lumps of silvery
white, like so many sentinels to a flock.

TAMPA AND HILI.SHOKO BAYS. — We left our anchorage early on the
2 ist, and tire same evening made Point Pinellas, at the entrance to
Old Tampa Bay. The passage of Boca Ceiga (John's Pass) was effected
without much difficulty, although its direction had to be made from the
mast-head. Recourse to the mast-head has frequently to be had in the
navigation of Florida waters, owing to the numerous shoals that bar
the passages, and the difficulty of their determination from a low level.
Even the most experienced pilot will consider himself fortunate if he
escapes one or two trials of stranding during a day's journey, and there
are probably very few who can claim immunity from the results of what
the non-initiated might consider bad sailing.

We dragged in shallow water just after passing the Boca Ceiga, but
the dredge brought up little of consequence ; the haul consisted
almost exclusively of myriads of Venus canccllata and Nassa trivittata.
At our anchorage inside of Point Pinellas we secured a specimen
of a beautiful rose Aurelia, measuring some seven inches across the
disk, the first of our jelly-fish captures ; a species of brittle star,
Opliiolcpis clcgans, was very abundant, and several individuals could
almost invariably be obtained from every bunch of grass that was scooped
up by the net. We tried the experiment of night collecting, and obtained
a number of forms that would otherwise probably have been lost. The
young of an undetermined species offish, and numerous small crustaceans
were especially attracted by the glare of our lamp, and through it we also
obtained a specimen of the balloon-fish (Tctrodou tiirgidus), ' and a
half-beak (Hemirhamphus unifasciatus), which, in its eager survey of
the artificial " moon," skipped over it and landed in our boat.

10 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

The shore at this point was strewn with dead fish, more especially
with the remains of the cavalle and cow-fish, an index of the disastrous
effects of the cold wave that had recently swept over the greater part of
the State. It was almost inconceivable that a sudden lowering of the
temperature could have had such a marked effect upon the vitality of
animals inhabiting the sea, but the proof of such effect was everywhere
apparent, and could not be argued round by any amount of logical theor-
izing. The worst effects were, however, to be noted further down the
coast.

At about noon of the next day we made Ballast Point, four-and-a-half
miles southwest of Tampa, a spot made famous to geologists and miner-
alogists through its numerous silicified shell remains, retained in the most
exquisite state of preservation, and the coral-chalcedonies that occur in
the form of organic geodes. In the yellow limestone that makes the
basal outcrop at this locality I immediately recognized the foraminifcr
which Conrad some forty years previously had described as Assi/iiia
(Nummnlitcs) Floridana, and from which the age of this portion of the
peninsula had been considered established. Conrad had evidently entirely
misinterpreted the nature of his fossil, inasmuch as his drawing represents
an imperfect individual, or one in which through an irregular removal of
the shell layers, exposing a gradational elevation of the disk, the involu-
tion of the whorls is made to assume the form of a spiral, instead of that
of a series of concentric rings. The rock here was crowded with the disks
of this foraminifer — many of them in the condition figured by Conrad,
others perfect — which, as I had already suspected, is no nummulite at all,
but a member of the very different genus Orbitolites. This is the first
record of this somewhat rare genus being found on the North American
continent. Among the other fossil impressions I detected those of
Venus pcnita and V. Floridana, also described by Conrad, and of a
number of generic types the specific characters of which were too much
obscured to permit of clear definition.

Numerous angular boulders of a tough siliceo-calcareous blue rock,
also densely charged with fossils, rest on the yellow limestone above
mentioned, but the relative sequence of the two formations could not
be determined at this point. Several of the fossil species occurring in
this rock appeared also to be contained in the limestone, but the former
was distinguished from the latter by the total absence of the foraminifcr
Orbitolites and by the presence of vast numbers of casts and impressions
of a species of Cerithium. This genus, one of the most abundantly
represented and distinctive genera of the Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene
formations of Western and Central Europe — indeed, of nearly all regions
where the early and middle Tertiary deposits are developed to any
extent — had hitherto been known only by stray individuals in this

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 11

country, and its absence constituted one of the negative faunal features
by which the American Tertiary formations were distinguished from the
European. The discovery of a true Cerithium rock, therefore, becomes
an interesting feature in connection with the geology of this region.

The country about here presents the appearance of an inhospitable
sand tract, thinly dotted with pine groves, and covered with a low
growth of saw-palmetto (Sabnl scrm/a/a), the reputed home of the
rattlesnake and moccasin. We found a species of prickly-pear (Opnntia)
in bloom. A short piece above Ballast Point proper, at Newman's Land-
ing, is the outcrop which furnishes the silicified shells and chalcedonized
corals to which reference has already been made. Unfortunately, the
position of the outcrop is such as not to permit of an absolute correlation
with the deposits exposed at the Point, but I feel satisfied that it cannot
represent an age very different from that of the yellow limestone, with
which it holds several molluscan species in common. Its position is in
the Lower Miocene scries. The greater number of the species are here
imbedded in a marly matrix, from which they can be readily removed by
means of a pick or mattock. With few exceptions all the forms are extinct ;
a limited number of them are found in the nearly equivalent deposits of
the island of Santo Domingo. The corals are principally astraeas and
madrepores, but of a number of distinct species; as far as could be deter-
mined they form a border fringe, the remains possibly of an ancient reef.
What led to their hollowing out in the form of geodes, and the manner of
the substitution of chalcedony for the carbonate of lime, are problems still
awaiting solution ; doubtless, heated waters, largely impregnated with
silica, were directly involved in the operation, but just why the outer layers
of the coral masses should have been preserved, while the inner parts so
readily yielded to solution, is not exactly apparent.

The day after our arrival in Tampa, I, in company with our cook,
made an examination of the lower Hillsboro, sailing up the river in
our skiff for a distance of about five miles. The shores were almost
everywhere very low, rarely rising more than five or six, or a dozen, feet
above the water, except immediately above the town, where, a short dis-
tance from the left bank, there is a somewhat abrupt rise of possibly
twenty feet or more. A fairly luxuriant growth of woodland covers
both banks for the greater distance, but we found few traces of that
primeval forest which at one time, doubtless, graced this region as it
still does the region of the Checshowiska. Nor did the forest present
here the same tropical appearance which it unfolds in the region further
to the north ; the bay and water-oak still continue as some of its dom-
inating features, but there is a very noticeable deficiency of palmettos,
and, in their stead, a marked increase of the coniferous element — yellow-
pine and swamp cypress.

12 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Not much more than a quarter of a mile above Tampa, and just
below the ship-yard, a tough siliceo-calcareous rock, identical with that
found at Ballast Point, appears on the left bank immediately on water-
level ; the same rock is visible on the right bank at a further distance of
about a half mile, and reappears again at intervals of three, four and five
miles. There can be no doubt that it forms the bed of the stream for
this distance. It can be readily identified by its numerous Cerithium
remains, the same as we found impressed in the rock at Ballast Point.
At Magbey's Spring, a short piece above the ship-yard, we found water
issuing from a yellow and white limestone, containing numerous fossils ;
large sink-holes expose the fossiliferous limestone, crowded with shell
remains' and the Orbitolites Floridana, for an extent of some ten
feet. Owing to the very limited nature of the exposure I was unable
to determine its true dip, but as the locality is distant not more than a
few hundred feet from the river, and rises above it some fifteen or twenty
feet, there can be no doubt that the rock in question overlies that which
appears immediately on the river front, and which, as has already been
said, almost positively forms its bed for a distance of several miles. In
this section, therefore, we have established the relation existing between
the two rocks exposed at Ballast Point. The locality at Magbey's Spring
is the only one on the Hillsboro River where we observed the Orbito-
lite limestone.

During the day's journey my attention was called to an individual
of the Florida " mud-puppy," but I was unable to approach the animal
sufficiently near to determine whether it was a Necturus or not. Turtles
were surprisingly abundant, and their splash, when dropping from an
overhanging bough, could be heard at frequent intervals around the turns
of the stream. Nine individuals, of possibly more than one species, were
seen on a single raft, sunning themselves in pleasant ignorance of im-
pending danger. I much regretted not being able to visit the falls of the
Hillsboro, about three miles beyond the furthest point reached in our
exploration, where the ledge .of rock over which the water is precipitated
is said to be largely coralliferous, and of the same character as that
observed at Ballast Point.

MANATEE RIVER. — We left Tampa toward evening, pushing off with
falling tide, and headed for the Manatee River. The dredge was thrown
over in the mouth of that stream, and struck on an Anomia bank. The
dead shells of Venus cancellata were brought up in great quantity, together
with a number of crabs, a species of Lima, and several individuals of the
common sea-urchin of this part of the coast, Toxopncustes varicgatus ;
depth of water about 12 feet.

It was our intention to explore some of the islands in Terraccia

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 13

Bay, where fossil remains were reported to be abundant, but at Braiden-
town we were informed that a fossiliferous exposure was presented
a few miles (5-6) above the town at a locality known as Rocky Bluff, and
we accordingly determined to visit that spot. The " bluff" we found to
be a ledge of rock, rising about two or three feet above water-level at the
time of our visit, and consisting of at least two well-defined layers — a
basal white " marl " and yellowish sandstone, and an overlying siliceous
conglomerate. The latter is almost entirely deficient in organic remains,
whereas the marl is densely charged with them. Among the recogniz-
able forms occurring here I determined a number of well-known and dis-
tinctive Miocene species of mollusks, such as Pcctcn Jcffersonim, P.
Madisoniits, Pcrna maxillata, Venus alveata, Area incongrua, etc., which
left no doubt as to the age of the deposits in which they were imbedded.
The existence of a Miocene formation in this portion of the peninsula
was entirely unlocked for, and its discovery, therefore, the more significant
and interesting. A further exploration of this bed was made on the suc-
ceeding day, but without adding much that was new to our stock of
information obtained the day previous. The white bed thinned out and
disappeared after a short distance, but the yellow sand-rock, largely
honeycombed, and containing much fewer fossils, many of them identical
with the forms of the marl, continued up the river to the furthest point
reached by us. I observed and collected many fragments of manatee
bones, ribs principally, but am not prepared to say that any of these were
of a fossil character, although their position might have led one to sup-
pose that they had been washed from the bank. Mr. Willcox, however,
assures me that he observed several pieces concerning the fossil nature
of which there could be no doubt.

In the hope of discovering a more extended outcrop in the interior,
and of securing a position whence a general survey of the region
could be obtained, I attempted to penetrate the dense growth of palmetto
that here descends to the river's bank, but owing to the obstruction pre-
sented by the large fan-leaves, and the difficulty of determining landmarks
in a tract where the component vegetable elements so greatly resembled
one another, was compelled to desist after wandering about three-quarters
of a mile. The forest is here evidently largely of second growth, but
few of the trees, mainly palmettos, attaining to more than mediocre
proportions. Mr. Brock secured two alligators before leaving the river,
the larger of which measured about nine feet in length. About a mile
above the point where we made our geological examination the river-
bank was packed with the remains of dead fish, which were lying
heaped up in windrows of tens of thousands of individuals. No such
wholesale destruction of the shore-fishes appears to have been known to
any of the inhabitants.

14 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

SARASOTA BAY. — We were informed that at Hunter's Point, near the
northern end of the Bay, we would find a coral rock or formation
skirting the shore; I was naturally anxious to determine the accuracy of
the statement, inasmuch as no reef formation had been reported from the
region so far to the north. The rock in question turned out to be a vast
mass of growing Vermetus ( V. variants), which from a short distance
actually presented the appearance of a clump of rocks. A limestone of
an analogous structure crops out in the meadow a few hundred feet from
the shore. The same growth of Vermetus reappears at Whittaker's, a few
miles further down the bay, where the matted tubes of the gasteropod
form organic " boulders " or reefs stretching over acres of territory, one
of the most striking features of this part of the coast. A yellow sand-
rock, some three or four feet in thickness, appears at this point on the
shore margin; its general aspect bears the impress of a recent formation,
but I found in it the casts of one or more species of coral of a facies new
to me, which, in the absence of other definable organic remains, led me
to suspend judgment as to the age of the deposit. The same coral I
afterwards identified in a more compact, and much more fossiliferous,
limestone occurring on White Beach, Little Sarasota Bay.

On Perico Island, where we landed for the purpose of skinning our
alligators, we found vast numbers of the common fiddler-crab of the
coast (Gelasimm pugilator), which, in apparent concerted action, were
hurrying from the sea-border into the interior, passing far beyond the
line of their burrows. So numerous were the migrating hordes, that in
many places they literally obscured the beach, and the noise of their
progression was like that produced by a wind moving a heavy accumu-
lation of autumn leaves. The border of the island was covered with a
heavy fringe of mangrove, on whose aerial roots, considerably above
water-level, we found the parasitic oyster (Ostrea parasitica) clinging in
great abundance. The interior of the island supports a stunted growth
of saw-palmetto, and the usually accompanying yellow-pine. We found
a moccasin coiled on the leaf-stalk of a palmetto, about two feet above
the ground — :the first ophidian met with on our trip; the animal,
although plainly cognizant of our approach, made no attempt to attack,
and but a very feeble one to escape, and was consequently secured
without much difficulty.

At a locality known as Mrs. Hanson's, opposite to which we anchored
for the night, I was conducted to a spot where it had been reported a human
skeleton lay embedded in the rock. My misgivings as to such a find
were naturally very great, but I could not resist the temptation of
satisfying myself personally in the matter, even at the risk of appearing
over-credulous to my fellow-companions. The rock I found to be a par-
tially indurated ferruginous sandstone, removed but a short distance from

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 15

the sea, and but barely elevated above it ; the condition of its exposure
was, doubtless, the result of recent sea-wash. I was much surprised to
find actually embedded in this rock, and more or less firmly united with
it, the skeletal remains of a mammalian, which I had little difficulty in
determining to be the genus Homo. Most of the parts, including the
entire head, had at various times been removed by the curiosity-seekers
of the neighborhood, but enough remained to indicate the position occu-
pied by the body in the matrix. The depression which received the
head was still very plainly marked, but unfortunately the outline had
been too much disturbed to permit of any satisfactory impression being
taken from it. I was able to disengage from a confused mass of stone
and skeleton two of the vertebra;, which Dr. Leidy has kindly determined
for me to be in all probability the last dorsal and first lumbar. The dis-
tinctive cancellated structure of bone is still plainly visible, but the bone
itself has been completely replaced by limonite.

How great an antiquity these human remains of iron indicate, I am
not prepared to say. That they are very ancient there can be no ques-
tion, considering the nature of their fossilization, and the position which
they occupy ; but to which exact horizon in the geological scale they are
to be referred, still remains an open question. I in vain searched the
region for geological landmarks by which the special bed containing the
remains could be correlated, but in vain. I could find no trace of any
other fossil in the deposit, nor, owing to the low position of the bed, and
the absence of overlying deposits of any magnitude, could its homotaxis
with reference to the fossiliferous deposits occurring elsewhere on the
bay be ascertained. The probability naturally lies with the Post-Pliocene
age of the deposit, but for aught we know to the contrary, the age rep-
resented might in fact be Tertiary. At all events, as has already been
stated, the remains are very ancient, and not impossibly they represent a
period as far (if not further) removed from the present one as is indicated
by any other human remains that have thus far been discovered.

About three-quarters of a mile below Mrs. Hanson's a compact ter-
restrial sand-rock, containing numerous individuals of several common
forms of recent snail (Polygyra volvoxis, etc.), and evidently represent-
ing a modern formation, is exposed at water-level, extending for some
little distance up the channels that have been left by the retreating waters.
The presence of this hard rock of terrestrial origin on the immediate
ocean front, and in the very path of existing waters, coupled with the
circumstance of the complete absence of associated marine forms of
life, renders it more than probable that this portion of the coast has
quite recently been undergoing subsidence. It is true that the encroaches
of the sea might be attributed to a simple washing away of the coast line,
but this hardly appears probable in view of the resisting nature of the

16 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

rock, and the fact that it rests horizontally and shelves for some distance,
at least, under the sea.

From this point Captain Strqbhar and I made a diversion in favor
of PKilippi's Creek, a tributary of the bay. We found plenty of water
•in the stream itself, but the approaches to it, owing to the widening
out of the channel, were very shallow, and for a considerable distance
our skiff had to be dragged over the bottom. The difficulties of the
passage were further increased by the numerous islands, largely over-
grown with mangrove, which interpose themselves in the mouth of the
creek, rendering the channel very intricate. Almost at the mouth of
the stream, and at several points above the mouth, we found a true com-
pact coquina rock, some three to four feet in thickness, the first time,
I believe, that such a rock had been noted to occur on the west coast
of the peninsula. The shell fragments composing it were largely trit-
urated, and in most instances not even the genera of mollusks represented
by them could be identified. Underneath this rock, where present, there
crops out a yellow arenaceous limestone, which is exposed at various
points along the stream, rising about two feet above water-level. It con-
tains coral impressions and numerous shells, many of the latter apparently
identical with forms found in the yellow rock of the Manatee River
(Pecten Jeffersonius, etc.), and representing either a Miocene or early
Pliocene formation, more likely the former. I found at one spot,
evidently washed out from the bank, a large fragment of the jaw of a
cetacean. Philippi's Creek is reported to harbor numerous alligators,
but on our trip both up and down the stream we saw but a single indi-
vidual, and that a young animal. The weather was not very warm, and
possibly the reptiles may have kept beneath the surface.

A water-way through the mangroves conducts from Big Sarasota
Bay to Little' Sarasota Bay, and may be used with much advantage by
small craft. Owing to the chances of stranding we were compelled to
take the outside route, and thus to pass the bars at both inlets. A con-
siderable surf was rolling at the time we entered Little Sarasota Inlet
just before sun-down, but we succeeded in making the point, and
anchored under the lee of the bar of sand that separates the inlet from
the sea, in one of the most picturesque spots that we had thus far seen
in our journey.

The rock guarding the entrance to the channel on the north side is
a coquina, very similar to that found on Philippi's Creek. It is rapidly
undergoing destruction through the wash of the sea, and will, doubtless,
in a very short time be completely removed. In color it differs essen-
tially from the typical coquina of the east coast, which is very light, or
nearly white, whereas this one is by contrast rather dark.

On White Beach, on the inner side of the bay, we again found large

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 1?

quantities of dead fish strewn over the shore. The same burden rested
on the long line of oyster reef which extends not very far from this point
into the bay, where thousands upon thousands of carcasses were heaped
up in continuous banks, upon which the gorged turkey-buzzards were
lazily attempting to recover from their revels. The air was actually foul
with the odor of decomposition. A reef rock, of Miocene or early
Pliocene age, I was unable to determine which, with numerous impres-
sions or casts of corals, some of them identical with the forms found at
Whittaker's, juts out on White Beach, where it has been largely honey-
combed through the wash of the water, and in places is rendered soft and
friable; in other spots, again, it is tough and very resisting. Among the
numerous molluscan remains there were few that were retained in any-
thing like a perfect state of preservation, and scarcely one that permitted of
specific determination. Indeed, I only indicate with doubt the occurrence
of Pcctc n Jcffcrsonius, P. Madisonius, and Venus alvcata. In a somewhat
different rock, but without doubt belonging to the same series, we found
abundant casts of a large oyster, not unlikely Ostrea Virginica, associated
with similar remains of the clam (Venus Mortonif), cockle (Cardinal
magnum f) and a Pcrna. A small stream empties into the bay near
this point, exposing heavy beds of rock on either bank to a thickness of
some eight to ten, or twelve feet. I found a few casts of gasteropods in
these deposits, and a few fragments of scallops, apparently Pecten Madi-
sonius, but the fossils were not numerous, and barely determinable. The
difficulty of wading in the stream, too, prevented me from penetrating
veiy far. A short distance from this point we were conducted to a
locality where the carapace of a large fossil turtle, measuring nearly three
feet across, was embedded in the roadway, of which it formed a part.
The time-honored passage of vehicles over it had completely crushed the
carapace, breaking in the top, but the outline was still clearly defined in
its entire circumference. I secured two large fragments, from which I
had hoped to determine the specimen on my return, but, unfortunately,
they were left behind at one of our packing stations.

Mr. Brock, who, in company with the cook, had during the absence of
the remainder of the party explored a portion of North Creek, another
tributary of the bay, reported the existence of a highly fossiliferous
stratum exposed on the banks of that stream at an elevation of some ten
to twelve feet. This stratum, which is underlaid by a white friable lime-
stone, was traced for a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, but it is
said to extend very much further. It is much to be regretted that want
of time did not permit us to make a more extended exploration of this
very interesting locality, and to definitely determine the different ages of
the deposits occurring here. The shell bed is either Pliocene or Post-
Pliocene, but the very limited number of fossils that were brought to me

2 \

18 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

for determination, among which I recognized the giant Fasciolaria
gigantea, pear-conch (Fulgur pcii'crsus), and clam ( Venus mercenaria f), did
not permit me to settle the question. I strongly incline to the Pliocene
age of the deposit, inasmuch as we subsequently found the same fossils
occupying a nearly similar position along the upper Caloosahatchie, and
in a stratum whose Pliocene age was placed beyond question. Still, from
this correspondence alone, I should not like to pronounce too positively
on the matter of correlation.

From Little Sarasota Inlet to Casey's Pass the ocean front is made up
of a vast shell bank, three to five feet or more in thickness — a non-indurated
coquina, if so it might be termed — which at the time of our visit was
being rapidly destroyed through the action of the surf. The beach was
strewn with dead shells, among which I in vain searched for a living
specimen. We dragged in twenty feet of water, but the dredge struck
on an unproductive shell-bottom, and brought principally fragments to
the surface. The dredge was again thrown over just beyond Casey's
Pass, bringing up fragments of arenaceous and serpuloid rock, besides
numerous dead shells, principally of the genera Area, Cardita, and Venus,
the greater number of which were stained pink through some peculiar
process of ferric oxydation. We also obtained several branches of
an Oculina, still retaining much of the colored animal substance or
ccenosarc, which would go far toward confirming the assertion of our
captain that a submerged coral reef exists opposite this point at a distance
of a few miles from the coast. None of the coral-polyps were visible in
the mass. We dragged again off Stump's Pass, in water of 10-15 feet,
and obtained among other things a beautiful assortment of the large
sand star-fish, Luidia clathrata.

LITTLE AND BIG GASPARILLA INLETS. — We made Little Gasparilla Inlet
on the afternoon of Feb. 24th, anchoring for the night. This is considered
to be one of the best collecting grounds on the coast, and our explorations
on the following morning fully confirmed this impression, at least so far
as our own personal experiences would permit us to form a judgment.
The numerous shoals and grass flats, protected and exposed bayous or
inlets, afford an almost endless variety of retreats to the different animal
forms that abound here, and serve in great measure to circumscribe the
individual habitats. Thus, one spot would be largely relegated to a
species of Cerithium (C. mnscannit), another to a second species of the
same genus (C.ferrugincuiti), and a third to an association of both these
forms. In one of the inlets I found large quantities of the green shells of
Fasciolaria tulipa inhabited by the Clibanarius viltatus, the combined colony,
as if with a common impulse, moving in one given direction. The corre-
spondence existing between the color-tints of the hermit and that of its

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

protecting shell was very remarkable, but whether this correspondence
was in the present instance merely accidental or as the result of selection,
I am not prepared to say. That a unity of color between the shell
and the crab would in a measure tend to conceal the latter from general
observation and thus secure for it a partial protection from its enemies,
is undeniably true ; but it may be questioned whether the peculiar
tints of the animal were not, in this special instance, a development
depending upon the general surroundings — the grassy bottom, etc. —
rather than a relation holding with the shell, the choice and subsequent
habitation of which may have been purely fortuitous circumstances.

The Vermetus " reef" was here again largely developed, forming a
prominent fringe along the shore margin. I picked up two stranded
jelly-fishes, of the genus Cyanea, which had evidently only quite recently
been washed on the beach; the disk of the larger individual measured 22
inches in diameter. Both specimens were kept on deck of our schooner
for four days, with the object of drying and ultimate preservation ; but
at the end of that time, owing to an unfortunate accident, which resulted
in their partial destruction, and the steadily growing odor of decompo-
sition, I reluctantly heaved them overboard. The elimination of water
had been very rapid during the period of desiccation, and in a short time,
doubtless, but for the accident, both disks, beautifully exhibiting all the
lines of structure, would have been ready for final preservation.

The bottom of the inlet was in places covered with a species of
sea-anemone, one of the forms occurring off Sand Key, in Clearwater
Bay, and also with the common sea-urchin (Toxopnciistcs variegatus).
The latter had in nearly all cases covered itself with a dome of gravel
and broken shell — in imitation of the general character of the bottom —
which was supported on the extremities of the ambulacra! feet, and
served to conceal the animal from view. Mr. Willcox had on a previous
occasion called attention to this remarkable habit on the part of the
urchin, but he seems not to have fully recognized the importance of
the deception played by it as a factor in its own defense. So complete
was this deception that I must have wandered probably over a full acre
of urchin-ground before I was made aware of the presence of these
animals ; indeed, were it not for accidentally stumbling over one of the
hillocks, thereby exposing the animal beneath, I might to the present
time have been left in ignorance of their existence there. To positively
test the nature of this covering of broken shell I partially filled my
collecting bucket with shell fragments, and placed in it a number of the
urchins stripped of their covering. With wonderful rapidity the fright-
ened creatures bored their way into the mass of debris, and appeared
almost immediately with a large accumulation of shell fragments centred
on their ambulacral tips. There could be no doubt, whatever, as to at

20 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

least one of the uses of this, to some persons purely " ornamental,"
armor. The shell fragments I found supported indiscriminately by both
their convex and concave surfaces.

Mr. Willcox and the cook were very fortunate in securing with
the dip-net some half-dozen specimens of a large spotted Aplysia or
sea-hare, which appears to be new to science. The largest individual
measured about eight inches in length, and full five inches in width.
The color of the mantle was sea-green, tinged with purple, with large
irregular blotches of lighter color, and numerous white, or at least very
light, spots of about the dimensions of the cross-section of a slate-pencil.
The nearest ally of this animal appears to be the Aplysia dcpi/ans
(leporind) of the Mediterranean, from which, however, the species differs
in many essential particulars. I would propose for the new form the
name of Aplysia Willcoxi. When placed in a bucket of water, especially
when irritated, the animal emitted a magnificent purple-crimson fluid,
which almost instantly clouded everything in the vessel. Two other
species of Aplysia-forms belonging to the genus Notarchus were found
at the same locality, one of which appears to be identical with the West
Indian N. Pleii ; the other closely resembles the eastern N. Savignana, and
may be identical with that species. A dozen or more of the individuals were
collected, and placed in our alcohol vessels, the strength of the alcohol in
which they were immersed being gradually raised from below 50 per
cent, to about 80 per cent. The animals were evidently caught on their
feeding-grounds, a grass shoal rising to within about three feet of the
water-surface. On our return to this spot, toward the close of our
journey, a large individual of the Aplysia Willcoxi was observed slowly
floating out to sea, propulsion on the surface of the water being
effected or assisted through a measured movement of the folds of the
mantle.

We found a small sand-fly very abundant at this locality, which
annoyed us considerably when on land, the first time that any annoyance
was experienced from insect pests. So deficient, indeed, did the entire
region thus far traversed appear in insect life that one might almost have
concluded that the members of this group were either entirely wanting
or but accidentally represented. Travelers who, at this season of the
year, expect to meet with a gorgeous entomological display, rivaling
what has so frequently been described as a heritage of the tropics, will
naturally be disappointed, as will also the botanist, who, in anticipation
of the facts of nature, expects to revel in a bed of flowers. It is a mistake
to suppose that there are here no true seasons of animal and vegetable
life. Hibernation, or retardation of growth as dependent upon seasonal
conditions, is probably nearly as well marked in Florida as it is in most
of the region situated to the far north, and I have no doubt that the

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 21

apparent absence of insect life is in reality only a reflection of this period
of quiescence.

We dragged off Big Gasparilla and again off Boca Grande, but both
times over unproductive grass-bottom.

CHARLOTTE HARBOR. — In the grass bottom off Uzeppa Island, where
our schooner anchored for the night, we found numerous single tunicates
and a few large clusters of a brilliantly colored branching red-sponge ;
otherwise there was a marked deficiency in the variety, no less than in
the numerical development, of animal life at this place. We dragged
opposite the northern extremity of Sanibel Island alternately over a shell
and grass-bottom, but the dredge added little of consequence to our
collections. An extensive shell-beach faces the ocean front on Sanibel
Island opposite to Blind Pass, but at the time of our visit it was strewn
almost entirely with dead and water-worn shells ; living specimens of the
shuttlecock shell (Pinna nniricatii), were, however, very abundant.

We ran aground on a grass shoal just before reaching Punta Rassa,
but soon righted, and put into harbor not long after sundown. For
hours during this day's journey our vessel was followed by a number of
drum-fish, which appear to have hung close to the keel, and whose
diabolical serenade was continued from early in the afternoon almost
through the night. The different individuals, judged by their "booms,"
must have retained their relative positions almost without change.

22 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

THE CALOOSAHATCHIE.

The region about the Caloosahatchie, and more particularly the
interior tract which harbors the headwaters of that stream, are so little
known that we found it almost impossible to obtain any information that
could prove of advantage to us in our intended exploration of the southern
wilderness. The most that could be ascertained was that at certain inter-
vals along the river we would come across settled hamlets or plantations,
but the approximate distances at which these furthest outliers of civilization
were to be met with were so vaguely stated, and differed so materially
among themselves, that it was impossible to place any implicit reliance
upon them. No scientific observations, other than those pertaining to
pure topography and hydrography, had ever been made in this section
of the State before, which fact, coupled with the hope that along
this stream we might expect to find a more reliable clue to the true
physical history of the State than along any other, provided a geological
profile was offered, made us anxious to enter the terra incognita. The
results obtained amply warranted our determination.

The ascent of the river to Fort Thompson, where a rapid separates
the headwaters from the waters of the lower stream, consumed somewhat
more than four days, during which time, owing to contrary winds, and
the remarkably tortuous channel, frequent recourse had to be had to the
pole. The actual distance from the sea-border to the site of this old fort
is not more than fifty miles, but measured along the sinuosities of the
channel, which are especially well-marked in the upper course, and more
particularly in the reach of the last few miles below the rapids, the dis-
tance is very nearly twice as great. We found a considerable depth of
water, ranging in a general way from about five to fifteen feet, almost
along the entire course of the stream, except in the immediate embou-
chure, or in the stretch of the first few miles above Punta Rassa, where
innumerable shoals so completely bar the channel as to render its passage
difficult and hazardous to all but the lightest craft. Although drawing but
two feet of water, our schooner barely succeeded in effecting an entrance,
and on the return journey we were shoaled several times. There seems
to be no reason why, with a moderate outlay, this channel could not be
so deepened as to permit of a safe and ready entry even for vessels of a
moderately high draught, although, manifestly, by reason of the very

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 23

gradual shelving of the sea-bottom, no really great depth of water could
ever be secured. But even with this deepening the tortuousness of the
channel would still very materially interfere with the possible conversion of
the stream into a highway of travel, and not until connecting canals are cut
to shorten distances is it likely that much use will be made of the stream
as a water-way either to or from the far interior. The deepest sounding
obtained by Engineer Meigs during his official survey of the river was
sixteen feet, but at least in one instance, not very far from the site of Fort
Denaud, our lead dropped 28 feet, and I am informed by our captain that
on a former occasion he had marked off 32 feet. Numerous snags, prin-
cipally trunks of live-oak and palmetto, around which sand-bars have
formed, and are forming, obstruct the channel of the river for a very consid-
erable part of its course, and render navigation in some parts a matter of
considerable caution. These could be very readily removed, however, as
only in very few places do they appear to be actually jammed.

The width of the stream varies considerably, naturally narrowing
very rapidly in its upper course. Here, the numerous projecting or
overhanging trees, in their tendency to catch on to the rigging, necessi-
tate a careful rounding of the bights, into which a vessel is apt to be
forced by the current of the water. On more than one occasion a
pennant, derived from the overhanging vegetation, was added to our top-
mast, and once we barely escaped serious accident through this novel
method of aerial anchorage. Along the lower reaches of the river the
mangrove constitutes the predominating element in the vegetation, its
dense line of aerial roots forming an impenetrable palisade for miles of
the river-front. We found that the plants here had suffered much less
from the cold than elsewhere, and they accordingly presented a much
more vernal aspect than in the bays and inlets to the north. The foliage
was brilliant green, and showed but little of that purple tint which else-
where recalled our autumnal season. At Fort Myers the orange trees
were in both fruit and flower, and here for the first time could we obtain
quantities of that most luscious fruit without being compelled to select
from a mass of frost-bitten specimens. The general southern limit of the
cold wave, which at Tampa is reported to have depressed the thermom-
eter to 1 8° F., might be said to have been the Caloosahatchie. Still, even
along this river many of the more tropical plants appear to have suffered.
Thus, while at Fort Myers the cocoanut and date-palm were bearing
fruit — noble specimens of their kind — the banana presented a most wilted
appearance, the few straggling leaves or stems that were not frost-
bitten little recalling those graceful outlines which the delineations of
travelers impress upon their sketches of tropical scenery. The pineapple
appears to have suffered equally with the banana, both here and further
along the river in the interior.

OF

UNIVERSITY

24 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

A few miles above Fort Myers the mangrove gradually thins out,
and is followed by straggling lines or groups of palmettos, which here
attain a height of some thirty to forty feet. Before reaching Telegraph
Station, and at intervals beyond, the forest unfolds itself in its full mag-
nificence, the dense tangle of endless creepers and climbers, the rigid but
delicate leaves of the palm, whose noble shaft is reared pre-eminent over
the forest, and the brilliant greens with which the eye never satiates,
forming a picture of scenic loveliness which no pen can adequately de-
scribe. The growth along the immediate water margin is very dense,
so that in many places no landing can be effected. The almost complete
absence of flowering plants was here again very apparent, but I observed
at least one species of Ipomaea and a Lobelia in bloom.

One of the largest of the lower clearings is seen at Thorpe's, on the
right bank of the river, where, in addition to the cultivation of a number
of semi-tropical products, such as the pineapple and banana, there is a
considerable industry derived from the growth of the cane, which yields
sugar of a fine quality. The soil is reported to be very favorable to the
proper development of this vegetable product, which is also cultivated
with profit in other sections of the country where but little else is pro-
duced. A series of clearings, alternating with larger patches of more or
less heavily timbered woodland, ending in a pine tract, extend from
Thorpe's to within about twelve or fourteen miles of Ft. Thompson, when
an apparently interminable forest of palms clothes the river on both banks.
This is probably one of the most extensive tracts of primeval palm growth
in the State. The palm trunks range to 40 or 50 feet, or more, in height,
and almost by themselves constitute the forest, there being but little in-
termixture of deciduous trees. There is also little, or no undergrowth,
and the eye, accustomed to the impenetrable mazes of the lower
river, follows with rapturous delight the beautiful vistas that reach far
into the forbidding recesses of the deep interior. Nowhere else did I
observe such a wealth of arboreal vegetation ; the profusion of plants
clustering around the individual palms, forming there aerial gardens of the
most fairy-like description, was simply amazing, and, indeed it seemed
as though the usual undergrowth of our northern forests had been bodily
transported into an upper realm.

The larger game, such as the deer, wolf and American panther, or
Florida lion, are said to be fairly abundant in these wilds, especially in
the more open country of pines, but we had little opportunity of testing
the truth of the currently received notions respecting the distribution of
these animals. On the return journey our captain, whom we were com-
pelled to send on a foraging expedition, reported the finding of several
deer, but this is the only instance during our entire journey when a mam-
mal, exceeding the raccoon in size, was actually seen, although on one

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 25

occasion, on the borders of Lake Okeechobee, we heard the cry of a
large cat, probably the panther. The birds of the forest were not very
numerous either, and they appeared to be restricted to a comparatively
small number of distinct types — red-headed woodpecker, cardinal gros-
beak, scarlet tanager, a number of warblers, etc. We heard the cackle of
the wild turkey on one or two occasions, and once a specimen of this not
very rare bird helped to grace our larder. In the open meadow or " prairie "
country immediately above Fort Thompson we observed three flocks, of
six or eight individuals each, of sand-hill cranes (Grits pratensis), whose
graceful outlines presented very pleasing objects in relief to the sombre
green background. Their utter disregard for our presence and apparent
ignorance of any possible injury, even during the firing of a gun, permitted
of an easy approach to within short range, but we failed to secure speci-
mens. The only response to our discharge was an aerial saltation of
about three feet, followed by a peaceful return to a disturbed, and
apparently interminable, meal. From this point inland, the marsh lands,
with their scattered " hammaks " of hard-wood, and everglades literally
teem with wild-fowl of all descriptions.

We paid but little'attention to fishing on the Caloosahatchie, and are
therefore not prepared to say much concerning the ichthyic fauna of that
river. It is true that we observed, all in all, but a very insignificant
number of fishes, but there is reason to believe that the river is fairly well
stocked with these animals. The bass and cat-fish are reported to be
fished quite extensively, and we caught several specimens of a bream and
sun-fish. — The alligator is still fairly abundant in some parts of the stream,
especially towards its upper course, but its early destruction is threatened
through the endless pursuit of the hide-hunters, whose compensation is
about 50 cents for the hide of an animal exceeding five feet in length.
The expense of skinning and salting is included in this sum, which,
therefore, allows but little margin for profit, and necessitates an appalling
destruction of the animal in order to secure the hunter against loss. None
of the animals that we saw in the river were of large size, and the greater
number probably did not exceed six feet in length.

Owing to the great number of snags in the channel, and the fear of
losing our dredge, we were unable to make any systematic observations
respecting the invertebrate fauna of the stream ; the dark color of the
water, moreover, resulting from an infusion of palmetto roots and stocks,
limited the range of vision to a very moderate depth, so that we were
doubly handicapped. Still, as far as could be ascertained, there appears
to be a decided deficiency in this lower fauna. Indeed, almost the only
molluscan form that we obtaine'd were a species of Unio, a Neritina (N.
rectivata), a Planorbis (P. trivolvis), and an Ampullaria (A. depressd). Other
species, doubtless, exist, and possibly even in considerable quantity,

26 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

concealed along the deeper and inaccessible parts of the stream. In the
everglade tract above Fort Thompson two species of Planorbis (P. trii'oli'is
and P. \_Physd\ scalaris), besides the large Ampullaria, were very plentiful,
and still nearer the interior lakes the dredge brought up quantities of one
or more species of Vivipara (V. lineata, V. Gcorgiana .').

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE CALOOSAHATCHIE. — The banks of the
river for its entire course are very low, at no place probably rising much
above twelve feet. They are highest in the middle and upper course of
the stream, where their faces are cut down almost vertically to the
water's level, below which they descend at a very steep angle. In the
lower reaches of the river they barely attain one-half this height, and,
indeed, for a very considerable distance above Fort Myers, the average
elevation probably does not exceed three or four feet, and beyond the
immediate border the land-surface, showing unmistakable signs of
periodic overflows, sinks still lower.* Compact rock crops out here and
there, or may be seen lying in the channel, but for by far the greater
distance the banks consist of a partially indurated marl, in which, at
places, fossils are exceedingly abundant. In my experience I have never
met with an exposure in which fossils were nearly as plentiful as in the
vertical cut which extends almost uninterruptedly for ten or more miles
below the Thompson rapids. Fosrils could here be counted by the
million, and were as densely packed, but without crushing, as it was
possible for them to have been placed together. Their state of preser-
vation was also wonderful.

Owing to the innumerable turns in the river, and the fact that the beds
exposed maintain a well-defined horizontality for most of their extent,
I was unable to satisfy myself as to the direction of true dipt, so that
it may yet be an open question how much of the more westerly exposed
rocks, or those cropping out at, and immediately above, Fort Myers, cor-
respond to the rocks exposed along the upper stream. The fact,
however, that there is such a slight difference in level between the inner
and outer points, and the circumstance that for such a long distance the
practical horizontality of the beds can be connectedly followed, lead me
to suppose that the entire system is in reality one, despite a certain
amount of variation both in the lithological and faunal features of the
deposits.

* Tide-water, or perhaps more properly back-water, is said to extend to Fort Thomp-
son. We, however, found a strong river-current for a considerable distance below this
point, both during our ascent and descent of the river. The difference between mean high
water and mean low water at Fort Myers has been determined by Meigs to be 2.2 feet.

t At one point, not very far above Daniels', the strata show a decided declination to the
east, or towards the interior of the State, but I feel confident that this marked deviation from
the horizontal is a local circumstance, and has but little bearing on the question of true dip.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 27

A tough sand-rock, of undoubtedly recent formation, crops out at
Fort Myers, just above the landing; as far as I could determine, it was
destitute of organic remains, or when present these were in such a frag-
mentary condition as to be unrecognizable. I was also shown along the
river's bank a number of large nodules or boulders of a fossiliferous
limestone, which were reported to have been obtained from a neighbor-
ing well-digging. In these the recent Venus cancellata was clearly deter-
minable ; from the very great abundance of this shell, its excellent state
of preservation, and the general appearance of the imbedding matrix, I
feel satisfied that the rock is of Post-Pliocene age — certainly not older
than late Pliocene. A somewhat similar rock, densely charged with the
same species of mollusk, and with various other bivalves, besides a host
of gasteropods (Fulgur, Turbinella, etc.) crops out in a field on the left
bank of the river, about 20 miles by water above Fort Myers (six or
seven miles in a direct line?), not very much beyond Telegraph Creek
crossing. The species of mollusk recognized here were: Venus cancel-
lata, Venus mercenaria (pcnnagna?*), Cardita Fluridana, Area transvcrsa,
Fulgur sp. ?, etc., all of them apparently still living in our waters, from
which it is to be inferred that the deposit is of Post-Pliocene age. The
rock is overlaid by a sandstone, in appearance identical with that which
crops out at Fort Myers, of which it is the probable equivalent. Imme-
diately below the fossiliferous stratum first described a tough rock, largely
charged with shell-fragments, and containing numerous impressions of
bivalves, mainly of small size, makes its appearance at water-level, below
which it extends for probably several feet. The very unsatisfactory con-
dition of the embedded remains, rendering a positive determination of
species impossible, precluded also an absolute determination of the horizon.
The sharp line of demarkation separating this deposit from that immedi-
ately overlying it, coupled with the knowledge that extensive Pliocene
deposits are developed in the further course of the stream, leads me to
suspect that this basal rock is also Pliocene, or, at any rate, that it repre-
sents a geological period distinct from that which is indicated by the
Venus cancellata bed.

Just below Thorpe's, and in both banks, a white shell marl rises out
of the water to a height of about two and a half or three feet. It con-
tains great quantities of a ponderous flat oyster (Ostrca meridionalis), dis-
tinct from any of the related forms now living, and of two large scallops —
Pcctcn comparilis, and a form, P. solarioidcs, resembling it in general out-
line, but differing in its much greater size, and in several other peculiari-
ties of structure. Both the oyster and the scallops could be detected in
the marl-rock some distance beneath the surface of the water, whence
several specimens were obtained by means of the mattock. The Ostrea
Virginica is also very abundant in the sand rock. On top of this fossil-

28 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

iferous white marl, for which I assume a Pliocene age,* there rests a
stratum containing innumerable valves of the Venus canccllata (Post-
Pliocene).

Mr. Thorpe conducted me to an outcrop of compact sand-rock in a
palm " hammak," just back of his sugar-mill, which had much the appear-
ance of the rock exposed at our last section on the river. Its absolute
stratigraphical relations with the beds exposed immediately on the river
front could not be established, but it is certainly very nearly the newest
of the series.

The banks increase in height almost immediately after leaving Thorpe's,
but for a considerable distance there is a decided dearth of fossil remains.
Stray specimens of the oyster or Pecten appear here and there in the
beds, but for miles we found practically nothing. Before reaching
Daniels' a compact and highly fossiliferous rock forms the upper moiety
of the (right) bank, appearing at an elevation of from four to eight feet
above the water. Among the large number of molluscan casts occurring
here I recognized those of Venus canccllata and of species of Fulgur
(F. perversum ?), Turritella, Cardium, Area, etc., most of them undetermin-
able specifically. There can be no question, however, that they represent
the forms (Pliocene) which occur in such a beautiful state of preservation
a short distance further up the stream, and which, by their vast numbers
and large size, constitute probably one of the most remarkable exposures
of fossils to be seen anywhere. In the lower part of the bank above
described we found the large oyster associated with many fragments of
the scallops already referred to. We also obtained numerous Rangias
from the bed immediately underlying the top-sancls.

A fine exposure of yellow and buff limestone, averaging about ten
feet in height, is presented above Daniels', the different strata of which it
is composed apparently dipping to the east ; the bottom bed is a compact
shell-rock, containing innumerable shell remains, largely fragmentary. I
feel confident that the dip observed here is purely local, a possible result
of sagging, and that it does not interfere with the general scheme of
horizontality that is presented both above and below this point.

A short distance above this locality begin the highly fossiliferous
deposits to which reference has already been made, and which extend
practically without intermission to Fort Thompson, a distance along the
river of some ten to twelve miles. This is without question the most
remarkable fossiliferous deposit that has as yet been discovered in the
State, and from a purely paleontological standpoint, perhaps the most
significant in the entire United States east of the Mississippi River. The
fossils, which are about equally distributed between both banks, crop out

* The same oyster and scallops are contained in the unequivocal Pliocene deposits
occurring further up the river, occupying approximately the same relative positions.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

29

in almost countless numbers, and attract attention, apart from their pro-
digious development, by their great variety, large size, and beautiful state
of preservation. The whole bank much resembles a fossil shell-beach,
and recalled to my mind the wall of shells extending from Little Sarasota
Inlet to Casey's Pass. But that this was not its true character is proved
by the perfection in which individual shells had retained their outlines —
even the most delicate, such as Pyrula (Ficula), showing little or no surf
action — and by the great number of forms (Panoprcas, Areas) which still
remained in their normal positions, both valves firmly attached — the same
as they originally occupied when living.

The number of recent forms occurring here is very great, so that at
first glance I scarcely doubted that the formation was of Post-Pliocene
age, a conclusion to which I was further led by the absolute freshness of
many of the specimens. Closer inspection, however, revealed a host of
forms which had no analogues in the recent fauna, and others, again,
which, while closely approximating living species — so much so, indeed, as
to leave no doubt as to their inter-relationship — yet differed sufficiently
to indicate a long period of time during which the modifications, resulting
in the distinctive characters of the recent species, were brought about.
This relationship between the old and the new fauna is very remarkable,
and perhaps nowhere else does the doctrine of transformisin or evolu-
tion receive stronger support from invertebrate paleontology than here.
The lines of derivation through which some of the modern forms have
passed are perhaps best seen in the case of one or two species of Area,
which stand in unmistakable proximity to the recent A. incongrtta and
A. Floridana, in a large volute as ancestral type of the comparatively
rare Valuta Jiinonia, and in a ponderous stromb, which strongly fore-
shadows the recent Stromlms accipitrinns. Other cases of relationship
and obvious derivation might here be cited, but these will be specially
noticed in the descriptions of species.

It is a singular fact that scarcely any of the distinctively Miocene
fossils of the Atlantic coast are found here ; such of the Miocene species
as do occur are with few exceptions forms that still live along the coast.
Per contra, the new species are as a rule strikingly distinct, even in their
broadest characters, from the members of our hitherto ascribed Tertiary
faunas, or from the equivalent faunas of the West Indian Islands. It is
difficult to conceive of the radical difference existing between this fauna
and that which ought to be most nearly related to it, whether the special
comparison be made with the faunas occurring on this side of the Atlantic
or the other.

The following enumeration of species exhibits the relation existing
between the forms now described for the first time and those that had
been previously described, fossil and recent :

30

TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

*Murex imperialis,
" brevifrons,
Fusus Caloosaensis,
Fasciolaria scalarina,
gigantea,
tulipa,

Melongena subcoronata,
Fulgur rapum,

* " contrarius,
" excavatus,

* " pyrum,

* " pyriformis,
*Nassa vibex,

Turbinella regina,
Vasum horriduin,
Mazzalina bulbosa,
Voluta Floridana,
Mitra lincolata,
Marginella limatula,
*Oliva literata,

* " reticularis,
Columbella rusticoidcs,

*Cancellaria reticulata,
Pleurotoma limatula ?
Con us Tryoni,

mercati ?
" catenatus ?
Strombus Leidyi,
pugilis,
Cyprsea (Siphocypraed) problcmat-

ica,

*Pyrula reticulata,
*Natica canrena,

* " duplicata,
*Crucibulum verrucosum,

Crepidula cymbaeformis,

" fornicata,
Turritella pcrattcnuata,
" apicalis,
cingulata,
mcdiosulcata,
subannulata,
"Cerithium atratum ?

Cerithium ornatisstniiun,
*Bulla striata,
*Siliqua bidentata,
Panopaea Menardi,
" Floridana,

navicula,

Semele perlamellosa,
" variegatum,
*Rangia cyrenoides,
Venus rugatina,

* " cancellata,
" Rileyi,

* " Mortoni,
*Artemis discus,

* " elegans,
*Dione (Calliste) gigantea,

* " maculata,
Cardium Floridanum,

* " magnum,

isocardia,

Hemicardium cohtinba,
*Chama arcinella,

" crassa,
Lucina disciforinis,
edentula,
Pennsylvanica,
Floridana,
tigcrina,
Carditamera arata,
Area scalarina,
" crassicosta,

* " lienosa,
" aquila,

" plicatura,

" (Arcoftcra) aviculcefoniiis,
*Pectunculus lineatus,

aratus,

Spondylus rotitndatus,
*Plicatula ramosa,
Pccten solarioides,
" comparilis,
Mortoni,

* " nodosus,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

*Pecten nucleus, Ostrea meridionalis,

Anomia Ruffini, * " Virginica.

Recent species are preceded by an asterisk ; the new species are italicized.

It will thus be seen that the relation of recent to extinct species is as
48 to 41, giving a very much higher percentage for living forms than
obtains in any of the divisions of our recognized Miocene deposits, even
the " Carolinian," which holds a position nearly equivalent to the so-called
Mio-Pliocene of Europe. It becomes manifest that this most extensive
Floridian exposure represents the Pliocene age — a circumstance interest-
ing, apart from the general bearing which its presence has upon the
geology of the State in particular, from the fact that it gives us the
first unequivocal indication of the existence of marine Pliocene deposits
in the United States east of the Pacific slope.

I made a careful examination of the banks to ascertain if any dividing
lines or horizons, characterized by distinct assemblages of organic
remains, existed, but failed to discover any such ; the fossils appeared to
be packed almost indiscriminately, and in several instances when I thought
that a certain localization in some species could be detected, the same
forms would appear in other parts of the bank, and completely vitiate all
my surmises. Only along the top line was there a true differentiation,
the uppermost (marine) bed being densely charged with the valves of
Venus canccllata, largely to the exclusion of the numerous other forms
that so eminently serve to define the bank in general. Nor did I succeed
in obtaining any extinct species from this topmost stratum, although no
true junction line between -it and the stratum immediately underlying
could be determined. There is no question in my mind that this upper
Venus bed, the same as we found it at other points of the river, is of
Post-Pliocene age, continuous sedimentation, however, uniting it with
the older Pliocene deposits beneath, and obscuring all well-defined faunal
lines of separation.

From the observations that have thus far been made respecting the
geology of the State, it will be seen that the Tertiary formations follow one
another through the peninsula in regular succession from north to south,
beginning with the Oligocene (or late Eocene) and ending with the
Pliocene. The Post-Pliocene, doubtless, follows as a continuation of the
Pliocene south of the Caloosahatchie, probably for a very considerable
distance into the everglade region, and possibly nearly to its end. Our
observations failed to bring forward a single fact confirmatory of a coral-
reef theory of the formation of the peninsula such as had been advocated
by Louis Agassiz and Prof. Le Conte ; on the contrary, the existence of
the heavy fossiliferous deposits about Tampa, on the Manatee, along the

32 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

tributaries of Big and Little Sarasota Bays, and more particularly those
exposed on the Caloosahatchie, conclusively proves that a coral extension
to the southern United States, such as had been theoretically set forth,
does not exist in fact. To be sure, remains of coral structures, possibly
representing even true reefs, were found at various points, as for example
at Ballast Point, Hillsboro Bay, and on White Beach, Little Sarasota
Bay, but these limited structures are evidently only of local formation,
and indicate a period when a fringe of coral developed where, through
unfavorable circumstances, probably induced through a lowering of the
temperature, structures of a similar kind are no longer represented. In
other words, they indicate nothing more or less than is indicated by
remains of a like character found in our more northern Miocene deposits
— the masses of Astrsea, etc., of North Carolina, the James River, and
other localities. Along the Caloosahatchie we found only scattered
clumps of coral (Astraea, Colpophyllia, Dichocoenia ?), measuring possibly
eight or ten inches in greatest extent, and nothing that could be taken to
indicate an associated reef.

In conformity with the system of nomenclature which I have else-
where adopted in the classification of the American Tertiary deposits, I
would propose to designate the Pliocene series of the Caloosahatchie as
the " Floridian," by this name indicating the region where the formation
has its furthest, and, as far as we know, only, development. What its
precise equivalent among the trans-Atlantic formations, if any such
exist, may be, still remains to be determined. Thus far I have been
unable to discover any whose fauna can be strictly, or even approxi-
mately, correlated with the present one. Besides shells and corals, and a
few hypothetical remains which are perhaps to be referred to the class of
annelids, the only other invertebrates found in the banks were several
more or less perfect specimens of the large urchin, Echinant/iiis rosacats.
Two of the more remarkable of the molluscan forms occurring here are
an ark, differing from all known types of the family, whether recent or
fossil, in a peculiar anteriorly projecting spout or rostrum, and a cowry,
with a singular channeled apex.

For some distance below the Fort Thompson rapids the topmost of
the marine deposits exposed on the river — the Post-Pliocene Venus can-
cellata bed already referred to — is seen to be overlaid by a heavy stratum
of limestone, in which the remains of fresh-water organisms, Planorbis,
Limnea, etc., are very numerously imbedded. This fresh-water lime-
stone, in many places an absolute shell-rock, compact but largely water-
worn, can be traced with few breaks to the rapids (and beyond), where it
acquires its maximum development, with a thickness of two or two and
a-half feet. It here rises from two to four feet above the surface of the
water, everywhere overlying the Venus cancellala bed, which in turn here

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 33

and there exposes the older fossiliferous deposits beneath ; these, how--
ever, are practically all concealed beneath the water's level.

The fresh-water limestone forms the bed-rock of the beautiful "prairie "
or meadow land which opens out immediately above Fort Thompson,
and which soon passes off into the region of endless swamps and ever-
glades that continue to the Okeechobee wilderness. There can be little
question, it appears to me, that this vast area of scattered ponds and
swamps marks the site of an ancient continuous, or nearly continuous,
body of fresh water, which covered the region in the form of a vast shal-
low lake, and whose origin is probably to be traced back to the period
when the land gradually emerged from the sea. The general configura-
tions of the country, and the broad extent over which the limestone (or
its remains) is spread, leave little doubt in my mind as to a former union
of the present scattered waters, whose isolation may have been brought
about principally as the result of vegetable growths, or of this in combina-
tion with actual desiccation.

The limestone has been traced eastward, as reported by Captain
Menge, the officer in charge of the dredging operations connected with
the Okeechobee Canal, for a considerable number of miles, disappearing *
at a depth of five feet two inches beneath the canal surface, about three
miles west of Lake Hikpochee. We, ourselves, traced the extension of
the limestone for nearly this distance by means of the scattered shell
remains (fossils), which at intervals were dredged up from the bottom of
the canal. All the molluscan forms occurring in the limestone are
identical with species now living in the river, and consist mainly of
Planorbis (Pliysa) scalaris, innumerable shells of which, evidently distrib-
uted at a period of recent high-water, are scattered over the open tracts,
and in crevices on the trunks of trees. I obtained specimens from tree-
trunks at an elevation certainly not less than 10 or 12 feet above water-
level, but the high-waterline marked on the palmetto trunks — the traces
of a recent overflow — was still much above this, probably fully six or
eight feet.

« That is to say, had not been traced further, hut there can be no question as to its
extension beyond this point.

34 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

THE OKEECHOBEE WILDERNESS.

Almost immediately after passing out of the cut which the Caloosa-
hatchie has excavated in the limestone at Fort Thompson our schooner
was fouled on one of the banks that obstruct the upper channel, and
we were compelled to lie over for upwards of an hour. The current
was here particularly swift, and it was only after a most determined effort
on the part of our captain, who succeeded in beaming up the ship by
wedging one of our dingeys under its bow, that we were able to get off
at all. We had suddenly missed the channel proper, but the stranding
was the first indication we received of our having gone astray, an expe-
rience which we had already lived through on more than one occasion
during our Florida campaign. The water was literally alive with coots,
whose break through the surface echoed from far and near over the
solitudes. Large numbers of ducks were also hidden in the sedge.

Prior to the operations of the Florida land improvement company,
whose dredgings have succeeded in opening a navigable channel of a
few feet depth of water, this point was practically the head of navi-
gation of the river, which here emerges from a vast expanse of almost
impenetrable sedge and saw-grass. Light boats, after being transported
over the rapids, could still ascend the stream for a distance of several
miles, winding tortuously through the mazes in which the stream is
ultimately lost. The newly excavated canal follows for some distance
the actual line of the river, being merely an extension of the stream, but
after passing through Lake Flirt — at the time of our visit scarcely more
than a swamp tract largely overgrown with grass, flag, and various water-
plants — almost completely leaves the bed of the old stream, which appears
here and there meandering through the wilderness of morass, and pur-
sues a more nearly direct course to Lake Hikpochee, over a total distance
of some seventeen miles.

The depth of water in the canal varied from about four to six feet,
while the current was running at the rate of probably not less than two
miles an hour, if not more. We had the advantage of a favorable wind,
and made the passage before nightfall, keeping hard on to the bank over
which our boom felled the grass like so much broken chaff. As far as
the eye could reach this almost boundless expanse of grass, relieved at
intervals by oases of the most luxuriant verdure of palms and cypresses,

CYPRESS

SWAMP.

D OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

IVEE3ITI]

.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 35

constituted the landscape ; the general growth was about six to eight feet
in height, dense to impenetrability, but in some places it was very much
higher, and completely shut off from view all but the narrowest vistas.
We. found here a virtual paradise for birds. The red-winged starling,
merrily contesting with the more sombre crow-blackbird a peaceful habi-
tation along the immediate banks of the canal, appeared in almost count-
less numbers, pealing forth a continuous and perpetual strain of song,
while hundreds of herons, egrets, and ibises, decked in the majesty of
their full plumes, disported among the inner recesses of the morass, or
flecked with so many specks of white the clumps of trees that had been
selected for their heronries. An occasional limpkin or courlan (Arannts
f ictus) might be observed hovering over a mud-flat, but more commonly
its presence is announced through a peculiar distressing cry, from which,
not inaptly, the bird has received the name of screamer. On our return
journey over the same ground we observed, associated with the white
herons and ibises, two flocks of the roseate spoon-bill, a bird not exactly
uncommon in these regions, and known to the inhabitants as the " pink
curlew."

We were much surprised at the abundance of alligators, whose
freshly made, or but recently deserted, " beds " appeared all along the
banks. At intervals of almost every few hundred feet one of these grim
monsters of mail, disturbed by our approach, would rise, and suddenly
turning upon itself, plunge from its sunny retreat into the cooler shades
below, disappearing only to reappear after the disturbing element had
passed. A limited number of individuals, especially young forms, took
no notice of our approach, retaining an air of composure in their siestas
which seemingly no ordinary incident could disturb ; but the greater
number of the individuals took to flight apparently before our approach
had actually been noticed, except in so far as it had been announced by
the displaced water of the boat spreading commotion in advance of our
own coming. As many as six or seven of these animals could at one
time be observed from our vessel, lazily crossing and recrossing the canal,
sometimes submerged to the extent that only the extremity of the snout
and the large eyes were visible, at other times extended out on the
surface for nearly their full extent. It is not often, I believe, that one
has an opportunity of observing these animals attack their prey, but I
was fortunate on one occasion to detect a small alligator seize a turtle by
its protruded neck, and draw it beneath the water. This is the only
instance during our entire trip that one of these animals was observed in
the act of feeding.

The shallowness of the water in the canal permitted us to make con-
siderable use of our landing-net, which, however, brought nothing to the
surface but the few freshwater mollusks, recent and fossil, whose species

36 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

made up the bulk of the limestone exposed at Fort Thompson. The
bottom is very largely overgrown with a species of Myriophyllum (?),
which is especially abundant on the sands. We dragged in Lake Flirt,
but failed to detect anything of significance in the mass of black vegetable
muck with which our dredge came loaded to the surface.

The elevation above sea level of the east end of the canal, or where the
canal issues from Lake Hikpochee, is 20—22 feet, or about 1 1 feet above the
base of operations near Fort Thompson. This would give a fall of 10-12
feet in a course of some fifteen miles, an average of somewhat less than
a foot to the mile. There can be no question, it appears to me, that
Lake Hikpochee was the true source, beyond head-springs, of the
Caloosahatchie, although, as I am informed by Captain Menge, it was
found impossible, during the survey of the canal-route, to trace that
river into the lake, the farthest accessible point on the stream, where it
eventually loses itself in the maze of saw-grass, being still removed some
distance from its western border. Doubtless, however, the water of the
saw-grass country is in large part an oozing-out product derived from
the lake, just as the waters of the more southern Everglades represent
a similar outflow from Lake Okeechobee. Indeed, in view of the very
nearly uniform level occupied by the two lakes, and the swamp character
of the intervening territory, it is more than probable, despite the existence
of a low dividing ridge, that the last named lake is itself, whether directly
or indirectly, the most important contributor to the river's basin, largely
regulating the height of its waters, and of those of the smaller sister
lake lying to the west.

We traversed the lake (Hikpochee) in a direction slightly north of
east, at a point where its width was estimated to be about seven miles.
The north shore was visible for much of the distance, but in the south
no bounding line could be detected. It is remarkable, in view of the
broad extent of this beautiful sheet of water, that even as late as 1875
its very existence should have been doubted. The following quotation
is taken from Dr. Kenworthy's narrative of a journey in Southern
Florida, published in Hallock's "Camp Life in Florida" (p. 298-9): "An
examination of Drew's and Colton's maps will show a large lake existing
at Fort Thompson, and another some miles east, named Hickpochce.
These bodies of water only exist in the imagination of map-makers . . .
We instituted many inquiries of Indians, settlers and cattle-drivers
regarding Lake Hickpochee, but all scouted the idea of its existence."

We took numerous soundings, which gave an average depth of water
along the line of passage of upwards of ten feet, the lead at no place in-
dicating a drop of over fifteen feet. The bottom appeared to be largely
overgrown with the same plant which we had observed in the canal,
and which, in its profuse development, prevented the dredge from

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 37

reaching the actual bottom of the lake. I have little doubt, that the
true fundament is a compact sand, similar to that which we sub-
sequently found to constitute the floor of Lake Okeechobee, although
along the eastern border of the lake, especially at the mouth of the
Okeechobee canal, a vast accumulation of black vegetable muck, con-
taining much woody-fibre, and representing the incipient stages of peat
formation, clogged the waters over considerable areas. The fauna of the
lake appears to be a very deficient one, if we may be allowed to judge
from the character of our drags. Apart from a few Unios and Paludinas
obtained in one of the western bays, the dredge, in several trials, brought
to the surface from deepest water (fifteen feet) only the red larvae of a
species of annelid, a form which was also subsequently obtained in Lake
Okeechobee. The fact, however, that the dredge in most instances did
not completely penetrate the grass-growth covering the bottom, accounts
in a measure for the poverty of the catch ; but yet the almost total
absence — indeed, it might practically be said, total absence — of animal
forms in the grass with which the net came up loaded, is certainly very
surprising, and argues strongly for an actual deficiency in the lake fauna.
Several species of fish, among them the bass, were fairly abundant in the
eastern shallows, where we also obtained a specimen of the alligator-gar,
and a number of alligators. None of the last named animals were
observed to pass far into the lake.

Contrary winds, and a powerful current, probably not less than three
miles an hour in the inflowing canal, prevented us from continuing our
journey during the day beyond the eastern margin of the lake. We
tried the plan of warping, i. c., pulling the boat by means of a long line
doubled over advanced stakes, but were compelled to desist after a drag
of a few hundred feet, and after very nearly meeting with a serious mis-
hap. Only four miles intervened between us and the large body of water
which so many before us had vainly attempted to reach, and concerning
which so many vague and contradictory reports had been spread. I
allowed myself to be hoisted to the mast-head, whence, with the aid of a
powerful field-glass, I obtained an unbroken survey of the surroundings.
To the north and east the eye wandered over an almost unbroken ex-
panse of swamp low-land — here and there a few clumps of hard wood
relieving the monotony of the endless sea of saw-grass — while to the
west the low line of sedge, making the western boundary of the lake,
could just be distinguished. I had expected to obtain a fairly good view
of Okeechobee, but a lowering sky, combined with an intervening fringe
of willow scrub, practically shut out the object of my search, although
from an occasional momentary shimmer I could just determine the posi-
tion of the ruffled waters of the lake, and mark a boundary to the dreary
waste of Everglades.

38 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

The next morning, with a favorable wind, we made the connecting
passage in less than two hours. The waters of the canal teemed with
alligators, and we also observed several turtles sunning on the bank.
At the west end of the canal we obtained specimens of Ampullaria
dcprcssa, Limnea cohiniclla, Pliysa gyrina, and Spluzrhtin stamineum,
and also a variety of freshwater shrimp ; and at the eastern extremity
Unio Buckleyi, U. ainygdaliiin, and Paludina lincata. The last two, in
addition to Ampullaria, were also brought up by the dredge from about
its "middle course.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 39

LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

The exploration of the Okeechobee region consumed the better part
of six days, during which time we made a traverse or examination of
probably not much less than one-half the area covered by the lake. Our
course from the mouth of the canal, which is marked by a fairly conspic-
uous barrel-shouldered cypress, was S. by E. to Observation Island,
about seven miles, two miles S. W. to the western shore, fifteen miles
almost due north to beyond the mouth of Fish-Eating Creek, on the
northwest shore, fifteen miles E. N. E. to the mouth of Taylor's Creek,
which forms the extreme northern (northeastern) apex of the lake, two
miles W. to Eagle Bay, and twenty-two miles S. W. to the canal. The
distances here given are those of dead reckoning, but the experience of
our captain in calculations of this kind leads me to suppose that the
figures are not very far removed from the truth. It will thus be seen
that our direct examination was confined principally to the western and
northern sections of the lake, but from our position at Taylor's Creek we
had a clear sweep of some ten additional miles of the eastern shore as
well. How much further to the south beyond the furthest point reached
by us the lake extends, I am unprepared to say ; nor can I determine this
question from any of the numerous hypothetically constructed maps of
the region. It is, I believe, safe to say that there is not a single map
that represents with even approximate correctness the contours of this
vast body of water; indeed, the majority of the maps published, and not
less, the descriptions, run so wide of the mark in their delineations, that
practically no reliance can be placed upon them. And this criticism
applies equally to the maps published with the sanction of the State or
General Government and those prepared in the interest of special land
or railroad companies. Thus, on nearly all the maps the mouth of the
drainage canal is represented as opening considerably to the south of the
median line of the lake, while Observation Island is located immediately
abreast of this opening, or even considerably to the north of it ! It has
already been seen that the true position of the island is several miles to
the southeast of the canal. The limited time at our command, unfor-
tunately, did not permit us to establish the exact position of the canal-
opening, but that it could not be much, if anything, below the middle
of the lake, is conclusively shown by the open water-way which

40 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

extends miles beyond Observation Island. Again, on such maps where
the position of Observation Island relative to the canal is in a measure
correctly located, two other islands, one of which is the Observation
Island of most cartographers, figure north of the canal ; neither of these
islands could we discover, nor do they appear to exist in fact, unless
under the name island it is intended to include sundry island-like clumps
of willows and cypress which at intervals break off from, or lie under the
lee of, the shore. The extreme length of the lake is generally conceived
to be upwards of forty miles, and on some maps, e. g., the United States
Land Office map of 1882, Granville's map of 1886, is placed as high as
fifty miles. Both of these figures I believe to be largely in excess of
the truth, although, from our failure to reach the southern extremity,
I might be debarred from making a positive statement to that effect.
But every indication leads in the direction of exaggeration in the
generally received figures. That the delineated dimensions, or the
dimensions taken between well ascertained points, are entirely illusory
there can be no doubt. Thus, on the two maps above mentioned, the
position approximately corresponding with, or intended to represent, the
opening of the canal is placed nearly thirty miles south of the northern
apex of the lake, Taylor's Creek ; whereas, as a matter of fact, the dia-
gonal distance uniting these two points, as measured by our dead-
reckoning, was certainly not more than some twenty or twenty-two miles.
Making the necessary allowance for this shrinkage in the northern half
of the lake, and granting the correctness of the southern half as deline-
ated, the total length would scarcely exceed thirty-six or thirty-seven
miles. My own impression, however, is, that the lake is still considerably
shorter, probably not very much over thirty miles. As to the greatest
width of the lake I can offer no opinion, not having seen the eastern
shore except along the northeast border.

Another error, freely perpetuated on our maps, is the location of the
mouth.of the Kissimmee River, which is made to correspond with the
northern or northeastern apex of the lake. This, as has already been
seen, is occupied by a broad bayou known as Taylor's Creek, which is
distant a considerable number of miles to the east or northeast of the
Kissimmee. The closed or obscured opening of the latter stream, which
is in a grass country, renders it difficult to find, whereas the boundaries
of Taylor's Creek are sharply defined by opposing walls of noble cypresses,
which from their great height, 125 feet or more, present the appearance
from a distance of low bluffs. The break in the shore-line is here very
distinct, and is apparent at a distance of several miles ; hence, by some
navigators of the lake the opening is mistaken for the mouth of the
Kissimmee, and, doubtless, frequently officially reported as such.*

* Mr. F. A. Ober (Fred. Beverly), in his narrative of the " Okeechobee Expedition,"

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 41

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE LAKE. The lake may perhaps best be
described as a vast shallow pan of freshwater, which probably nowhere
much exceeds twenty feet in depth. We took numerous soundings all
along our course, probably fifty or more, which gave an average depth
ranging from about seven to ten feet. The deepest sounding, made on
the diagonal connecting Taylor's Creek and the mouth of the canal,
about four miles S. W. of Eagle Bay, gave fifteen feet, but this is the
only instance where we obtained this depth. Captain Strobhar, however,
informs me that on a previous occasion, and not very far from the same
spot, he obtained 22 feet. There is good reason to believe, seeing the
general uniformity of the bottom, that this figure represents the approxi-
mate extreme depth of the lake, and that only at very exceptional inter-
vals does this amount of depression in the basin obtain.

Practically, therefore, the bottom represents a flat plain, elevated
some 7-15 feet — in places less — above sea-level. The same plain is
manifestly continued into the floor of Lake Hikpochee — which, as has
been seen, has the approximate depth of Lake Okeechobee — and, doubt-
less, forms also the true fundament to the vast series of swamps and
everglades which on all sides surround these two larger bodies of water.
We sounded at many points in the channels running into the grass and
in the cypress thickets, and usually found a considerable depth of water,
6-8 feet, or even more, and where the bottom was reached in these
shallows it consisted almost invariably of vegetable muck, of which
there appears to be a heavy accumulation, and not of the solid siliceous
sand which we everywhere found to constitute the floor of Okeechobee.
I think it may be safely assumed that this vast lacustrine plain of
the Floridian peninsula represents, practically unmodified, the surface
of the country as it appeared at the time of its latest (or only) emergence
from the sea. Whether or not a salt-water lake was formed immediately
after the elevation of the land, from which through gradual alteration
and a steady indraught of fresh-water, the present lacustrine system of
waters was ultimately developed, I am unable to say, although the
presumption would probably be that there was no such formation.
Yet it is not exactly impossible that the reverse was the case. We failed

published in "Camp Life in Florida" (1876), states that "Taylor's Creek, and another
smaller, empty into the lake within ten miles of the Kissimmee, but their channels are so
choked with water-lettuce and lilies that an experienced eye is required to discern them "
(p. 251). What the "smaller" stream may be it is difficult to say; but surely Mr. Ober
could not have properly identified Taylor's Creek, when he refers to the difficulty of
determining its channel. The high belt of cypress on either side marks it out absolutely.
The broad sheet of water at the time of our visit was entirely destitute of lettuce at its
mouth, imr does it seem possible that it could ever be seriously clogged at its junction with
the lake. Mr. Ober's references to the contours of the lake are exceedingly vague, and in
a manner contradictory, so that little dependence can be placed upon them. Fish-Eating
Creek is erroneously said to empty into the lake almost opposite Observation Island !

42 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

to "detect any salinity in the water, which is fairly potable, nor did we
discover the remotest traces of any saliferous deposit. On the other
hand, however, the valves of Venus canccllata were thrown up in con-
siderable numbers both along the beach of Observation Island and near the
mouth of Taylor's Creek, and I also succeeded in scooping up, by means
of the landing-net, a fairly large fragment of Fulgiir pi •;•< 'irsits, and a single
shark's vertebra. The shells were all badly worn, and had more the
appearance of the specimens contained in the banks of the Caloosahat-
chie than of the living form, and I am, hence, inclined to the opinion
that they represent fossils rather than living specimens. They may have
been washed out of the Post-Pliocene Venus canccllata bed, which almost
positively underlies the lake, buried some distance beneath the sand.
There appears to be, however, no means of absolutely determining this
point. That the marine animals above mentioned may have succeeded
in introducing themselves at a comparatively recent period, after the
complete formation of the fresh-water lake, is just barely possible, but
very unlikely. In our numerous drags we failed to bring up a single
living marine type of animal, nor even a fragment that could reasonably
be referred to a living animal of such type — unless, indeed, the numerous
individuals of a species of Pandalus, a caridid shrimp common to the
waters, be taken to indicate such an organization.* This shrimp was
also found in Lake Hikpochee.

It is frequently conceived, and as often reported, that Lake Okeechobee
is a vast swampy lagoon, or inundated mud-flat, the miasmatic emana-
tions arising from which render access to it a matter of considerable
risk or caution. This is very far from being its true character. The
lake proper is a clear expanse of water, apparently entirely free of mud-
shallows, and resting, as has already been stated, on a firm bed of sand.
All our soundings and drags indicate that this sand is almost wholly
destitute of aluminous matter, and nowhere, except on the immediate
borders, where there is a considerable outwash of decomposed and
decomposing vegetable substances, is there a semblance to a muddy
bottom. The water itself, when not disturbed, is fairly clear, and
practically agreeable — although held in bad repute by the few who have
visited its shores — and by the greater number of our party it was used
in preference to the barrel-water with which the schooner was provided.
More generally, however, it is tossed into majestic billows, which rake
up the bottom, and bring to the surface a considerable infusion of sand,
rendering the surface murky. Steadily blowing winds arc frequent,
presaging heavy swells; we were compelled to lie at anchor for an

* A diminutive shell, much resembling in outline certain forms of Bythinella, but with
a longitudinally costulated surface, was sufficiently plentiful in the grass brought up by the
dredge ; its affinities could not be definitely determined.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 43

entire day during one of these high seas, when the waves beat most
unmercifully against our little craft.

The border line of the lake is in most places not absolutely defined,
owing to a continuous passage of the open waters into those of the
Everglades ; on the whole, however, the delimitation of the latter region
is fairly well marked, the growth of saw -grass or flag terminating rather
abruptly. Where the Everglades constitute the border line, which is the
case for the greater part of the west coast, there is necessarily no true
shore, and, indeed, it is the common supposition that no landing can be
effected in such a region. This supposition is, doubtless, true in its
general application, but not absolutely so. We secured a landing
opposite Observation Island at a spot where the vegetable accumulation,
living and dead, of flag, lily, and grass was so dense as to permit of a
safe footing, although numerous holes and pit-falls everywhere revealed
the unstable character of the fundament. A pole could readily be thrust
into this vegetable bottom to a depth of four or five feet, or even more.

For some distance along the north shore, but more particularly on the
northeast, there is a true beach line, made up of oceanic sand. This beach
extends for nearly two miles almost due west of the mouth of Taylor's
Creek, and probably not less than eight or ten miles, if not considerably
further, to the southeast of that stream. It shelves very gradually into
the lake, and rises out of it with the same moderate slope. At the localities
visited by us I nowhere found it to rise more than about four or five feet
above the surface of the water, although not unlikely it may attain a
greater elevation. It everywhere supports a dense growth of hard woods
— oak, maple, palmetto, etc. — which form a fringe to the almost intermin-
able expanse of saw-grass and cypress-swamp which follows at a very
moderate distance in the rear.

OBSERVATION ISLAND. — This island, which lies a few miles S. by E. or
S. E. of the mouth of the canal, is perhaps the largest island in the lake,
although not impossibly some larger island may exist in the southern
bayous not yet explored. It is currently, and even officially, reported to
be some two miles in length, but I much doubt if its greatest (north and
south) expanse greatly exceeds a half-mile, or, at the utmost, three-
quarters of a mile. Along its western and southern borders it is well-
nigh inaccessible, owing to a heavy growth of small cypress and custard-
apple (?), whose gnarled stems and stumps form an effective barrier to
approach. On the east, as also on the north, there is a much more
open sand-beach, on which there was a considerable break of water at the
time of my visit. The width of the island is at all points very insignifi-
cant, and the elevation probably nowhere exceeds four or five feet.

Numerous birds take shelter in the almost inaccessible recesses of

44 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

this water-bound islet, which is reputed to be one of the most favored of
the Floridian heronries. We observed towards night-fall large flocks of
the white ibis migrating hither, and similar departures in early morning.
The great white heron and the egret were also sufficiently plentiful, but
perhaps less so than the water-turkey or snake-bird, whose stoical but
uncouth presence gave life to the miniature wilderness.

The only other animals beyond birds collected on the island were a
few insects, a scorpion, several centipedes (lulus), and species of Limnca,
Planorbis, Physa, and Cyclas.

TAYLOR'S CREEK. — We spent somewhat more than two days in the
exploration of this stream, anchoring a short distance above its mouth
in eight feet of water. The width of the channel is at this point several
hundred feet, and remains uniform, with a nearly uniform depth of
water, for not much less than a half-mile, or even more, beyond which
it gradually begins to contract, but without shallowing to any extent.
In how much this " creek " is a true creek in the ordinary acceptation of
the word, or a simple bayou opening out from the lake, we were unable
to determine, owing to the vast masses of floating vegetation, water-lettuce
principally, which choke the different channels in their upper courses,
and permitted a furthest penetration to our skiffs of probably not more
than two or two and a half miles. I found an unmistakable outward
current during my first ascent of the creek at a distance of over a mile
from its mouth, and up to the furthest point reached by me, but whether
this was a natural current, or one produced as the result of direct wind
action, or as depending upon a recession of the waters of the lake, could
not be satisfactorily ascertained. During my second ascent, on the day
following, the water over the same stretch, or over a part of it, was either
stationary or slightly receding in the opposite direction. There can be
no doubt, whatever, that the direction of flow up to the farthest point
reached by us is largely influenced by the condition of the lake — the
rise and fall of its waters as depending upon wind action, and not impos-
sibly, also, tidal influences. The absence of shore-lines and of other
necessary data rendered impossible, during the short period of our stay,
the determination of the actual existence of tidal action in the lake.
From a periodic rise and fall of the water in the mouth of Taylor's
Creek, measuring some eight or ten inches, but which did not occur at
equal periods of time, I am inclined to believe that such action does exist,
although the question can, perhaps, still best be considered an open one.

The great body of Taylor's Creek opens out from the lake northward
for about three-quarters of a mile, or a full mile, is then deflected north-
westward, and after about a quarter of a mile divides into two main arms
or branches, one of which is directed to the west and the other con-

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 45

siderably more to the north. But no direct course is maintained by
either of these branches for any great distance. It is not exactly impos-
sible that other branches, choked at the time of our visit, may open out
at seasons into the main channel of equal value with the above, which
we were unable to discover. The creek receives three important acces-
sions from the east before the first deflection above indicated.

Nowhere along that portion of the creek explored by us did we find
a true bank or shore, the water on either side spilling off into the vast
expanse of forest-swamp, principally cypress, which here opens out from
the lake. The heaviest timber growth is along the eastern tributaries
and immediately about the mouth of the creek, where the parallel walls
of majestic cypresses, draped from top to bottom in their funereal hangings
of Spanish moss, and towering to a nearly uniform height of 125-150
feet, exhibit to surprising advantage the sylvan wonders of this primeval
solitude. It would be vain to attempt to depict by word the solemn
grandeur of these untrodden wilds, the dark recesses, almost untouched
by the light of day, that peer forbiddingly into a wealth of boundless
green — or to convey to the mind a true conception of the exuberance of
vegetable life that is here presented. At no time before our visit had I
been so thoroughly impressed with the wild grandeur of an untrodden
wilderness — nowhere where I so keenly appreciated the insignificance of
my own humble being in the sea of life by which I was surrounded.

I made several attempts to penetrate the maze of waters that consti-
tute the "floor" of the forest, and out of which the latter rises, but found
the tree-trunks and cypress knees almost everywhere too- numerous, ren-
dering it impossible to direct the skiff. The water was uniformly limpid,
and nowhere did it appear to be covered with a miasmatic scum of vege-
table organisms. Large fields of lettuce float freely on its surface, impelled
in given directions by the ever-changing currents that sweep through the
interior; where heavily packed these floating gardens are practically
impenetrable, and readily cany with them obstacles of a movable char-
acter, such as a boat, that might be caught in their path.

The predominating trees of these swamps are the cypress, bay, live-
oak, water-oak, and maple, which together impart the physiognomy to
the vegetation ; occasional palms appear here and there in the less
secluded parts of the forest, but evidently neither the watery bottom, nor
the exclusion of light which the dense overhanging canopy of interlaced
branches affords, is favorable to their development. Although the trees
rise to a very considerable height, but few of them attain to really great
dimensions. The majority of the larger cypresses do not exceed five or
six feet in diameter, and the vast bulk of the trees measure still less ;
an oak, the largest tree seen on the creek,- was estimated to measure
about eleven feet a few feet above the roots. A remarkable climbing

46 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

plant, much recalling in habit the cipo matador of the South American
forests, accompanies many of the larger trunks very nearly to their loftiest
crown, holding them in a tight embrace, but apparently without exercising
much compression, or causing any great discomfort to its host. There
are usually one or two coils on a trunk, from which ponderous cables,
measuring as much as eight or ten inches in diameter, and tapering
inferiorly, depend in straight, or very nearly straight, lines to the bottom.
I was unfortunately unable to identify any leaves as belonging to this
plant, which possibly ascends as a feeble climber from below, and attains
its great expansion in its upper course. The absolutely smooth trunk is
grayish-white, and of a still lighter shade than that of the water-oak.*

Animal life is very prolific in these wilds, and at almost all times the
forest resounds with the echoes of some of its more musical denizens —
the shrill cry of the limpkin or screamer, the hoarse croak of the great
blue heron, or the Castanet rattle of that amphibious multitude, the
frogs, whose orchestration appears never to be final. Towards even-
tide, when the hooting of the great owl bids the sun to hie, and calls forth
the slumbering voices of the night, the dryadic music attains its highest
pitch ; once more the castanet rattle, and finally all is quiet, save the
hoarse bellowing of the alligator, which breaks from far and near upon
the stillness of the midnight air.

The larger birds, such as the herons, snake-birds, and ibises are very
abundant, but the smaller forms were at the time of our visit conspicuous
by their absence. We found no trace of either the roseate spoon-bill or
the flamingo, although not impossibly both are found here at certain
seasons of the year ; the latter is said to breed along the southern borders
of the lake. The only time that we met with the spoon-bill was during
our traverse of the Okeechobee canal, in the Everglade region between
Sugar-berry and Coffee-mill hammocks. We observed several flocks, of
some ten to thirty individuals each, of parakeets on Taylor's Creek, and
obtained one specimen. These birds frequent the loftiest branches of the
forest, calling attention to their gambols by the garrulous tones which
they unremittingly send forth.

We met with no quadrupeds in the region, although the tracks of deer
and of a large cat, possibly the lynx, were fairly abundant on the sand beach
which marks the entrance to the Creek. On one occasion we also heard
the distant cry of what appeared to be the puma or Florida lion. Many
of the smaller quadrupeds, doubtless, are found here, and possibly even in
considerable numbers, but we had no occasion to come across their tracks.

* Prof. Gray has kindly directed my attention to the habits of Clusia, to which not
unlikely the plant above described belongs. It appears, however, to be very distinct from
Clusia flava, and may, therefore, represent a species not hitherto described as a member of
the American flora.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 47

The bass is sufficiently plentiful in the Creek, and probably constitutes a
considerable part of the food of. the alligator, which literally swarms
here. We were more than astonished at the vast numbers of these
creatures, which could be seen or heard at almost every point — here
lazily swimming on the surface, there reclining on an intermatted bank,
or again splashing unseen from a bed of lettuce and flag. We observed
at one time from the deck of our boat no less than nine of these animals
unconcernedly swimming in quest of prey, crossing and recrossing the
stream in the most methodical manner, suddenly disappearing on an
alarm of danger, but reappearing after a brief interval of complete
immersion. During my first ascent of the stream, which probably
consumed in the neighborhood of five hours, I must have seen or heard
in my immediate proximity between fifty and seventy-five alligators, and
not improbably many more. They appear especially plentiful at about
the middle of day, when the elevated temperature calls them from their
aqueous homes. They delight in the masses of floating vegetation that
hang matted together on the shore line, whence they can readily see
their prey without discovering their own presence. Their power of
perception is very acute, and in probably nine cases out of ten, as far
as our own experience was concerned, they observed intruders long
before they themselves were detected. In no instance did they manifest
a disposition to give battle, even when approached to within short
range of the boat ; on more than one occasion I was sufficiently near to
have struck them with a medium-sized pole, or even with the paddle, but
the reptiles seemed to entertain no disposition to attack, preferring the
easy victory bought by a general immersion. At the same time, they do
not always appear to shrink from man's presence, as frequently I observed
them heading directly for my boat, disappearing only when so close as to
cover me with their downward splash. They are exceedingly tenacious
of life, and will execute apparently conscious movements sometimes hours
after the head will have been battered in by both ball and axe, the method
of execution practiced here. In how far these movements are in the
nature of reflex action, excited by some extraneous stimuli, it is not
always easy to determine, but in many cases they are without doubt
strictly coordinated. On one occasion where I was compelled to use one
of our dingeys, containing a young alligator supposed to have been dead
for a number of hours, for the purpose of collecting a wounded anhinga,
I was surprised, on lifting the bird into the boat, to find the alligator
suddenly come to life, and make a dashing onslaught on its unfortunate
victim.

The Floridians frequently speak of two varieties of alligator, the
red-eyed, which is reported to be the more savage, and the common
black-eyed. We observed several individuals of the former, which is also

48 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

distinguished by a lighter-colored armor, but unfortunately none of the
specimens actually obtained by us seemed to show the distinguishing
character — or, in other words, all of them were of the common type.
Not improbably, as suggested by Dr. Leidy, the red-eye is an albinistic
variety. It must be observed, however, that the red-eyed variety in
swimming appears in its whole length on the surface of the water, whereas
the common form has usually only its nose and eyes, or the head and a
portion of the convex body exposed ; at least, this was our observation.
It is just possible, although not very probable, that we have two distinct
species of alligator represented in these southern wilds, and if the croco-
dile occasionally makes its appearance in Biscayne Bay, why may not
also the cayman, or another of its South American congeners? We
searched among our specimens for a crocodile, but without success.

The largest alligator killed by us measured about ten feet, but the
greater number were much below this figure. We observed, however,
several of considerably larger size, and one whose length was estimated
at between fourteen and fifteen feet. From several of the individuals we
took a number of the peculiar mouth-infesting leech which the species
harbors, and from the stomach of one a wholly undigested young bass,
measuring about three inches.

The only other reptiles observed in this region were a few individuals
of the goitered-lizard (Anolis), and a species of water-snake, apparently
new to science, which I picked up in a lettuce-bonnet in Eagle Bay, about
two miles west of the mouth of Taylor's Creek.

A few words relative to the ophidian fauna of the peninsula may
perhaps not be amiss in this place. It is the common belief that snakes
are very abundant in the State, and that traveling in the forest or bush
region is made dangerous through their presence. In how far this may
be true I am unable to say, but our experience seems to indicate that the
abundance of these reptiles, of both the venomous and non-venomous
species, is not nearly as great as is currently reported. It is true that
our explorations were mainly confined to a border-tract country, and
largely to a region of swamp and water, but yet we saw sufficient of the
mainland to permit us to form a general notion as to the occurrence of
these animals. The total number of snakes seen by us during our entire
explorations was about eight, of which at least two were the common
black snake (Bascanion constrictor}, one the water-snake above men-
tioned, and the remainder in greater part moccasins. Mr. Willcox, who
remained along the west coast several weeks after the completion of our
general explorations, observed three or four additional individuals along
the Homosassa, two of which (moccasins) were secured. We found no
trace of the much-dreaded rattlesnake, although the sad experience of a
member of a hunting party of the year previous only too truly proves its

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

49

presence here. The arid sand tracts covered with a dense growth of
saw palmetto are the reputed favorite haunts of this animal, and it is
here, probably, that the greatest precaution need be had in traveling.
Our first moccasin, the one killed on Perico Island, Big Sarasota Bay, was
found on a tract of this kind, coiled on the stalk of one of the palmetto
leaves. As has already been said, it manifested no disposition to attack,
even after being struck with a rake, and it is the common observation
here that, unlike the rattlesnake, this equally venomous serpent rarely
provokes an encounter, preferring to remain quiet except under immedi-
ate provocation, or when impelled in the direction of a food-supply.
While gathering fossils in one^>f the banks of the Caloosahatchie I was
for some time in unconscious proximity to one of these animals, whose
head, as I am informed by Mr. Willcox, who accompanied me, was less
than two feet of my own. Despite our close range, the reptile made no
attempt either to escape or to attack, remaining motionless on the over-
hanging branch from which it was suspended. All things considered, the
danger to travelers in Florida from snake bites is inconsiderable, and
probably not much more than in many of the proverbially snake-ridden
districts of some of our northern States, Pennsylvania or New York, for
example. We certainly met with no trace of that swarm of venomous
serpents which Bartram reported issuing from almost every stump, nor
is it likely that the somewhat unfavorable period of the year during which
our journey was undertaken, the hibernating period, will account for the
diversity of our success in snake hunting or snake seeing.

Our anchorage in the mouth of Taylor's Creek was almost the only
locality where we were seriously annoyed by mosquito pests, although
one of our nights in the Caloosahatchie palm forest was passed to the
tunes of the little piper. We were, however, in advance of the mosquito
season, May — August, when the air is represented to be thick with this
social insect. The general dearth of insect life was astonishing, and far
from realizing that we were traveling towards the region of its greatest
development, it appeared just the reverse. Only on the water surface, or
in the lettuce-bonnets, if we except the mosquitos, was there a semblance
to anything like profusion. The spiders were here especially plentiful,
representing a number of distinct types (Lycosids, Phalangids, etc.),
some of them of remarkable beauty. But the nectar-loving insects of the
north, the Lepidoptcra and Hymenoptera, were practically entirely wanting,
a necessary consequence of the almost total absence of flowering plants.
This remarkable paucity in the insect life of the region must doubtless
be attributed in great part to the early season, and possibly also in a
measure to the effects of the recent cold wave of the north.

We found numerous small mollusks, one or more species of Planorbis
(P. Icntus), Limnea (L. coliundla), Physa (P. gyriiia), and Spha:rium (S.
4

50 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

stamiiicuni), attached to the under surfaces of the lettuce bonnets, or to
their roots, which also supported numbers of diminutive leeches, and
two or more forms of crustaceans, one of them a species of Pandalus.
The shells were in nearly all cases very thin, and translucent.

FAUNA OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE. — All our observations tend to belief
that the fauna of the lake is a very deficient one, and that it is distinctly
uniform for the greater part of its extent. We dragged at intervals
all along our traverse, with the result of bringing to the surface scarcely
more than a half dozen species of animals. Indeed, if we Jeave out
of account the immediate border line of the lake, the entire catch
consisted almost exclusively of two species or varieties of Paludina
(P. Georgiana, P. liiicata), and two or three species of Unio (U. Bucklcyi,
U. amygdalwn). These mollusks, together with a minute Bythinella-like
gasteropod of uncertain relationship, were exceedingly abundant in the
lake just off the mouth of the canal, and the dredge came up laden
with their shells. Only a comparative few of the shells were without
the animals, and in such cases they were largely water-worn, and decal-
cified. A large proportion of the living Unios had their umbones eroded.
Out toward Observation Island the mollusks became much less numerous,
but on the north of the lake, between the mouth of the Kissimmee River
and Taylor's Creek, they again became plentiful, especially along the
beach line of the latter water, where the shells, in company with those of
Venus cancellata, already mentioned, were thrown up in considerable
abundance. They were also fairly plentiful in the vegetable muck of
Eagle Bay. The remaining species of Mollusca observed in the lake
were the forms to which reference has already been made as occurring
on the shore of Observation Island, and on the leaves and roots of the
lettuce-bonnets of both Taylor's Creek and Eagle Bay. They are
Liiiinca cohtmella, Planorbis Icntus, Pliysa gyrina, and Splucrinin staini/ici/ni.
Off Observation Island I scooped up a rock made up essentially of minute
Bythinellae (?), but whether this was of an absolutely recent formation,-
or a fragment derived from some hidden fossiliferous deposit, I was
unable to determine with positiveness.* The species of shell contained
in the rock was identical with that dredged up in association with the
Unios and Paludinas.

A large proportion of the hauls brought up considerable numbers of
a fresh-water shrimp of the genus Pandalus, identical with the species

* The affinities of the little gasteropod are doubtful. The surface of the shell is
distinctly costulated, and to this extent different from that of any species of the genus with
which I am acquainted. Ober mentions a minutely fossiliferous rock occurring toward the
southern border of the lake, which is not unlikely structurally identical with the fragment
above mentioned.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 51

found in Lake Hikpochce and the connecting canal, which in its general
characters approaches very closely some of the more northerly marine
species. In Eagle Bay I collected a solitary young cray-fish, the only
specimen of this group of the decapod Crustacea observed during our
entire trip. The red larva of a species of annelid, measuring about three-
quarters of an inch in length, is sufficiently abundant in the bed of the
lake, but we were unable to discover the adult which it represents. The
same species was also abundant in Lake Hikpochee, while a slightly
differing, emerald-green, form was found in the canal connecting the
two lakes.

Of the vertebrate life of the lake we found but few traces. The only
species of fish obtained by us were the black-bass and cat-fish, both of
them of good size. A specimen of the latter, obtained some distance
out from the mouth of the Kissimmee River, measured about twenty
inches in length. It appears to be specifically distinct from any of the
described forms, and I have accordingly proposed for it the name of
Okeechobee cat (Ictalurus Okeechobeensis), We found the bass very
plentiful just at the entrance to Eagle Bay, where the fish were readily
caught by means of the trolling line. This method of fishing was also
tried for a long time on the open expanse of the lake, but without
success. We observed here at intervals a larger fish jump from the
water, but the impossibility of a near approach prevented us from ascer-
taining the species ; not improbably it was a sturgeon.

We found the alligator nowhere about the lake, except on its imme-
diate border line — as in the lagoons opposite Observation Island, or in
Eagle Bay. This condition was also observed in the case of Lake Hikpo-
chee. Whether these animals perform long journeys by water, or not, I
am unable to say, but as far as our own observations go, it would appear
that they do not. I noticed two individuals off the mouth of Taylor's
Creek swimming leisurely in the lake at a distance of perhaps two or

three hundred feet from the actual border.

•

*** The remarkable parasite described on page 46, and doubtfully
referred to Clusia, is, I am informed by Mr. A. H. Curtiss, of Jacksonville,
Fla., a species of fig (Fiats anrca). It is said to at first feed on other
trees, "but finally, by sending down multitudes of intergrafting roots, it
completely enwraps and smothers the supporting tree and forms a hollow
trunk of its own."

52 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FKI.K

RESUME OP GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, AND THE
GEOLOGY OF THE STATE.

Prior to our visit the only portion of the State that had been exam-
ined geologically, or on which a geological report had been prepared,
was the region lying north of a line running almost due northeast from
the Manatee River, just south of Tampa Bay, to the east coast. Below
this all was conjectural, although the existence of certain limestones of
undetermined age was hinted at, or even located, by a number of casual
observers (Tuomey, Conrad) who chanced to navigate some of the outer
waters. Such a limestone was reported by Tuomey to be found in
Charlotte Harbor, but the exact locality of its occurrence is not noted.

The first critical observations on the geology of the State were made
by Conrad, who in 1846 described a limited number of fossils from a
limestone found in the neighborhood of Tampa, which he correctly
assigned to the Tertiary period. This is the earliest positive reference
we possess of a definite formation occurring in the State. From the
presence of a supposed nummulite in the limestone in question, Ntnnmit-
lites Floridanus, now shown to be in reality an orbitolite, Conrad corre-
lated the deposit with the Vicksburg formation of Alabama and Missis-
sippi, from which also a supposed nummulite, Ni<ininulitcs (Orbitoidcs)
Mantelli, had been described, and which had until then passed under the
name of the American nummulitic formation. Although the determina-
tions of both of the foraminiferal species have been proved to be
erroneous, the correlation of the respective beds containing the fossils
remains approximately correct, even it not absolutely so.

It is remarkable that in spite of the positive assurance given by Con-
rad of the existence of this Tampa limestone so little account should
have been made of it in the subsequent theories regarding the formation
of the Floridian peninsula, and that the seductive coral theory of growth
advanced by Louis Agassiz, and so beautifully formulated by Professor
Joseph Le Conte, should have been allowed the weight which it carried
for a quarter of a century. Singularly enough, not even Conrad appears
to have protested against the theory which had for its ground-work only
an examination of the belt of coral reef and the coral keys which border
the State on the south and southeast.

The only serious contribution to the geology of Florida made

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 53

between the date of the publication of Conrad's paper and 1 880 is the
report of personal observations made in the northern half of the State by
Dr. Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist of Alabama, published in the
American Journal of Science for 1881. This assiduous investigator
collected largely in the way of rocks and fossils, and at localities
sufficiently removed from one another as to permit of a broad insight
into the geology of the region. From his observations it appeared that
at least a considerable part of the northern half of the State, instead of
representing a recent formation, as was supposed by many, was in reality
underlaid by heavy beds of fairly ancient limestone, which in the
characters of their organic remains recalled the upper white lime-
stone of Alabama. The fossils, which were kindly placed in my hands
for determination, proved the correctness of the inference as to their age.
I identified among them two or more species of Foraminifera, one a
large orbitoide, of very nearly the dimensions of the Orbitoides Mantclli,
representing it, and undeniably the analogue of the European Orbitoides
cpldppinin, and an Operculina, very nearly related to, if not identical
with, the 0. cotuplanata. Some of the rock specimens submitted to me
were made up of practically nothing but the tests of the aforesaid orbi-
toide, and of a smaller species more of the type of 0. Forlisii (disfansa).
From the examination of these specimens I had no hesitation in referring
the rocks holding them to the Oligocene formation. The localities noted
by Dr. Smith for the occurrence of this formation are located in the tract
included between Jackson Co. on the west, and Marion Co. on the south,
and it was correctly conjectured that over much, or most, of the intermediate
region where no observations had as yet been made, or where there were
no outcrops, the same rock would be found as the underlying structure.
From one locality, Rock Spring, Orange Co., Dr. Smith obtained rock
specimens which differed very essentially in both litljological and faunal
features from the specimens obtained at the other localities, indicating
the existence of a distinct formation. Among the fossils I identified a
number clearly indicative of the Miocene age of the formations — such as
Pcctcn MeuUsomus, Cardita arata, C. granulata, Venus alvcata, etc., fixing
the most southerly extension of the Medial Tertiary formations of the
Atlantic slope. This patch of Miocene is not improbably continuous
with the Miocene area of southern Georgia.

The reference of the greater part of the northern half of the State to
the Oligocene formation has been more than justified in the light of
subsequent investigation, which has disclosed the existence of the older
Tertiary rock in many new localities — on the Wacasassa, at Archer,
Arredonda, on the Homosassa, Cheeshowiska, etc. From the Cheesho-
wiska, some four miles from its mouth, Mr. Joseph Willcox, in 1882,
obtained large masses of rock, densely charged with foraminiferal remains,

54 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

among which I recognized great numbers of the Orbitoides occurring
in the rock-fragments submitted to me by Dr. Smith, and what was
of far greater moment, vast quantities of a true nummulite (named
Nummulitcs Willcoxi), the first that had hitherto been discovered on the
American continent. The nummulitic masses were embedded in, or
bordered by, a fringe of a much newer fresh-water limestone, containing
the remains of several recent species of non-marine mollusks — Vwipara
Waltonii, Glandina parallcla, Ampiillaria dcprcssa — indicating that there
had been a working over of the older formation, and that the specimens
obtained were not found /;/ situ. Nevertheless, there could no longer be
any doubt as to the existence of a true nummulitic formation in the
United States, and the age which it represented in the peninsula of
Florida. Other specimens obtained by Mr. Willcox at Wacasassa, in
Levy Co., contained the remains of two species of sea-urchin, Euspatangus,
Clevei and £. Antillarinn, identical with forms occurring in the equivalent
(Oligocene) deposits of the island of St. Bartholomew.

Since the discovery of these nummulitic rocks on the Cheeshowiska
River Mr. Willcox has obtained further specimens of the same foraminifer
at a locality removed some fifteen miles northeast of the original locality,
and in situ ; and I have identified the species in rock fragments sent to
me for determination by Prof. A. G. Wetherby, from a well-boring
situated five miles S. W. of Gainesville. A second species of the genus
(Nummulitcs Florid ens is) has also been described by me from Hernando
Co., associated in a rock mass with various other species of Foraminifera,
of the genera Heterostegina, Biloculina, Triloculina, etc.

Concerning the (marine) Tertiary deposits newer than the Oligocene,
the only positive indication that we had of their existence in the State
prior to 1886, beyond the patch of Miocene above referred to as occur-
ring at Rock Spring, was furnished by Dall (Science, VI, p. 82), who, in
July, 1885, reported the discovery of RcpJiora quadricostata, a charac-
teristic Miocene fossil of the Atlantic border of the United States, in the
rock of Tampa Point. Mr. L. C. Johnson about this time also indicated
the occurrence of what appeared to be newer Tertiaiy deposits in the
northwest of the peninsula, a conclusion at which I had likewise arrived
from an examination of a limited collection of fossils obtained from
Ballast Point, on Hillsboro Bay, a few miles south of Tampa.*

During the spring of 1884 the late Prof. W. C. Kerr, of the North
Carolina Geological Survey, made a cursory examination of the region
about Tampa, the results of which are embodied in a brief paper published

* Mr. Johnson (Science, May, 1885) does not give the paleontological evidence on
which the rock of Hawthorne and Waldo is referred to the Miocene (or later) period ;
and I fail to see the full force of the argument which places it newer than the Oligocene,
although this may be so.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 55

in the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society for the years
1884-85 (Raleigh, N. C), pp. 86-90. In this paper the author describes
the limestones of Tampa Bay, and sundry outcrops of rock on Six Mile
Creek, Alefia River (Bloomingdale), Manatee River (Rocky Bluff), and
Peace Creek (Fort Meade), which are all referred to the Upper Eocene
period. The general conclusions are thus stated : " The limestone rock
underlying the region of country about Tampa belongs to the upper
Eocene, as already pointed out by Conrad and Tuomey. And as a
gentleman of intelligence who visited Fort Myers, informed the writer
that the rock at that place was both in appearance and in fossils, similar
to that about Tampa, the Eocene limestone rock almost certainly extends
at least as far south as that point." It will thus be seen that the conclu-
sions reached by this observer are absolutely at variance with the facts
which our investigations have brought out; and it is not a little surpris-
ing that Prof. Kerr should have failed to recognize the post-Eocene age
of the Rocky Bluff limestone, when the Miocene character of the fossils
occurring at that locality is so clearly marked.

One of the most interesting contributions to the history of the extinct
fauna of the State that had been made up to this time was the discovery
by Dr. J. C. Neal, near Archer, Alachua Co., of an extensive series of
mammalian remains, referable probably to several distinct geological
periods, from among which Dr. Leidy has identified the parts belonging
to one or more species of mastodon, rhinoceros, tapir, horse (Hippothe-
rinin ingcnuuiii}, llama, camel, and hog. One of the forms of mastodon
appears to be distinct from any of the other species inhabiting the United
States, and has been named Mastodon Floridauus. The hog is considered
to represent the type of a distinct genus, Ensyodon, considerably removed
from the peccary-forms, Dicotyles, Platygonus, which hitherto alone
represented the Suidae in the Tertiary and Post-Tertiary deposits of the
North American continent.

The above sketch represents in brief the condition of our geological
knowledge of the State up to 1886. It recognizes the existence of Ter-
tiary (Oligocene and Miocene) deposits in the upper half of the State, or
north of a line connecting Tampa Bay on the west with Sanford, on the
Atlantic slope, on the east, but leaves, as has already been intimated,
everything conjectural south of that line. From the broad extent of the
Oligocene rocks in the north Dr. Smith was led to infer that in all proba-
bility the greater part of the peninsula, at least as far as the Caloosa-
hatchie and Lake Okeechobee, was underlaid by the same formation, the
hypothetical extension of which is indicated on the map accompanying
his report in the American Journal of Science above mentioned. The
conclusion reached here was a natural one, and is that which guided me
in the delineation of the geological boundaries on the general map of

56 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

i

the Tertiary deposits accompanying my " Contributions to the Tertiary
Geology and Paleontology of the United States" (1884). Our recent
explorations, however, prove the utter erroneousness of the view here
entertained, and indicate not only that the Oligocene formation is in great
part, if not wholly, absent from the southern half of the peninsula, where
it is replaced by the Miocene and Pliocene, but that even in the north its
proper limits, as far as the determination of an absolute horizon is
concerned, have probably not been satisfactorily ascertained. Thus, the
foraminiferal rock of Tampa, containing the supposed nummulite, N.
(Orbitolites) Floridanns, and through which it had been correlated with
the Vicksburg formation, is very different from the true orbitoitic or
nummulitic rock which is distinctively characteristic of the Oligocene
districts of the further north and the interior. Indeed, it contains nothing
in common with this rock, but very much that is distinctive of itself, and
the underlying siliceous rock that forms the floor of Hillsboro River.
It may, nevertheless, be Oligocene, but in that case it in all probability
represents a higher horizon than the same formation further to the north.
The reasons for considering the formation as of Miocene age, and as the
partial equivalent of the medial Tertiary deposits of Santo Domingo, are
fully set forth in pages 121-22 of this report.

A few words only need here be said with reference to the theory, advo-
cated by Louis Agassiz and Prof. Joseph Le Conte, which held that the
peninsula of Florida was of comparatively recent formation, and that it
represented in greater part merely an accumulation of successive or con-
secutive coral reefs. Our observations, which had already been preceded
in the northern part of the peninsula by the researches of Eugene A.
Smith, clearly demonstrate the erroneousness of the views hypothetically
set forth, and establish beyond a question of doubt that the progressive
growth of the peninsula, as far, at least, as Lake Okecchokee, and probably
considerably further, was the result of successive accessions of organic
and inorganic material, brought into place through the normal methods
of sedimentation and upheaval. A full exposition of Prof. Agassiz's
views is embodied in his " Report on the Florida Reefs," published in the
Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology for 1880, some twenty-
nine years after its preparation. In this paper the author strenuously
denies all evidences of upheaval over the greater part of the peninsula,
and ascribes the varying elevations, at least of the more southerly por-
tions, to upthrows or accumulations of material as depending upon the
agency of gales and high-water. Prof. Le Conte, while still adhering to
the fundamental ideas expressed in his original paper, published in the
American Journal of Science for 1857, in a more recent paper (Science,
Dec. 14, 1883) disclaims the agency of coral growths in the formation of
the peninsula north of the Everglades.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

57

ROCKS OF HOMOSASSA RIVER. — A good section of the rock of the
region is exposed at Wheeler's, on the left bank of the stream, about
one mile above its mouth. It is a tough limestone, rising at different
stages of the water probably two or three feet above its surface — at the
time of our visit about one and a-half or two feet — and exhibiting numer-
ous holes, fissures and sinks that have been irregularly worn into it by
the water. The surface appears to be practically horizontal, exhibiting
no measurable dip. The rock is densely charged with foraminiferal
remains, all, as far as I have been able to determine, referable to the
Miliolidae, or to the group of the imperforate Foraminifera, as distinguished
from the Foraminifera Perforata, which, in the rock-masses further to the
south, usurp their place. I propose to designate this formation, repre-
senting one of the four distinct types of foraminiferal rock found in the
State, the " Miliolite Limestone " — a member, doubtless, of the Upper
Eocene or Oligocene series, more likely the latter. Unfortunately, the
absence of distinctive molluscan remains in the rock rendered the
determination of its absolute age a little uncertain, but its close proximity
to the unequivocal members of the Oligocene rocks of the Cheeshowiska
River, a few miles to the south, leaves little room for doubt as to their
near equivalence.

The genera of Foraminifera recognized as occurring in the Miliolite
Limestone are :

Biloculina, Quinqueloculina,

Triloculina, Sphieroidina.

Another, and less compact, limestone, not unlikely belonging to the
same series as the last, is found in the immediate neighborhood of
Wheeler's. I examined large blocks of the rock that had been taken
from a well-digging, but the numerous fossil impressions contained
therein, mainly of bivalves, were so obscure or ill-defined as to permit
of no satisfactory results being arrived at from their partial determination.

ROCKS OF THE CHEESHOWISKA RIVER. — These are exposed nearest to
the sea on John's Island, at the entrance to the river, where a
yellowish, spongy limestone, containing numerous molluscan remains
and a few tests of the foraminiferal genus Orbitoides, appears on the
ocean front at low-water. The main-rock, which is of Oligocene age, is
bordered by, or incased in, a rock (limestone) of newer formation (Post-
Pliocene), in which the remains of marine organisms are freely intermingled
with those of a fresh-water type, such as Vivipara, Ampullaria, etc.,
represented by species living at the present day. The re-formation of the
old limestone is thus made evident, but there can be no question, seeing

00 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

the character and structure of the country generally, that the unaltered
or mother rock is the rock of the region — i. c., that the Orbitoitic sees
its true development here.

The same admixture of rocks is again observed at an outcrop on the
right bank of the river, about one mile further up the stream. About
three miles above this second point, in a clearing known as Loenecker's, is
the famous nummulite locality where Mr. Willcox obtained the original
nummulites described by me in 1882. The rock lies here in loose
masses in a partially ploughed field, about four to six feet above the
surface of the water. No indication of a true outcrop could anywhere be
detected, but I am satisfied that the parent rock either immediately
underlies the locality, or is found in its immediate vicinity. The very
insignificant elevation of the entire region above water-level, its uniform
horizontality, and the dense capping of vegetable matter beneath which
it lies buried, necessarily reduce to a mininum the chances of finding an
outcrop, and explain why to so many of its inhabitants this portion of
the State is supposed to be wholly destitute of solid rock. Even along
the river-courses, where we should most naturally expect to meet with an
exposure, the vegetable growth is so dense and impenetrable as to prac-
tically completely hide the fundament, and were it not for an occasional
or accidental clearing, such as Loenecker's, one might be left in absolute
ignorance of its very existence.

The rock occurring at Loenecker's is of two kinds — one, in which
almost the entire mass is made up of the tests of orbitoides, and the
other in which the nummulites predominate to about the same extent.
But several of the larger fragments indicate the most unmistakable inter-
association of the individuals of both these genera of Foraminifera, and
leave no doubt as to the equivalence in age of the two classes of deposit.
The Orbitoides found here represents two or more species, one of the
type of the well-known Biarritz fossil, 0. cphippiiun (0. sclhi), whose
peculiarly infolded tests are very abundant, and another more nearly
recalling O. dispansa. I am not sure that I recognized any undoubted
0. Mantclli, the form of the Mississippi and Alabama " Vicksburg "
beds, but not impossibly some of the smaller tests referred to the 0.
dispansa type may represent arrested forms of this species. Both species
of nummulites occur here, i. e., Niniunulitcs \Villcoxi and A". Floridcnsis,
the former very largely predominating.

With reference to the physical history of these deposits, I can per-
haps not do better than quote my own words published at the time of
their discovery (Contributions to the Tertiary Geology and Paleontology
of the United States, p. 81, 1884): "As to the age of the formation repre-
sented by these nummulitic deposits, there might appear to be at first
sight no question of doubt. The presence alone of nummulites in any

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

59

formation is almost positive indication as to the Eocene or Oligocene age
of that formation, and the more especially when the remains of these
organisms occur in any abundance. Admitting the supposition of this
age, we should naturally look to the associated fossils for further confirm-
atory evidence bearing on this point. Singularly enough, in the case of
the Florida nummulitic rocks — at least in the fragments that have been
placed at my disposal — with very few exceptions all the molluscan
remains belong to a period much more recent than the Eocene, and to
species that are still living at the present day. And what may appear still
more singular, they are referable in principal part to land and fresh-water
genera, Glandina, Paludina, Ampullaria.* From this association and the
circumstance that nummulites are still met with in existing seas.it might
readily be inferred that there has been here a commingling of contempo-
raneous marine and fresh-water organisms, and that the deposits in question
were laid down under such conditions— proximity to the mouth of a river
— where a commingling of this kind could take place. Indeed, it would
be difficult from paleontological evidence alone to disprove such an
assumption, were it not that almost incontrovertible proof to the con-
trary, in addition to that furnished by the abundance of nummulites, is
afforded in the presence of the remains of Orbitoides, a genus which
attained its greatest development in the Upper Eocene (" Nummulitic ")
and Oligocene periods, and which does not appear to have survived the
Miocene. There can, therefore, be little or no doubt that the rock
fragments marked by this admixture of an older and a newer
(Post-Pliocene or recent) fauna, and comprising both marine and
fresh-water types of organisms, have derived their faunal character in
great part from the dep*osits of a more ancient formation, which formation
represents, and is the equivalent of, a portion of the European " Nummu-
litic " (whether Eocene or Oligocene). The exact locality (or localities)
which these Florida nummulitic deposits occupy in situ has not yet been
ascertained, but it is fair to assume that the beds lie along the Gulf
border (possibly in great part submerged), where, through the disinte-
grating action of the oceanic surf, their fragments have at a comparatively
recent period been washed together with the material that at the same
time was being carried out by the fresh-water streams. The precise
position which the formation holds in the nummulitic scale, as fixed by
Hantken or La Harpe (Iitiidfn snr Ics Nummulites du Couitc dc Nice, Bull,
de la Soc. Vaud. des Sc. Nat., vol. xvi, pp. 223-24, 1879), cannot be posi-
tively determined from our present data, since exceptionally the group of
the Nnininnliti's plicatee is represented as well in the oldest as in the newest
of the Tertiary deposits marked by the members of this class of organisms."

* The species identified with recent forms are Clandina parallela, Paltidina {Vivipara)
W'altonii, and Ampul/aria deprcssa.

60 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

The above remarks remain applicable to the facts of the present day,
and require little or no modification except in so far as more recently
obtained data permit us to emphasize with greater positiveness certain
points that had hitherto remained in a measure conjectural. Thus, the
very extensive inter-association of the nuinmulitcs with Orbitoidcs cphip-
f it/in leaves practically no doubt that the formation in question is not
Upper Eocene, but Oligocene ; and secondly, the finding of nummulites
in situ at a locality some fifteen miles northeast of the original locality,
and, again, five miles southwest of Gainesville, enables us to locate within
definite limits the partial boundaries of the formation.

We were informed that an outcrop of the rock occurs in a morass
about a half-mile or more inland from Loenecker's, but the lateness of the
hour at the time of our visit, and the difficulty of reaching an unknown
spot practically inaccessible in the heart of the wilderness, prevented us
from making a search in that direction. About a mile and a-half above
Loenecker's a mass of rock juts out from the bottom of the river-channel
to within a few inches of the water's surface, in one or two spots rising
slightly above it. Much to our surprise we found it to be almost entirely
destitute of fossil remains, showing not a trace of either of the genera of
Foraminifera so abundant in the rock below. Its stratigraphical relations
could not be definitely ascertained, but without much question it is a
member of the nummulitic series of deposits, and may be a near equiva-
lent of a similar looking rock that appears on the beach at Clearwater,
immediately north of the wharf. The fossil impressions are very
obscure, and such as we observed can only doubtfully be referred to
Cytherea and Modiola.

•

ROCKS OF THE PITH LAC HASCOOTIE. — I was unable to make a personal
exploration of the rocks of this region, and am, therefore, compelled to
confine my remarks to an examination of rock specimens brought to me
by Mr. Willcox, and to this gentleman's references bearing on their
occurrence. The rock is a tough, partially siliceous, white limestone, in
places densely charged with fossils. These are mainly in the form of
casts of minute gasteropods, probably one or more species of Cerithium,
among which I failed to find any species that we had observed elsewhere;
the question of age is thus left undetermined, although a strong proba-
bility argues in favor of the Oligocene. According to Mr. Willcox the
shores of the Pithlachascootie are in places rocky for a distance of two
or three miles from the mouth, the bluffs rising 6-8 feet above the water,
consequently higher than in the case of most of the western streams.
Where the bank rises higher than three or four feet, it slopes back and
is covered with soil. Thq fossiliferous beds were found to extend to a
height of about three feet above the surface of the water, appearing in

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

61

both banks. Mr. Willcox also obtained fragments of a silicco-calcarcous
rock, containing numerous casts and impressions of one or more forms
of sea-urchin, from a small island situated about three miles' southeast
of the mouth of the Homosassa River. One of the species (the most
abundant form) is, I believe, without question the Pygorliynchus Gonldii
of Bouve (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist, Dec., 1846; Ibid., Jan., 1851.
— Nudcolitcs Mortoni of Conrad, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., II,
p. 40), from the older Tcrtiaries (Oligoccne?) of Georgia. The same
species was subsequently identified by McCrady in the limestone of
Alligator (Columbia Co. ?), Florida, and by him referred to a new genus
Ravcnclia (Proc. Elliott Soc. Nat. Hist., Charleston, March, 1858).

ROCKS OF THE TAMPA BAY AND HILLSBORO REGIONS. — Two distinct
kinds of rock appear at Ballast Point, on Hillsboro Fay, at about water
line, rising in most places not over two feet above it, still oftener less,
and at Newman's perhaps three or four feet. The one rock, a highly
fossiliferous yellow limestone, is manifestly in place, and forms the bed
of the beach, shelving at a moderate angle beneath the waters of the
bay. It contains numerous impressions of the Venus penita described
by Conrad in 1846, and large numbers of the singular foraminifer referred
by this paleontologist to Nummulites (Ar. \_Nemophora\ Floridamts). It is
very remarkable, in view of the abundance and perfection in which the
fossil occurs at this locality, that an imperfect or abnormal specimen,
misleading in the details of its structure, should have served as a type
for a description and illustration of the species.

The rock containing this supposed nummulite has generally been
referred to the Vicksburg group, but as far as paleontological evidence
goes, I see no valid reason for considering it to belong to this age.
None of the distinctive Oligocene fossils of the formation occur in the
rock, nor did we find in it any traces of the foraminifcral types so char-
acteristic of the Oligocene region of the northern part of the peninsula.
On the contrary, all the fossil forms occurring here appear to be distinct,
except in so far as they are represented in the second kind of rock above
referred to, and in the rock corresponding to it which forms the bed of
Hillsboro River. If Oligocene, the rock in all probability represents a
horizon higher than the Vicksburg beds and the Florida " Nummulitic "
(or Orbitoitic), but the evidence is all but conclusive for considering it
Miocene, and as the near equivalent of some of the beds of the island of
Santo Domingo. I failed to detect in the rock any traces of distinctively
Miocene fossils; but the association near by of an indisputable Miocene
deposit leaves little room for doubt as to the absolute relationship.

The second form of rock found at Ballast Point is of much firmer
consistency than the limestone, and appears in large, rounded or angular

62 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

bluish masses scattered over the latter, seemingly representing a newer
formation. It contains numerous fossil impressions, partially silicified, a
number of them, as the Venus pcnita above mentioned, identical with forms
found in the limestone, but the greater number distinct. Among these
the remains of one or more species of Cerithium are especially abundant,
and might be said to determine the faunal character of the rock. We
found no traces of the orbitolite. At 110 place could I detect a solid
outcrop of the rock, and, therefore, from the observations made at this
point alone it would be impossible to determine the stratigraphical
relations of the two series of deposits occurring here. But along the
Hillsboro River and on a small tributary, known as Magbey's Spring,
which enters a short distance above the town of Tampa, the relationship
is very clearly shown. The hard siliceous blue rock, charged with the
remains of Cerithium, etc., appears at scattered intervals all along the
river bank, now on one shore then on the other, and manifestly forming
the bed of the channel. Just below the shipyard the nearly horizontal
strata lie in beds of from one to two feet thickness. I was unable to
determine any true dip. The orbitolite limestone is exposed a short
piece above this point on Magbey's Spring, about three or four hundred
feet from the borders of the Hillsboro, in a heavy mass some seven to ten
feet in thickness. Although the irregularity of the outcrop and its small
extent prevented me from locating its absolute position, there can be
no question, seeing its proximity to, and elevation above the river, that
it overlies the blue rock of the channel. This must then also be the*
relation existing between the two kinds of deposits exhibited at Ballast
Point, which are manifestly the equivalents of the Hillsboro series. The
big irregular masses or boulders which here extend into the bay, or
lie scattered over the limestone, are evidently exposed as the result of
outwash, and appear to have been scattered to their present positions
through the action of a heavy sea.

The relations of the coralliferous deposit exposed at Newman's landing,
as well as of the two other classes of rock just described, are fully set
forth on pp. 120-123, and require little further consideration. An enum-
eration of the species of fossils occurring here is given on pp. 1 19-120,
and 124. The fossils are nearly all completely silicified, and exhibit to the
minutest detail the ornamentation characteristic of the different species.
The coral geodes, some of them measuring as much as eight or ten
inches across, are especially beautiful, and exhibit to good advantage the
mammillated character of the substituting blue and blood chalcedony.
There is little doubt in my mind that the formation is due to an infil-
tration of silica in a heated condition, but in what precise manner the
peculiar method of hollowing was brought about I am unable even to
guess at. Many of the species so closely resemble recent forms that it

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 63

is at first sight difficult to distinguish between them, but close com-
parison in almost all instances reveals some constant characters by means
of which the two series can be separated. The number of clearly-
marked extinct species is, however, very great, and sufficient to fix
approximately, in default of direct stratigraphical evidence, the position
in the geological scale which the deposits occupy. This is, without
doubt, in the Miocene series, but just along what horizon it is difficult,
or even impossible, to determine.

ROCKS OF THE MANATEE RIVER. — The deposits exposed on the right
bank of the Manatee River at Rocky Bluff, a few miles above Braiden-
town, have been referred to in the narrative (p. 13) as consisting of a basal
marly limestone, and yellowish sandstone, and an overlying siliceous
conglomerate, almost totally devoid of fossil remains. The white marl,
on the other hand, is distinctly a shell rock, in which casts of fossils,
mainly bivalves, and their impressions, are exceedingly numerous. Among
these I recognized several forms distinctive of the Miocene formation of
the north, such as Pcctcn Madisonhis, P. Jcffcrsonius, Pcrna maxilla/a,
Venus ah'cata, Area idonca (?), etc., which left no doubt in my mind as to
the age of the deposit containing them. Fossils were much less abundant
in the accompanying yellow sandrock, but the species represented were
practically identical with those of the marl. The latter disappeared after
a comparatively short distance, but the sandrock continued in irregular
honeycombed ledges to the furthest point reached by us on the river.
The total elevation of the exposure is not more than three or four feet
above the river's surface.

The discovery of a Miocene formation in this portion of the State was
not a little of a surprise, as it completely invalidated all the conjectural
ideas that had been framed relative to the geological structure of the
peninsula. It confirmed my impression as to the intermediate or equiva-
lent age of the beds occurring near Tampa, and clearly indicated what
would in all probability prove to be the true succession of the beds
further to the south. In other words, it was made manifest that this
portion of the State was neither that recent creation which the upholders
of the coral theory of growth had claimed for it, nor of that antiquity
which was assumed for it in virtue of the hypothetical extension of the
Oligocene beds. On the contrary, the evidence was conclusive that the
same physical forces which effected the formation of the newer Tertiary
series of the eastern border of the United States were similarly opera-
tive on the Gulf coast, and that the peninsula of Florida participated
in the same general movements that were known to have affected the
United States between Georgia and New Jersey during approximately
equivalent periods of time. In how far these movements were of both

64 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

elevation and subsidence still remains to be determined, but the facts
point strongly to the conclusion that the growth of the peninsula south-
ward was a nearly continuous one, without much interrupted sedimenta-
tion, or any great break in the chain of organic evolution to mark the
successive accessions of territory which the peninsula received during
its development.

ROCKS OF SARASOTA BAY. — The marine deposits bordering the sea on
Big Sarasofa Bay are mainly in the form of indurated sands, or where
there has been a sufficient infiltration of iron, of partially compact sand-
stones. Fossil remains are almost wholly wanting, being limited, as far
as our own observations went, almost exclusively to the casts of one or
more species of single coral of undetermined relationships. These we
found in a semi-compact yellow rock, of about three or four feet thickness,
at a locality known as Whittaker's. The rock has the appearance of being
a comparatively recent formation, and I should probably unhesitatingly
have referred it to the modern epoch were it not for the coral impressions
which it contains. For the present I feel some hesitation in assigning to
it a definite position, although fairly assured that it is late Tertiary, or,
possibly, even Post-Tertiary. The same impressions occur in a much
more compact and highly fossiliferous rock of White Beach, Little
Sarasota Bay, which in the character of its organic remains seems to
occupy a position intermediate between the Miocene and Pliocene series.

The ferruginous sandrock exposed at Hanson's, whence I extracted a
part of the skeletal remains (converted into limonite) of man, as well as the
more compact terrestrial rock that appears some three-quarters of a mile
lower on the bay, have been discussed in the narrative (p. 15), and require
no further consideration at this place. The only other localities about the
bay where we observed fossiliferous deposits were on Philippi's Creek, an
eastern tributary, where a yellow arenaceous limestone, highly charged
with fossils, most of them in the form of casts or impressions, and but
barely determinable, could be observed at intervals along the shore, rising
about two feet out of the water. A number of the fossils appeared to be
identical with forms occurring in the yellow rock of the Manatee River;
especially was this the case with the corals and polyzoans, but the only
species that I could definitely locate were Pcctcn Madisomus, P.Jcffcrsonius,
and possibly also Area idonea. The formation is evidently either Miocene
or Pliocene, or one holding a position intermediate between the two. At
one or two spots near the mouth of the creek, well observed on the right
bank, this rock is seen to be overlaid by a heavy bed of coquina, some
three or four feet in thickness, the shell fragments composing which are
largely triturated, and only differ from the typical coquina of the east
coast in their greater compactness. This is, I believe, the first instance

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 64*

that a recent rock of this kind has been noted as occurring on the west
coast.

A similar rock, now rapidly undergoing destruction through the wash
of the sea, guards the entrance to Little Sarasota Inlet. On White Beach,
on the inner side of the inlet, probably two and a-half or three miles from
its mouth, a reef-rock, very tough in places, and extensively honeycombed
through the action of the water, forms the shore line, and doubtless, also
constitutes in greater part the bottom of the bay. Unfortunately, the
fossils, which are markedly abundant, are in the main in a very bad state of
preservation, and for the most part do not admit of specific determina-
tion. The impressions of reef-corals, probably a species of madrepore,
are numerous, and we also found several casts of apparently the same
species of simple coral which has been noted as occurring in the sandrock
at Whittaker's. Most of the molluscan remains are in the form of casts
and impressions, and belong chiefly, at least as far as the more prominent
forms are concernftl, to Pecten, Cardium, Area, Venus and Turritella, the
last being by far the most abundant of the gasteropod genera, and in our
own collections almost the only one represented. The rock is either
of Miocene or Pliocene age, but I could not positively determine which,
although from its position, and in the light of our present knowledge
regarding the formations on the Caloosahatchic, I should consider it not
far from the junction line of the two scries, if it does not, indeed, effect
a passage between the two. The only forms that appeared to be recog-
nizable, and even these were somewhat doubtful, were fragments bearing
a close resemblance to Pcctcn Jcffcrsonins, I'cnns alveata and one of the
northern forms of Turritella.

In a rock manifestly belonging to the same series, although of a
somewhat different lithological aspect, we found numerous casts of one
or more species of large oyster, one of them, with little doubt, the
Ostrca Virginiana, in association with which were the casts also of a
cockle (Cardium magnum?), clam (Venus Mortoni ?), and a Perna.
Many of these were lying loose on the beach, having been evidently
washed out from the parent rock. A short distance beyond this point,
where a not exactly insignificant creek has cut a nearly vertical channel,
the rock is exposed in heavy beds of from one to two feet thickness,
rising to a total height above the creek of some eight or ten feet, or
possibly more. Among the fossils gathered here, which were neither
numerous nor well-defined, there were a number of gasteropod casts,
probably Turritellas, and fragments of a large scallop which bore a strong
resemblance to Pcctcn Madisonius.

ROCKS OF THE CALOOSAHATCHIE. — The remarkable series of deposits
exposed on this river, which I have designated the " Floridian," and

64B TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

which give us the first unequivocal evidences of the existence of a marine
Pliocene formation in the United States east of the Pacific slope, have
been fully detailed in the narrative (pp. 27-31), and only require inci-
dental mention in this place. They appear in most places as a partially
indurated marl or earthy limestone, of a yellowish, buff, or white color,
and either largely destitute of organic remains, or so densely charged
with them as to constitute a pure shell-rock. At their first visible out-
crop, about twenty miles by water above Fort Myers, they barely reach
water level, but they gradually rise higher and higher, until some twenty
or twenty-five miles below Fort Thompson, their elevation reaches (or
reached at the time of our visit) fully six to eight feet, and this elevation
is maintained throughout a considerable part of the nearly continuous
exposure of some twelve or fourteen miles that immediately precedes
the Fort Thompson rapids. At this locality they, in company with the
overlying Post-Pliocene Venus bed, disappear beneath the heavy capping
of Fort Thompson fresh-water limestone, fully described in the narrative,
but there can be no question that their inward extension is still very
much greater.

Inasmuch as the deposits in question have been traced to a point
removed by fully 40-50 miles in a direct line from the sea, or to a position
one-third across the State, they afford the most conclusive evidence, if
any such were still needed, of the utter fallaciousness of the theory that
seeks to explain the formation of the peninsula on the assumption of
successive coral growths. They, moreover, clearly indicate that one of
the last chapters in the history of the formation of the State was practi-
cally identical with the series of closing chapters that rounded off the
physical history of the eastern border of the United States generally —
steady sedimentation, slow and gradual upheaval, and absence of specially
disturbing forces which might otherwise have interfered with the regular
processes attending local organic evolution.

D

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 65

GENERAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.

1. The whole State of Florida belongs exclusively to the Tertiary
and Post-Tertiary periods of geological time, and consequently, as a
defined geographical area, represents the youngest portion of the United
States.

2. There is not a particle of evidence sustaining the coral theory of
growth of the peninsula ; on the contrary, all the facts point conclusively
against such theory, and indicate that the progressive growth of the
peninsula, at least as far as Lake Okeechobee, has been brought about
through successive accessions of organic and inorganic material in the
normal (or usual) methods of sedimentation and upheaval. The evidence,
further, is very strong that beyond Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosa-
hatchie the structure of the State is for the most part identical with that
above it, and the observed facts clearly prove that this correspondence
must exist over at least a considerable portion of the unexplored region
of the Everglades.

3. The Florida coral tract is evidently limited to a border region of
the south and southeast. Fossil corals occur sparingly in the Pliocene
and older Tertiary deposits, but their appearance indicates only sporadic
cases of coral growth, such as are observed at the present day on the
borders of the reef-seas, or marginal and included reefs of limited extent,
similar to those found on the Miocene border of the Atlantic States
generally (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina).

4. The formations represented in the State are the Oligocene, Miocene,
Pliocene and Post-Pliocene, which follow one another in regular succession,
beginning with the oldest, from the north to the south, thus clearly
indicating the direction of growth of the peninsula. The successive
Tertiary belts do not follow a direct east and west course, but appear
to be deflected from the west northeastwards, so as to conform more
nearly with the Atlantic coast line on the eastern border of the United
States. The amount of overlap possibly resulting from deposition on
opposed borders could not be ascertained.

5

66 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

5. No indisputable Eocene rocks have thus far been identified in the
State, but not improbably some such exist in the more northerly sections,
and possibly include even a part of what has generally been referred to
the Oligocene. In how far the older formations were overlaid by deposits
of a newer date, or to what extent the northern half of the State may
have participated in a general submergence coincidently with the forma-
tion of the more southerly portions, remains to be determined.

6. Sedimentation and deposition along this portion of the American
coast appear to have been practically unbroken or continuous, as is
indicated by the gradational union of the different formations, and the
absence of broad or distinct lines of faunal separation.

7. The strata as far as could be ascertained are very nearly horizontal,
or dip at only a very moderate angle, but no true or direct line of
declination could anywhere be detected. At no locality could any two
formations be unequivocally identified as resting one above the other,
except in so far as the Post-Pliocene represents one of the factors under
consideration.

8. No disturbance of any moment, or one sufficient to sensibly
react upon the rock masses, seems to have visited the Floridian region
since the initial formation of the present State in the Older Tertiary
period. The elevation of the peninsula, especially in its more southern
parts, appears to have been effected very gradually, judging from the
perfect preservation of most of the later fossils, and the normal positions —
i. e., the positions which they occupied when living — which many of the
species still maintain.

9. The northern half of the State represents in great part a deep-sea
formation, whereas the southern half is marked by deposits indicative of
a comparatively shallow sea. It would appear that before its final eleva-
tion a large part of the peninsula, especially its southern half, was for a
considerable period in the condition of a submerged flat or plain, the
shallows covering which were most favorably situated for the development
of a profuse animal life, and permitted of the accumulation of reef-
structures and of vast oyster and scallop banks. The present submerged
plain or plateau to the west of the peninsula may be taken to represent
this condition. Fresh-water streams, and consequently dry land, existed
in the more southern parts of the peninsula during the Pliocene period,
as is proved by the interassociation of marine and fluviatile mollusks in
the deposits of the Caloosahatchie.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 67

10. The modern fauna of the coast is indisputably a derivative, through
successive evolutionary changes, of the pre-existing faunas of the Pliocene
and Miocene periods of the same region, and the immediate ancestors of
many of the living forms, but slightly differing in specific characters, can
be determined among the Pliocene fossils of the Caloosahatchie. The
doctrine of evolution thus receives positive, and, most striking, confir-
mation from the past invertebrate fauna of the Floridian region.

11. Man's great antiquity on the peninsula is established beyond a
doubt, and not improbably the fossilized remains found on Sarasota Bay,
now wholly converted into limonite, represent the most ancient belong-
ings of man that have ever been discovered.

68 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

FOSSILS OP THE PLIOCENE (" FLORIDIAN ") FORMATION
OF THE CALOOSAHATCHIE.

Murex imperialis, Swainson.

Zoological Illustrations, id ser., ii, p. 67.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, ii, p. 101, pi. 23, fig. 206.

A limited number of individuals from the banks of the Caloosahatchie
below Fort Thompson, showing no essential variation from the living form.
The occurrence of this species in the Pliocene deposits of the State prac-
tically determines its true home to be the Atlantic border of America
and not the Pacific coast, as is frequently asserted (Reeve, Conchologia
Iconica, Murex, sp. 42).

Murex brevifrons, Lam., var. calcitrapa. Lam.
Animaux sans VertSbres, !x, p. 573.
Tryon, Manual of Conchology, ii, p. 95, pi. 19, fig. 175.

Banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

All the specimens obtained by us appear to be immature forms, and
none would measure, if perfect, more than an inch and a half in length.
I can detect no character by which to distinguish them from the recent
form, unless it be in a greater regularity and prominence of the revolving
lines, and a further projection of the variceal spines. The species also
grades into M. crocatus, which appears to be nothing more than a nodu-
lose variety of M. brevifrons.

Fusus Caloosaensis, nov. sp. Fig. i.

Shell typically fusiform, of about ten volutions; spire acuminate,
about one-third the length of shell, with a slightly papillate apex ; whorls
sub-angular, longitudinally ribbed, and crossed by somewhat distantly-
placed, elevated, revolving lines, the median two of which on the whorls
above the body-whorl appear more developed than the others.

Body-whorl with about nine revolving lines, the two on the shoulder,
with occasional intermediate finer lines, least prominent; aperture semi-
oval, with a long, nearly straight canal, of about twice its own length,
the two combined considerably more tfian one-half the length of the
entire shell ; outer lip thin, striated internally.

Length, 2.2 inches; width, .6 inch.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This shell most nearly resembles among living forms FHSHX llupctit-
Thouarsi, but differs from it in its subangular whorls (evenly convex in

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 69

the latter), and the absence of the numerous lines on the shoulders. In
the first of these characters, as well as in the smaller number of revolving
lines, it also differs from the closely resembling Fusus Henekeni of Sow-
erby, a common Miocene fossil of the West Indies.

Fasciolaria scalarina, nov. sp. Fig. 2.

Shell sub-fusiform, of about ten volutions, longitudinally ribbed or
plicated ; spire elevated, nearly one-third the length of shell ; whorls
convex, those of the spire angulated at about the middle, crossed by
numerous elevated, and more or less rounded, revolving lines, from ten
to fourteen on each of the more prominent whorls ; central line most
prominent, forming the median angulation or carination ; interstitial finer
lines present at irregular intervals.

Body-whorl with about 15-20 ribs or plicae, which, as a rule are
less prominently angulated than those of the spire, making the shell
appear more regularly convex ; revolving lines somewhat over thirty, a
limited number of which are interstitial ; aperture about one-half the
length of shell, or somewhat over, produced anteriorly into a broad
canal of moderate length ; outer lip prominently lined on the inside ; colu-
mella with two very oblique folds, the lower of which is practically obsolete.

Length, 6.5 ; width, 2.5 inches.

In the banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

The only American Fasciolaria to which this species bears any
great resemblance is F. Spairowi of Emmons (North Carolina Geol.
Surv., 1858, p. 253, fig. 1 15), from the Miocene of North Carolina, or at
any rate, a fossil from that State which has been identified as such by
Conrad. I find in the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia two specimens of a large Fasciolaria marked by Conrad
"F. Sparrmvi, Emmons, N. C.," and have every reason to believe that the
forms so identified are Emmons' species, although differing widely from
the description given by that geologist. This description is, however,
very vague, and manifestly erroneous in several of its details, so that little
satisfaction can be derived from it ; Emmons' figure more nearly resembles
the fossil in question, and this fact, combined with the knowledge that
Conrad had access to the collections of the Carolina survey, lead me to
assume the correctness of the latter paleontologist's identification.

From the Fasciolaria Spamm'i, recognized as such, the Florida fossil
differs in the lesser convexity, and more pronounced median angulation
of the whorls of the spire, the greater number and prominence of the
longitudinal ribs, which are largely obsolete on the body-whorl of F.
Sparrowi, the greater relative elevation of the spire, and the absence of
the regular alternation of coarse and fine revolving lines seen in the
Carolina species.

70 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Among recent forms the species apparently most nearly related to
Fasciolaria scalarina is F. Jilainentosa of Chemnitz, from the Indo-Chinese
seas. This species has much the habit of the American form, but is
largely deficient in the number of longitudinal ribs, which are also much
more distinctly nodose, and bring about a very prominent angulation to
the whorls of the spire not less than to the body -whorl ; the columellar
plaits are three in number, instead of two. The same characters approxi-
mately serve to distinguish F. scalarina from the European Miocene/". Tar-
belliana of Grateloup (Atlas Conch. Foss. Bassin de 1'Adour, pi. 23, fig. 14 ;
Homes, Die fossil. Mollusken d. Tertiar-Beckens von Wien, I, p. 298,
pi. 33, figs. 1—4), which, if not identical with the recent form above referred
to, is certainly very closely related to it.

Fasciolaria gigantea, Kiener.

Icon. Coq. Viv. p. 5, pi. 10, n.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, iii, p. 75, pi. 60, fig. 14-16.

Two specimens of this large conch were found in the upper part of
the banks below Fort Thompson, on the verge of the Post-Pliocene layer.
They do not seem to differ essentially from the living- form. The nodes
appear somewhat less prominent, and are in a measure indented through
a passing shallow sulcus.

Fasoiolaria tulipa, L.

Syst. Nat., I2th ed., p. 1213.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, iii, p. 74, pi. 59, figs. 1-5.

In the banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

The largest specimen measures just six inches in length. A probable
variety of this species, with a more elevated spire and a correspondingly
depressed aperture, appears to be identical with the variety figured by
Tuomey and Holmes in their work on the Pliocene fossils of South
Carolina, pi. 30, fig. 8.
Melongena subooronata, nov. sp. Fig. 3.

Shell broadly-turbinate, of about five volutions ; spire moderately ele-
vated, scalariform, its rounded whorls profoundly ribbed, subangulated
or carinated medially, and crossed by numerous well-defined revolving
lines, which alternate as coarser and finer striae ; the ribs of the whorl
next to the body-whorl, and sometimes also the one above, distinctly
tuberculated or spinose, or even coronated.

Body-whorl very ventricose, obtusely angulatcd above, with a row
(in presumably adult individuals) of from eight to ten prominent scaly
tubercles, which stand outward from the shoulder angulation; a single
row of supra-basal tubercles, six or seven in number, some of which are
developed into short pyramidal spines ; entire surface covered with coarse,
closely arranged striae, which may become partially obsolete on the
shoulder.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 71

Columellar surface broad, slightly flattened, completely covered by
the thin labium ; aperture about two-thirds the length of shell, or less,
quadrangular, broadly-open.

Length of largest specimen, somewhat more than four inches; greatest
width, over the shoulder angulation, 2.7 inches.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species closely resembles the recent Melongcna corona of the
southern coast, and, at first sight, can be readily mistaken for it. But it
differs in the greater elevation of the spire, the obtuseness of the shoulder
angulation (shoulder concave in M. corona), the much smaller number of
spines, both on the superior and inferior carinations, the nature of the
spines or tubercles, which are much more nearly closed (less scaly) in
M. snbcoronata, and in the circumstance that the shoulder spines are
directed outward, and not upward and inward, as we find them in M.
corona.

Fulgur rapum, nov. sp. Fig. 4.

Shell pyruliform, closely inwound, with a short depressed spire ;
whorls of the spire about five, gently crenated basal ly (or above the
sutural line) ; apex papillate.

Body-whorl ventricose, high, convex, sub-angulated above, and to an
extent also inferiorly, somewhat nodulose on the rounded shoulders ;
neither true tubercles nor spines ; tendency to nodulation in some cases
entirely wanting; aperture of nearly the entire length of the shell,
elliptical above, and produced into a long, narrow, straight canal, which
is slightly deflected to one side; outer lip strongly lined internally.

Columella arcuate, rapidly contracting the aperture at the beginning
of the canal ; columellar fold not very prominent. The entire surface of
the shell covered with closely-placed, moderately elevated, revolving striae,
which have a gently sinuous outline, and exhibit a distinct alternation
of coarser and finer lines.

Length, 6.5 inches ; width, 3.5 inches.

In the banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

None, of the recent species of Fulgur at all approach this shell, and
even among the fossil species there is none from which it cannot almost
immediately be distinguished. The species that most nearly resembles it
is undoubtedly the form figured by Conrad on pi. 47 of his Medial
Tertiary Fossils (1839) as F. maxiimis, which has apparently never been
described. The ornamentation of this shell is practically identical with
that of F. rapum, but it can be readily distinguished by its broad and
arcuate canal, and the more elevated and scalariform spire. The swell-
ing along the base of the body-whorl in F. maximus also helps to
identify the species.

72 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Fulgur maximus.

Conrad, Fossils of the Medial Tertiary Formations, pi. 47, not described-.
Gill, "On the Genus Fulgur and its Allies," Am. Journ. Conch., iii, p. 46 (enumera-
tion of species only).

Shell sub-pyruliform, with a short scalariform spire ; spiral whorls
about five, convex, slightly hollowed above the middle, the upper two or
three gently carinated and crenulated.

Body-whorl ventricose, somewhat concave on the shoulder, which
supports a number of irregularly placed, and not clearly denned nodules ;
longitudinal lines of growth well-marked, disfiguring the surface of
the shell ; an irregular swelling near the base of the whorl ; aperture
nearly four-fifths the length of the shell, oval above, produced into a
broad and open arcuate canal ; outer lip striated internally.

Columella sigmoidal, its surface covered with a thin callus; columellar
fold nearly obsolete. The entire surface of the shell covered with nu-
merous slightly wavy revolving lines' which in a measure alternate in size.

This species, in its typical form, cannot readily be confounded with
any of its immediate congeners ; the absence of well-defined tubercles
serves to distinguish it almost at a glance. But the incipient nodulation
seen in some, or most of the specimens, becomes much more sharply
defined in others, and, indeed, advances with such gradational steps that
a continuous passage is led up to the prominently tuberculated F. Tritonis
(Conrad, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1862, p. 583), from the Miocene of Vir-
ginia, and from this again, by insignificant changes, to F. filosns (Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sciences, p. 286), from the same series of deposits. The gradation
is absolute, and permits of no natural separation of the different forms
here indicated. Whether or not, therefore, these forms are to be regarded
as distinct species, or as varieties representing but a single species, with
well-marked characters defining the extreme forms, is of little moment.
That they are modifications of, or derivatives from, one and the same
form, there is, it appears to me, very little doubt.

This species I identified among the fossils of the Caloosahatchie by a
limited number of specimens. The largest of these, which measures
upwards of five and a half inches in length, is absolutely undistinguish-
able in character from the Miocene fossil.

Fnlgnr central-ills, Conrad.

Am. Journ. Science, xxxix, p. 387; Fossils Medial Tert. Form. U. S., pi. 45, fig. 11.
Busycon perversum, Emmons, North Carolina Geol. Rept. p. 249, fig. 107.

Common in the banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

This shell has the general character of Fulgur rapum, from which it
diners in being sinistral. Dr. Gill, in his review of the genus Fulgur
(Am. Journ. Conch., iii, p. 144), remarks that in the greater number of
sinistral shells the form is not more obliquely wound than in the dextral,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 73

as may be proved by the use of a mirror. This may or may not be true
as a general thing, but the rule certainly does not hold in the case of the
mutually representative species here referred to. The obliquity in F.
contrarius is decidedly more pronounced than in F. rapum.

I am not exactly satisfied as to the relation which this species holds
to the recent forms. It certainly most nearly approaches F. pcrversus
of Linnaeus, and I must admit that it is undistinguishable from -some of
the non-spinose varieties that are usually referred to this species. Whether
these last, however, are specifically distinct from the typical spined F.
pervcrstts I am not prepared to say; they certainly have much the same
general facies, and they would appear to grade into one another. Still, the
distinguishing characters — rounded body-whorl, absence of spines, and a
more closely-enveloping spire in the non-typical form — are well-marked,
especially in the case of the fossils, where they appear to be constant, and
may serve to characterize a good species. But whether distinct or not,
it is positive that the fossil is represented in the living fauna. Our collec-
tion contains one very ponderous form, which retains all the distinctive
characters of the smaller individuals, and may be immediately separated
from F. pcm<ersus by its great convexity, the rounded outline of the body-
whorl, and its pear-form.

Dr. Gill (op. cit.) erroneously refers to this species the form described
by Tuomey and Holmes, in their work on the Pliocene Fossils of South
Carolina, as Busycon pcrversum (pi. 29, fig. 3). The species in question
is Conrad's F. adversarius, referred to (Am. Journ. Conch., iii, p. 185) as
the " only reversed form with tubercles instead of spines," but which, as
far as I am aware, has thus far never been described.

Fulgur excavatus, Conr.

Am. Journ. Science, xxxix, p. 387; Foss. Med. Tert. Form., pi. 45, fig. 12.
Cassidulus Carolinensis , Tuomey and Holmes, Pliocene Foss. S. Carolina, p. 147,
pi. 30, fig. i.

Common on the banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

The typical forms of this species can be readily distinguished from
the recent F. pyrum, Diilw., by its scalariform spine, more depressed, and
slender body, and the much deeper sub-sutural canaliculation, which is
also carried further towards the apex. The shell, in addition, appears to
be considerably thicker. But these characters do not appear to be
invariable, and I am far from satisfied that the species ought not to be
classed rather with the recent form than as a distinct type. Numerous
intermediate stages unmistakably unite it with F. pyrum. As is the case
with the last, this species also exhibits a marked variation in the amount
of angulation of the body-whorl, sometimes appearing merely rounded,
with only a faint trace of carination, at other times very sharply angulated,
and with a decidedly concave shoulder.

74 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Fulgnr pymm, Dillwyn.
Catalogue, 485.
Tryon, Manual of Conchology, iii, p. 143, figs. 402, 403.

One of the specimens that might be said to constitute the
excavatiis series is unquestionably the recent form. It proves the im-
practicability of drawing closely delimited division lines, where specific
characters so closely approach one another, and demonstrates the nec-
essarily arbitrary classification which the evidences of transformism must
carry with them.

Fulgnr .pyrifonnis, Conr.

I have been unable to find a description of this species, and only
know it from a specimen in the Academy's collection marked such in
Conrad's handwriting. It is identical with the scalariform varieties (so
considered) of K pyrum (F. plagosus of Conrad?), which in several char-
acters depart widely from the typical forms of that species, and might,
perhaps, with propriety be considered distinct. It stands intermediately
between F. excavatus and pymm,

Banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

Tnrbinella regina, nov. sp. Fig. 5.

Shell ovate-oblong, sub-fusiform ; spire elevated, gradually tapering,
and consisting of from eight to ten volutions ; whorls nearly flat, or
slightly convex, somewhat angulated above, and only nodulose in the
region of the apex ; surface covered with revolving raised lines, about
five on each whorl below the upper angulation, above which they are less
pronounced and more closely placed.

Body-whorl convex, considerably longer than one-half the length of
the shell, and ornamented by numerous raised lines, similar to those
found on the other whorls. Toward the base these lines become more
crowded, somewhat flexuous and coarse, appearing in the form of paired
rugations; suture impressed; aperture elliptical, produced into a
straight, but deflected, canal of considerable length.

Columellar surface covered with a thick deposit of callus, which
leaves partially uncovered a long and narrow umbilicus; columdlar
plaits three, the median one of which is the strongest.

Length of longest specimen — imperfect below and above, and lacking
probably an inch and a half — eleven inches; width across the centre, four
inches.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

We found but two specimens of this stately Turbinella, which in
linear measure surpasses all other species of the genus, with the excep-
tion of T.scolymus. In its general characters it most approximate* among
recent forms Turbinella ovoidea of Kiener (Icon. Coq. Viv., 7), which is

>:. .•" : -"-..: : :>; .TV.-: ;•" ?v.~ :. ?-..: .v;i - - : :•.- . - ; --...- -

in the Miocene deposits of Santo Domingo (Gabh, "Santo Domingo,'*
Trams. Am. Phil .~ p, 3lS\. but differs in its modi mate ponderous

proportions, die greater relative elevation of the spire, die absence of
well-marked nodalations on the whorls of die spire, and die smaller
number of prominent revolving fines on die wboris of die spire. The
body-whorl also lacks die basal quadrangubftion seen in 7! «g<aVnfc I
know of no fosal form thai in any way approaches die Florida species,
nor any species of die existing Golf fauna dot is as near to it as T.

: .:'..:

Shell ovate, duck, ventricose, with die greatest widdi at about die
middle; sphe elevated, about one-fourth die kngdt of die sneD, and
consisting of? nodulose volutions.

Body-whorl strongly angulated on die shoulder dn aaga&ation
being at an angle of about 45 degrees to die outer maJJ — and probably
prominently coronated widi fbttaceous or lany^^ tubercle-.; snr&oe, as
well as that of die rest of die shefl, profoundly grooved, widt about eight
sharply elevated revolving ridges below die shookler angubtion, drc sbrth
-!. '- -- -••:/ ' . " : ' , : -: .-.:-• ~, •: ;.-.- <. .-.-.•.-.•.. - :

.-. ^tace equal to two of die other interspaces ; sntanl fine somewhat
impressed, and bordered mferiorh/ by a bondto ridge; apertcre produced
posteriorij^ into a short canal, somewbat note tJhan one-balf die lengdi
of die shell.

Columellar swmce coveted with a thick deposit of calhKs which
leaves partially exposed a broad nmbificus; cononettar phits three, of
which only die upper two are prominent, the basal one being
I

Lengdi of imperfect specimen, lacking probabryaiun
five and a half inches; wkkfa. three and a half inches.

CaJoosah atchic, in tJhe banks bdow Fort Thoonpson.

obtained but a single adult apoaman of d»s large ftnam, which
apparentix- exceeds all other species of dw genus in saw. Unfertunat,

vXMdhwM prevents die abse^te detenniaa^

but sufficient remains to indicate tjbat it is a clearry-denned species
There are but few traces of die coronating tubercles See, but I dank
then? can be no doubt, seeing die acute angulation of die shoulder, and
die character of die spines in die young shell, dot the tubercles were
squamose, as in the East Asiatic i: ^4*fc and not of die typical blunt
-. in our soudiern IT *»n,va*m. From die latter, apart from
die character just indicated, the Florida fossil differs in fc$ less tmbwate
form, the greater length of its spire, die smaller numhtt aind

76 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNEK FREE

greater prominence of its revolving ridges, and in the deficiency of its
columellar plaits. The shoulders of the whorls are also much less
depressed than in the recent species, rising at a considerable angle instead
of being nearly flat.

In the sum of its characters the Florida fossil appears to be most
closely related to Vasuiii imperialis, but unfortunately this assumption is
based solely upon an examination of the figures and description of that
form, the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences, otherwise so
rich in the department of conchology^ being deficient in the species.

Genus MAZZALINA, Conrad.

This genus was constituted by Conrad for the reception of an Eocene
fossil from Claiborne, Ala., which in general characters approximates the
recent forms now generally referred to Lagena of Schumacher. The
genus is thus briefly characterized (Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences of
Philadelphia, 2d ser., iv, p. 295) : " Turbinate, smooth ; columella
projecting interiorly and furnished with closely arranged, oblique, obtuse
plaits." Mr. Tryon, in monographing the species of recent shells, appears
to have overlooked this description, for in the appendix to his review of
the family Fusidffi (Manual of Conchology, iii, p. 225, 1881) he makes
the following statement: " Genus Mazzalina, Conrad, not characterized;"
— and further: "The type \M. pyrula\ appears to be very similar to
Lagena, Schum., if not identical with that genus. I figure it from the
original specimen."

The reference of the genus to Lagena is, I believe, erroneous, and
is probably founded upon an imperfect examination of the unique
specimen, which is decidedly Lageniform, and the assumption that other
specimens, if found, would depart somewhat from the type, and more
nearly approximate the recent form. In the light of additional speci-
mens obtained during our recent explorations, I can affirm that the
characters, such as they are, separating Mazzalina from Lagena are
distinct and permanent, and leave no doubt as to the propriety of
separating the two genera (or sub-genera). These characters are most
clearly exhibited in the peculiarly flexuous disposition of the columella,
the deflected and produced canal, obliquity of the columellar plaits, and
the absence of an umbilicus. The general form of the shell, too, is
rather pyriform than bucciniform.

Mazzalina bulbosa, nov. sp. Fig. 7.

Shell bulbiform, or imperfectly pear-shaped, ventricose, thin in sub-
stance ; spire conical, made up of about six convex whorls ; aperture
about two-thirds the length of the shell, oval, and produced anteriorly
into a (deflected) canal of moderate length ; outer lip thin, notched below

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 77

the sutural line, forming a prominent sinus, and crossed on its inner face
by numerous parallel, raised (revolving) lines ; columella conspicuously
arched or flexed, with some five to seven oblique plaits, the lower two of
which are much more prominent than the others ; no umbilicus ; general
surface of shell smooth.

Length, two and half inches; width across the centre, somewhat more
than an inch and a third.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species appears at first sight veiy much like the Eocene M.
pvnda, but may be readily distinguished by its greater ventricosity, the
convexity of the whorls, and the absence of the sutural carination (or
more properly, sub-angulation). The columellar plaits are also con-
siderably more prominent in the Florida form.

As far as I am aware these are the only two species that can be
properly included in the genus, which appears, consequently, to be ex-
tinct. Whether or not the modern Lagena, which so closely resembles
it, is immediately related, remains to be determined. (

Voluta Floridana, nov. sp. Fig. 8.

Shell fusiform-ovate, smooth, except two or three of the terminal
whorls of the spire, which are longitudinally ribbed, and cancellated by
a number of delicate revolving lines ; spire elevated, of about six volu-
tions, terminating in a slightly papillated apex ; whorls convex, hollowed
above the middle, the depression in the upper whorls forming a sub-
sutural band or carination.

Body-whorl smooth, about four-fifths the length of the shell, covered
with delicate revolving lines, which become obsolete with age ; aperture
of nearly equal length, truncated at base ; columellar surface with four
prominent oblique folds, the upper of which is generally the longest.

Length of longest specimen somewhat less than six inches ; greatest
width, 2.3 inches.

Abundant in the banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

I have little hesitation in affirming that this shell is the probable
ancestor of the recent Voluta Juiwnia of Chemnitz which is occasion-
ally obtained along the western keys (Egmont Key, etc.) and in the
deeper waters of some of the inner bays. So close is the resemblance
between the two species that at first sight there would appear to be not
even the most insignificant characters by which to separate them. Al-
though the fossils are in nearly all cases badly worn, yet in some the
indications of color are still fairly preserved, which lead me to conclude
that the general coloration of the shell was much as in the recent form.
About the only character of any significance that I can indicate which
might serve to distinguish the two species lies in the formation of the

r&SS**.

njBITI&SITT)

78 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

apical portion of the spire, which is much more distinctly papillated in
Valuta JjDionia, and on which the longitudinal sukation is but barely
visible. Although these characters are seemingly of not much import-
ance, they are, nevertheless, constant, and serve invariably to distinguish
the one form from the' other; were it not for them, I must admit that it
would be very difficult, if not impossible, to separate the two. The
Florida fossil appears, however, to attain a much larger size ; at least, I
have seen no specimens of the recent species that in any way begin to
compare with it, nor have I seen any figures or descriptions of the shell
that would lead me to infer that equally large specimens have ever been
found. Still, the same is not impossible, and I am informed by Mr. John
Ford, of this city, that, to the best of his recollection, specimens of Valuta
Jiinonia of the size above indicated had been seen by him.

It is certainly an interesting circumstance to find a large volute so
nearly resembling the recent species, yet slightly differing from it, in a
geological formation antedating the present era by but a single period,
and in a region corresponding to the habitat of the living form, espec-
ially where no traces of the latter are to be found associated with it.
That the one is a modified descendant of the other we have, of
course, no direct means of proving, but the inference in that direction
is certainly very strong — indeed, almost irresistible. To assume that the
Pliocene species should have become totally extinct before the modern
era, and been then followed by a specifically new form almost absolutely
its identical, as far as we are able to judge, and in a region which
appears to have undergone during the common period but little alteration
either in its physical or physiographical features, is barely consonant
with our present evolutionary conceptions, and certainly far less plausible
than the view which holds the interderivation of the two forms. The
latter supposition, apart from its own abstract position, is further strength-
ened by the similar resemblances which bind together other members of
the recent and extinct Floridian faunas.

If, however, this species is interesting as indicating a probable line of
modification and descent progressionally, it is equally interesting as
indicating a similar line retrospectively, or one leading up to it from a
still earlier period. Thus, the species stands in-about as intimate relation
with the Valuta Trenholmi of Tuomey and Holmes, from the late Miocene
or Mio-Pliocene deposits of South Carolina, as it does with the recent
Valuta Junonia, and, indeed, might be properly considered to effect a
passage between the two. About the only distinctive character separ-
ating it from the older form, likewise, as far as we are permitted to judge
in the absence of color ornamentation and the animal itself, the one char-
acter separating the last from the recent species, is the less prominence
of the spire in V. Trenholmi, and a corresponding rise in the shoulders

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 79

of the body-whorl, giving the shell a less fusiform outline than in either
V. Floridana or V. Jiinonia* But just in this character the last two
species are absolutely in accord, yet, strikingly enough, the immature
shells of V. Trcnliolini and V. lUoridana are, in this respect, undis-
tinguishable. The fact that we have in the Miocene, Pliocene, and
recent periods but a single species of the type here referred to inhabiting
the (approximate) region under consideration, combined with the circum-
stance that over a considerable portion of this region no species of
Voluta are any longer to be found, lends, I believe, conclusive evidence
proving a case of true evolution and migration.

Mitra lineolata, nov. sp. Fig. 9.

Shell fusiform, gradually tapering ; spire elevated, of six or seven
volutions, terminating in a papillated apex, which, however, is wanting in
all but the youngest specimens ; whorls of spire deeply furrowed, three
pseudo-sulcations on each whorl, formed or bounded by four sharply
raised revolving lines or ridges, the lower of which is less prominent than
the others, and constitutes a supra-sutural carination ; suture slightly
impressed.

Body-whorl gently convex, excavated below the suture, which is
bounded inferiorly by a double carination ; surface crossed by numerous
(nearly equally placed) elevated revolving lines, which are not raised into
ridges as on the other whorls ; towards the base these lines become
crowded, here and there appearing in pairs, which are separated by shallow
sulcations ; aperture semi-lunate, considerably more than half the length
of the shell ; outer lip thin.

Columellar surface nearly straight, crossed by seven oblique plaits,
which rapidly diminish in prominence from above downwards.

Length, four inches; width, 1.3 inches.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species most nearly resembles Mitra Carolinensis of Conrad, origi-
nally described from the Miocene of Duplin Co., North Carolina (Am. Journ.
Science, xxxix, p. 387 ; xli, p. 345, pi. ii.fig. 5),and subsequently identified by
Tuomey and Holmes from the nearly equivalent deposits of South Caro-
lina. The general characters of the two species are very nearly the same,
and on a cursory inspection the Florida and Carolina fossils could readily
be mistaken for one another. Closer examination, however, reveals the
following points of difference, which I find to be constant for all the
specimens of both species that I have had an opportunity to study : In
Mitra Carolinensis the revolving lines on the body-whorl are much less

* The type specimen of this species, which has been kindly submitted to me for
examination by Prof. Whitfield, of the American Museum of Natural History of New
York, has a more markedly papillate apex than either the Florida fossil or Voluta Junonia.

80 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

prominent than in M. lincolata — this portion of the shell appearing nearly
smooth — and towards the base, best seen on the back, they are no longer
elevated but impressed, or impressed with a marginal carination, a feature
not seen in M. lineolata, in which all the lines are elevated ; in M. Caro-
linensis the infra-sutural excavation, besides being narrower, is clearly
defined on several of the whorls, whereas in M. lineolata it is apparent as
such only on the body-whorl ; the whorls of the spire in M. Caroline nsis
are much more distinctly convex, whereas the elevated ridges are not
nearly as sharply defined as they are in M. lineolata. The young of M.
lineolata is equally ridged over the entire surface, which does not appear
to be the case with M. Carolinensis.

Despite the differences here indicated, there can hardly be a doubt, it
appears to me, that the two forms are merely derivatives one from the
other — an expression of the ceaseless law of evolution.*

•

Harginella limatula, Conrad.

Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Phila., vii, p. 140.

I identify a shell from the Caloosahatchie with this species, which
may, perhaps, be properly considered to be only a variety of the recent
M. apicina of Mencke. The typical forms of the latter, however, differ
in the produced spire and in lacking the prominent denticulations on the
labrum. In the series of Marginellas obtained by Gabb from the
Miocene deposits of Santo Domingo, and identified by that paleontolo-
gist with M. apicina, we have the gradual passage leading from the high-
spired form to the form in which the apex is almost completely buried
in the callus developed by the rising outer lip ; the character of the
crenulations on the labrum is also shown to vary considerably. Gabb's
form appears to be identical with the species from the Caloosahatchie,
and, as far as I can determine, is undistinguishable from the Miocene

fossil of the Carolinas and Virginia. The species referred to by Tuomey

•

* Since writing the above I have obtained for comparison, through the kindness of Prof.
Whitfield, of the American Museum of Natural History of New York, the specimen which
Tuomey and Holmes identified with Conrad's species. This shows a character of ornamen-
tation more nearly that of the Florida fossil, but the convexity of the spiral whorls, and the
lesser prominence of the revolving ribs or sulcations, serve readily to distinguish it from
that species. It really stands intermediate between the typical Mitra Carolinensis and
Mitra lineolata, although nearer the former, and whether all three should now be united
into a single species, or the extremes, which are very well marked, be retained apart, is a
matter of little import. It is manifest that with the continued discovery of intermediate
forms the classification of species (and no less that of genera, etc.) will become UK ire :ind
more artificial and arbitrary, necessitating ultimately, if convenience is still to be con-
sidered, the placing of the same "specific " form, with its attendant varieties, into a series
which might include distinct species, genera, families, or even orders. For it cannot be
denied that the relationship established through phylogeny is at least as important from a
classificatory point of view as that furnished by the taxonomic characters derived from
living forms alone.

INSLTIT'TK OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 81

and Holmes as being abundant in the Post-Pliocene deposits of South
Carolina, and but barely differing from M. limatida, is undoubtedly the
recent M. apicina.

Oliva literata, Lamarck.

Annales du Museum, xvi, p. 315.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, v, p. 83, pi. 31, figs. 5-7.

Oliva reticularis, Lamarck.

Annales du Museum, xvi, p. 314.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, v, p. 83, pi. 30, figs. 90-95; pi. 31, figs. 96, 4;

Pi. 34, fig- 57-

Both of these forms, as far as I am able to judge, are represented
among the fossils of the Caloosahatchie. The two species, however, so
very closely resemble one another in the general characters of the shell,
that I am far from certain that they can in all cases be distinguished in
the absence of color-markings. The produced and more attenuated
spire of 0. literata, which may serve in the majority of instances to
separate this species from 0. reticularis, is not a constant distinguishing
character, inasmuch as we sometimes find the relative condition of this
portion of the shell reversed ; i. c., depressed in 0. literata and elevated
in 0. reticularis. A more constant character can, perhaps, be obtained
from the direction taken by the basal columellar folds, which, as a
rule, are slightly more transverse and arched in 0. reticularis — more
nearly direct in 0. literata. I must admit, however, that the correspon-
dences and divergences seen in these minor characters give but insecure
grounds for either the determination or separation of the species ;
indeed, it appears to me, it might be fairly questioned whether the two
living forms here indicated are not in reality only varieties of one and the
same species.

Columbella rusticoides, nov. sp. Fig. 9*.

Shell turreted, with an acute spire of some six volutions ; whorls
convex, impressed below the suture, the uppermost obscurely plicated,
the lower ones indistinctly (longitudinally) lined ; body-whorl high, flat-
tened on the shoulder, and ornamented with numerous revolving lines
(or bands), the upper of which are nearly obsolete ; aperture ascending,
narrow, somewhat more than one-half the length of the shell ; outer lip
thick, coarsely crenulated ; columellar surface with five or six basal beads.

Length, .5 inch.

From the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species is very close to the recent (European) C. rustica, differing
from it mainly in the upper angulation of the body-whorl and the sub-
sutural sulcation of the whorls generally. It is a little remarkable that
it should approach a trans-Atlantic form more nearJv than any of the
American species.
6

82 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Cancellaria reticulata, L.

Syst. Nat., izth ed., p. 1190.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vii, p. 69, pi. 2, figs. 25, 26.

Banks of the Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

Pleurotoma limatulal Conrad.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Phila., vi, p. 224, pi. i.x, fig. 12.

Several individuals of a small Pleurotoma were found in the banks
below Fort Thompson, which agree very closely with the Miocene fossil
from Maryland, differing from it mainly, or solely, in a somewhat pro-
nounced acuteness of the obliquely directed ribs. The limited number
of specimens at my command prevent me from absolutely determining
a specific identity, which, however, I firmly believe exists. The species
represents P. Sitcssi from the Vienna Basin.

Conus Tryoni, nov. sp. Fig. 10.

Shell sub-conical, sinistral, rather thin in substance ; spire more
elevated than in the typical cones, of about eight or nine volutions, termi-
nating in a prominent pointed apex ; whorls of the spire subangulated, or
carinated above the suture, the carination sharply but minutely crenulated
on the first five or six whorls ; suture bordered inferiorly by a prominent
raised convex line, which is followed by from four to five less prominent
(and occasionally quite obscure) revolving lines on the shoulders of the
whorls.

Body-whorl about four-fifths the length of the shell, gently convex,
crossed for the greater part of its extent by numerous obscure lines or
composite bands, which become conspicuous toward the base, and
exhibit there a distinct, although irregular, alternation of coarser and
finer lines.

Aperture somewhat arcuate, broadest near the base; columellar
surface slightly folded basally ; outer lip thin ; sinual inflection a half-
inch in depth.

Length, five inches; greatest width, 2.3 inches.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This beautiful cone, by far the largest reversed species of the genus
with which I am acquainted, can readily be distinguished from the only
other sinistral form that has thus far been described from the Tertiary
deposits of the Eastern United States, Conus adversaries, by its more
ponderous proportions, the greater relative elevation of the spire, and
the revolving lines on the shoulders of the whorls. These last are
obscured through erosion in some specimens, which then more nearly
approach the Miocene fossil. There appears to be a narrower form of
this type, which possibly represents a distinct species. It differs in the
more pronounced angulation of the body-whorl, the lesser relative width

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 83

of the crown, and a more pronounced straight-sidedness in the bounding
lines of the shell. The number of such specimens in our collection is
not very great, and scarcely sufficient to warrant a specific separation of
the form from the species just described.

Named after Geo. W. Tryon, Jr., the distinguished conchologist of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, from whom the
author has received much valuable assistance in the preparation of this
and other paleontological papers.

Conus Hercati ? Brocchi.

Conchiologia Fossile Subapennina, ii, p. 287, pi. 2, fig. 6.

Homes, Die foss. Mollusken d. Ttrtiarbeckens von Wien, ii, p. 23.

Shell obconical, broad, straight-sided ; spire moderately elevated,
gradually sloping for about six volutions, then abruptly elevated in the
apex; total number of volutions about twelve; surface smooth ; aperture
nearly straight and parallel-sided ; columellar folds obscure.

Length, 2.3 inches; width, 1.3 inches.

Caloosahatchie, banks below Fort Thompson.

The species of cone here described so closely resembles in its
general features Conns Mcrcati of Brocchi that I fail to find any distin-
guishing characters by which to separate it from that form, with which I
have accordingly doubtfully united it. It must be admitted, however,
that the determination of the species of Conus is a very difficult one,
rendered doubly so in the absence of all color-markings. In our speci-
mens, unfortunately, no markings remain ; hence, despite the general
agreement, some little uncertainty must still attach to an identification
which neglects one of the primary distinguishing characters.

The species is apparently also closely related to a Santo Domingo
fossil which Gabb identifies (doubtfully) with Michelotti's C. Bcrghausii,
but differs from it in the more pronounced angulation of the shoulder,
and the greater elevation of the apex. From the Miocene Conus Mary-
landiciis, of Conrad, it can readily be distinguished by its much greater
width, the comparatively depressed spire, and the absence of carinations
on the whorls of the spire.

Conus cateuatus ? Sowerby.

Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vi, p. 45, pi. ii, fig. 2.

I refer to this species a number of small cones which agree so
closely with the Santo Domingo fossil as to be barely separable from it.
The only differences that I can detect, and these are but very faintly
indicated, are a slight concavity in the outline of 6". catenates, and a
somewhat more pronounced elevation above one another of the whorls
of the spire.

84 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Strombus Leidyi, nov. sp. Fig. n.

Shell of the general habit of Stronibus accipitriinis, thick, ponderous,
and, barring the wing, oblong-fusiform, with an abruptly reflected base ;
spire elevated, somewhat less than one-half the length of the shell, and
consisting of from eight to ten volutions ; the whorls flattened, the upper
slightly nodose along their basal margins ; surface of the whorls orna-
mented with numerous elevated revolving lines, which alternate irregularly
in size — from twelve to fifteen on the larger whorls — and are crossed at
right angles by longitudinal faintly-waved creases or ridges, representing
lines of growth ; body-whorl slightly concave on the shoulder, and pro-
jected anteriorly into a symmetrically curved wing, which ascends to
about the middle of the penultimate whorl of the spire, and whose furthest
expansion corresponds approximately with the centre line of the shell ;
body-whorl faintly tuberculated on the shoulder, the seven or more
tubercles continued as so many distinct ridges extending about half-way
to the base, and showing a tendency in some specimens to develop into
true nodes ; surface of the shoulder covered with numerous slightly-
waved or crenulated concentric lines, which below the shoulder are re-
placed by broad regularly-placed bands (about fifteen or sixteen in
number, and measuring about five to the inch), which, more especially on
the expanded portion of the wing, can be clearly seen to be of a composite
nature ; wing very thick, thickest near the margin, and but faintly reflected ;
columellar surface covered with a thick deposit of callus, which extends
nearly to the posterior apex of the recurved base.

Length of largest specimen, eight inches ; greatest width, five inches.

Very abundant in the banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thomp-
son, where it is found from the water-line to the base of the Venus canccl-
lata (Post-Pliocene) bed; I am not sure that we obtained any specimens
from the latter deposit, but, doubtless, the species is also found there.
Specimens despoiled of the wings have the form of Conorbis, and could
readily be mistaken for giant species of that genus, especially as there is
a slight sinual flexion in the lines of growth over the shoulder.

This beautiful stromb, which I take pleasure in naming after the dis-
tinguished President of the Philadelphia Academy, has unquestionably its
nearest ally in the recent Strombus accipitriinis, Lam. (S. costatus, Gmelin),
of the West Indian seas. Indeed, its resemblance to certain varietal forms
of this species is so great, that in the absence of specimens for immediate
comparison the one might almost be mistaken for the other, and I feel
confident that in the recent form we have merely a derivative from the
fossil; in other words, that the fossil species is the direct or immediate
ancestor of the living one. This conclusion is supported, apart from the
general characters uniting the two species, and the circumstance that
.$. accipitrinus is the only form now living in the region, or elsewhere,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 85

which at all approximates in structure the fossil species, by the ready
adaptability to variation which the recent form exhibits. So marked,
indeed, is this tendency to vary that some of the extreme varieties of the
species might almost be said to approach more nearly 5. Leidyi than
their own type forms. This variation is seen in the flattening of the
whorls of the spire, the less prominence of the wings, and in a reduction in
the size of the tubercles of the body-whorl, characters, in the accentua-
tion of which, primarily, -S1. Leidyi differs from 5. accipitrimts. In
the more common, or what might be called typical, forms of the latter
species the wing is quadrangular, exhibiting its greatest expansion above
the shoulder-line of the shell ; in the greater number of individuals of
S. Leidyi, on the contrary, the wing has a regular crescentic out-
line, although a tendency toward quadrangulation is very apparent in
many of the specimens. It might be said that the two species vary
toward each other in respect of this character, the one showing a
tendency toward losing the quadrangulation of the wing, the other toward
assuming it. A like variable feature separating the two species is ex-
hibited in the nodulation (S. accipitiinus) or non-nodulation (S. Leidyi}
of the whorls of the spire. Of much more permanent value as dis-
tinguishing characters are the greater elevation and flattening of the
spire in 5. Leidyi, the absence of true tubercles on the body-whorl,
and the much greater ponderosity of the shell generally.

Lister figures a stromb (pi. 856), Strombus integer of Swainson, which
in many respects, especially in the form and structure of the wing, recalls
the Florida fossil. The species is described by Gray in his " Descriptive
Catalogue of Shells" (June, 1832, p. 2) as follows: "Shell ventricose,
solid, white ; spire elongate, conical ; last whorl nodulose behind ; lip
thick, rounded, white." Most authors, it appears, have failed to identify this
species, described from a figure alone, as a member of the living fauna,
and have accordingly discarded it from their catalogues. Morch, how-
ever, claims it as a good species, and adds (Malakozoologische Blatter,
xxiv, p. 17) : " In 1869 I obtained by [from] Mr. Landauer, at Frankfurt,
a specimen from a French collection marked ' .$". incnnis, Florides,'
exactly corresponding to Lister's figure. It is the only [one] I recollect
to have seen." His description of the species is as follows : Testa
planinsenla, solidula, albcsccns ; spira elongata, acuta, conica ; ultimo
anfractu postice leviter nodulose ; labro tcmii cxpanso. Whether or not
Morch and Gray refer in their descriptions to the same species, it is a
little difficult to determine, despite the assurance given us by the former
that his specimen corresponds absolutely with Lister's figures. There can
be little question from Lister's drawing that the specimen intended to be
represented by him has a thick lip, as correctly interpreted by Gray,
whereas Morch maintains that the lip is thin. The general form of

86 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Lister's species, especially the outline of the wing, is so unlike that of
any stromb, except the Florida fossil, that one might be readily tempted,
making due allowance for imperfect drawing, to unite the two into a
single species, the more especially as the shell is described (by Gray) as
being white, a feature foreign to the recent representatives of the
family, and indicative to a certain extent of a fossil condition. Indeed,
the only marked difference between the two forms appears to lie in the
more pronounced nodulation of the spire in S. integer, a feature not un-
likely exaggerated in the drawing, which is manifestly erroneous in the
delineation of the spire. Were it not for Morch's positive statement that
he has secured a specimen, with a thin lip, absolutely conforming to
Lister's drawing, I should have felt little hesitancy in relegating
Swainson's species to the category of fossils, and of uniting with it
the species from the Caloosahatchic ; and even now I am far from
convinced that this identity does not exist, but as it appears prac-
tically hopeless to positively identify any form with the S. integer, I
have deemed it the safer plan to describe the Florida fossil as a distinct
species.

Strombus pugilis, L.

Linn?eus, Syst. Natune, I2th ed., p. 1209.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, Part xxvi, p. 109, pi. 2, figs. 13-15.

This species, in the variety known as 5. alatiis, Gmel., is fairly
abundant in the Venus canccllata bed at Fort Thompson, but less so in
the underlying Pliocene deposits. The specimens obtained do not differ
essentially from the recent form.

Genus CYPR.EA.
Subgenus Siphocyprsea, Heilprin.

I propose this subgenus for a group of remarkable Cypraaas, which
differ from all other members of the family in the possession of a deep,
comma-shaped sulcus or depression, occupying the apical portion of the
shell, and which, as the posterior continuation of the aperture, is curved
dextrally around the axis of involution. It would appear that the presence
of this sulcus is due to a siphonal prolongation of the mantle, which,
contrary to what is seen in other Siphonata, must have been pro-
jected in advance of the animal ; otherwise, the position of the sulcus
would have been posterior, instead of anterior, to the apical axis. The
other characters of the shell are those of Cypraea generally. In the
absence of positive knowledge respecting the organization of the
animal, I have retained it provisionally under Cypraea, although not
improbably the distinguishing characters above indicated are of generic
value.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

87

Cypraea (Siphocyprsea) problematica, nov. sp. Fig. 12.

Shell ovately cylindrical, completely involute, exhibiting in the apical
region a deep comma-shaped depression — prolongation of the aperture —
which is wound dextrally around the axis of involution.

Base plano-convex, slightly tumid superiorly ; aperture somewhat
eccentric, narrow, arcuate, continued into the comma-shaped depression
above referred to; canal short, broadly reflected; labrum with from
twenty to twenty-five prominent plaits, which are considerably stronger,
and much less crowded, than the equally numerous plaits on the colu-
mellar surface.

Length, 2.7 inches; width, 1.4 inches.

Common in the banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

This species is a much narrower shell than the Miocene Cypi'<za
Carolincnsis, and differs in like respect from all the larger Tertiary species
of the West India Islands with which I am acquainted. It most nearly
approaches in outline the recent Cyprcea cxantlicma, of the Florida coast.
The remarkable comma-shaped depression on the apical portion serves to
distinguish it readily from all other species of the genus, either recent or
fossil, that have come under my notice.

Pyrula reticulata? Lam.

Animaux s. Vertebres (Ficula), ix, p. 510.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, vii, p. 265, pi. 5, fig. 28; pi. 6, fig. 33.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

Mr. Tiyon separates the common species of the southern United
States (/'. papyratia of Say) from the eastern P. rcticulata, observing that
the shell of the former is slimmer and more delicately sculptured.
Whether these seemingly trivial characters are constant or not in the
living forms I am not prepared to say, but, obviously, the ornamentation
of the Florida fossil more nearly resembles that of Lamarck's species than
of the presumably distinct form described by Say.

Natica canrena, L.

Mus. Ulr., p. 674.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, viii, p. 20, pi. 4, fig. 58.

Caloosahatchie, banks below Fort Thompson.

Natica duplicata, Say.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Phila., ii, p. 247.

Tryon, Manual of Conchology, viii, p. 33, pi. 12, fig. 3.

Below Fort Thompson.

Cruoibulum verruoosum, Reeve.

Conch. Icon., ii, Crucibulum, Species 19.
Tryon, Manual of Conchology, viii, p. 119.

88 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Turritella perattenuata, nov. sp. Fig. 13.

Shell very slender, gradually tapering ; whorls very numerous, doubly
carinated, the carinae crenulated or beaded, the upper and lower about
equally removed from the upper and basal margins of the whorls respec-
tively, the upper carina frequently appearing double through the presence
of a contiguous additional line ; shoulder of the whorls prominent, with one
or two elevated lines ; the concave space between the carinae with two
obsoletely crenulated lines, the upper of which is somewhat the more
prominent. Aperture quadrangular.

Length of a restored specimen nearly five inches ; greatest width,
.6 inch.

Common in the banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

This shell can be at once distinguished by its extremely elongated or
attenuated outline, surpassing in this character all other forms of the genus
with which I am acquainted, either recent or fossil. It bears a (super-
ficially) close resemblance to Turritella tornata of Guppy (Q. Journ. Geol.
Soc., London, xxii, p. 580), a Miocene fossil of the island of Santo Domingo,
but differs in its more slender outline, the greater relative elevation of
the shoulder, and in the less prominence of the two intermediate lines
between the carinae. These are also much more distinctly beaded in T.
tornata. Gabb maintains (" Santo Domingo," Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv,
p. 240) that Guppy's description applies only to a single variety of the
species, and enumerates other characters which are by him held to cover
other varieties of the species as well. I fail, however, to see upon what
ground this emendation to the original description is made. The speci-
mens in Mr. Gabb's collection marked T. tornata certainly do embrace
two or more distinct forms of Turritella one of which is indisputably
Guppy's species, but why these should be all linked together as a single
species I do not exactly comprehend. It is true that they bear a general
resemblance toward one another, both in outline and ornamentation, but
I fail to detect any gradual passage of the one form into the other — a con-
dition which might naturally be expected on the hypothesis of specific
identity — at any rate, not into the form which accords precisely with
Guppy's description.

Turritella apicalis, nov. sp. Fig. 14.

Shell gracefully tapering, with an acute apex ; whorls numerous,
straight-sided, carinated above and below, the carinae about equally
removed from the upper and lower sutures respectively, distinctly beaded ;
a prominent subsutural line, placed about medially on the shoulders of the
whorls ; the flattened space between the carinnc with an obscurely beaded
sub-median line, and numerous finer lines, which are almost invisible to
the naked eye ; the beads of the carinae oblique, and inclined in opposite

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 89

directions, the upper ones downward to the right, the lower ones down-
ward to the left ; aperture quadrangular.

Length, 1.7 inches; width of base, .3 inch.

Caloosahatchie, abundant in the banks below Fort Thompson.

Turritella oingulata, nov. sp. Fig. 15. ^ T < "^

Shell elevated, straight-sided ; whorls flat, faintly carinated inferiorly
by an obscurely beaded (or " roped ") line or band, which is followed
successively in the direction of the apex by two distinctly crenulated or
beaded lines, an obliquely and obscurely lined (barely elevated) band,
and a delicate terminal line ; the band above the two lines is more dis-
tinctly beaded along its base, appearing somewhat like a third crenulated
line ; aperture quadrangular.

Length, 2.4 inches ; width of base, .5 inch.

From the banks below Fort Thompson.

Turritella mediosulcata, nov. sp. Fig. 16.

Shell rapidly tapering, straight-sided ; whorls flattened, appearing
somewhat concave through the presence of a depressed median area or
band, which is bounded inferiorly by a fairly prominent beaded line ;
surface covered with numerous fine revolving lines, which above the
medial depression are cut obliquely (downward to the right) by obscure
rugations ; aperture quadrangular ; base flat.

Length of fragment, 1.5 inches; width of base, .4 inch.

A solitary specimen, from below Fort Thompson.

Turritella subannulata, nov. sp. Fig. 17.

Shell turreted, acuminate ; whorls angular, marked by a broad basal
impressed band or channel, which is ornamented with numerous delicate
revolving lines ; surface of the whorls above the channel longitudinally
plicated, with two well-defined submedial lines, and numerous finer lines,
as in the channel ; aperture rounded ; base convex.

Length, 1.2 inches; width of base, .25 inch.

Abundant in the banks below Fort Thompson.

Cerithium atratum ? Born.

Mus. Cass., p. 324, pi. ii, figs. 17, 18.

I doubtfully refer to this species a solitary specimen found in the banks
below Fort Thompson. It is a somewhat more elevated shell than the
recent form, and its ornamentation also differs slightly ; but on the whole
its facies is very similar, and I am inclined to believe that among a selec-
tion of specimens individuals would be found to grade into the typical
C. atratum, which is itself a markedly variable species. The specimen
measures an inch and a half in length.

90 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Cerithinm ornatissimnm, nov. sp. Fig. 18.

Shell acuminate, gracefully tapering ; whorls numerous, fifteen or
more, furrowed below the suture, and rugated with a very elaborate or-
namentation ; the upper seven or eight whorls of the spire distinctly
plicated (longitudinally), the plications on the lower whorls becoming obso-
lete, and replaced by broken nodes, which are disposed in a double series
— one row above the sub-sutural furrow, the other immediately below it
— the nodes of the two series at first opposite, then alternate ; the lower por-
tions of the whorls granulated ; body-whorl with four distinct lines of
granulations, the basal one, which is separated by an interval from the
others and followed by three elevated, non-granulated lines, the strongest ;
entire surface of the shell covered with fine revolving lines, which alter-
nate in size ; aperture about one-fifth the length of shell, gently arcuate.

Length, somewhat above two inches ; width, a half-inch.

A solitary specimen from the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species can be readily distinguished by its form and ornamenta-
tion from the recent C. atratum and C. cburncuiii, to both of which it bears
a general resemblance.

LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

Panopsea Menardi, Deshayes. Fig. 19.

Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat., xiii, p. 22.
Panoptsa faujasi (auct.).

Several large specimens from the banks .below Fort Thompson, with
the valves still attached.

I can find no characters by which to separate the Florida fossil from
the well-known species of the European Miocene and Pliocene formations.
It is almost without doubt the species figured and described by Say as
Panopcea reflexa (Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., vol. 4, p. 153, pi. xiii,
fig. 4), which is stated to have the "shell transversely oblong-subovate;
anterior margin somewhat narrower and longer than the posterior mar-
gin, the edge reflected ; surface wrinkled, and profoundly so towards the
base. Length, three inches and two-fifths; breadth, five inches and seven-
tenths," In the above description posterior [margin] should stand for an-
terior and vice versa ; height for length and length for breadth. I have
not seen any specimens from the American Miocene deposits which corre-
spond with Say's figures. The form that has been identified with it by
Conrad — of which the collections of the Academy possess numerous
specimens — and which has been generally accepted as Say's species, is a
very different shell, easily recognized by its declining posterior slope, the
position of the umbones, which are almost invariably placed nearer the pos-
terior border than the anterior, and the acute angulation and narrowness of

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 91

the sinual inflection. In Say's P. rcflexa, as well as in the Florida fossil and
P. Menardi, the hinge-line is about equally elevated both anteriorly and
posteriorly, the beaks are somewhat anterior, and the sinual inflexion
relatively shorter and broader. The shell is also more massive. In view
of the differences here indicated, I would propose for the common form
of the Atlantic Middle Tertiaries, hitherto referred to Panopaa reflexa,
the name of P. cymbula, the species to be defined as follows :

Panopsea cymbula, nov. sp. Fig. 20.

Panop&a rcflexa, of most authors.

Shell expanding anteriorly, where it is highest, gracefully rounded ;
rapidly sloping posteriorly, with the border reflected, permitting of a
broad gape ; beaks somewhat posterior, or beyond the middle, considera-
bly sloping, the apex directed slightly to the rear ; a prominent trans-
verse cardinal tooth beneath the apex, followed by a strortgly-bordered
cartilage plate ; muscular and pallial impressions rugged, deep ; sinual
inflection generally narrow and acutely pointed; external surface of
shell strongly and roughly furrowed.

Length, 5.3 inches ; height, three inches.

Miocene of the Atlantic slope.
Panopaea Floridana, nov. sp. Fig. 21.

Shell oblique, expanding and ascending anteriorly, abruptly truncated
behind ; hinge-line in front of the umbones rising considerably, declivous
beyond the cartilage-plate, and ascending again toward the posterior
extremity ; posterior margin reflected, the shell gaping broadly ; umbones
well in front of the middle ; cartilage-plate very strong ; ligamental sulcus
deep ; muscular and pallial impressions well impressed, rough, the sinual
inflection often v-shaped.

Length, 5.1 inches; height, three inches.

Both valves of a single individual.

This species can be readily distinguished from P. Menardi (P. reflcxa,
Say) by its truncated form, and the rise in the hinge-line in front of the
umbones ; the height of the gape is also relatively greater.

Panopsea navicula, nov. sp. Fig. 22.

Shell (known only by the right valve) short, broadly-oval, obliquely
rounded anteriorly, abruptly truncate behind, the gape (posterior) very
broad ; umbo in advance of the middle of the shell, the apex directed
forward ; hinge-line sigmoidal, or flexuously curved, ascending in front,
reflected posteriorly ; cardinal tooth prominent, arched upward ; cartilage
plate strong ; muscular and pallial impressions very deep, the sinual
inflection short and openly quadrangular; surface of shell prominently
sulcated.

Length, five inches ; height, 3.5 inches.

92 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

This shell most nearly approaches the preceding in outline, but can
be distinguished by its broadly swelling anterior border, its greater height,
and the form of the sinual inflection.

Semele perlamellosa, nov. sp. Fig. 23.

Shell thin, transversely elongated, oval, about equilateral ; beaks cen-
tral, acute, not prominent; right valve with a vertically incised, lamellar,
cardinal-tooth, which is followed by the very oblique, and broadly opening
cartilage sulcus ; dental fissure in left valve narrow, apparently duplicated ;
lateral teeth subcentral ; surface covered with numerous, regularly placed,
elevated lamella? of growth, which are gently angulated on the posterior
slope.

Length, 2.8 inches ; height, two inches.

A single specimen from the banks below Fort Thompson.

Venus rugatina, nov. sp. Fig. 24.

Shell ventricose, subcircular, appearing on its inner aspect much like
Isocardia, with a prominent anterior projection, corresponding to the
lower boundary of the deeply-impressed lunule ; hinge-line in each valve
with two prominent, transversely projecting, cardinal teeth, and a third
(posterior) oblique one, which, in the left valve, is separated from the
median tooth by a deep.'obliquely directed, dental sulcus ; the anterior
tooth in the left valve deeply grooved above, and preceded by a dental
papilla ; posterior lateral teeth not prominent ; surface covered with very
numerous, sharply-defined, imbricated lines of growth, which at nearly
regular intervals are marked off by lines of special prominence, imme-
diately below which the normal lines are least closely crowded ; number
of prominent lines twenty-five and upward ; number of normal lines
between these from six to eight ; border crenulated, the crenulation
extending under the lunule.

Length, 2.5 inches; height, 2.1 inches.

Abundant in the banks below Fort Thompson.

Closely resembles the recent Venus nigosa, but may be readily distin-
guished by the greater interval separating the more prominent lines.

Cardium Floridannm, nov. sp. Fig. 25.

Shell obliquely cordate, upright, posterior slope somewhat depressed,
flattened ; beaks elevated, with the apex turned gently toward the anterior
margin ; left valve with a deep pit immediately under the apex, in front
of which is a prominently projecting pointed tooth ; two pyramidal
lamellar teeth, underneath which are corresponding dental pits ; right
valve with the lateral teeth underlying the dental pits ; hinge-line raised
anteriorly into a flattened vertical plate, which ascends beyond the apex
of the beak.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 93

Surface radiately ribbed ; ribs narrow, about thirty in number, pro-
foundly squamous, the scales erectly vaulted, compressed and carinate,
or overlapping, on the posterior side, broadly flattened anteriorly, so as
to produce shallow cups, through which the ribs appear to pass.

Height, 1.4 inches.

This species most resembles among recent forms Cardinal consors
from the west coast of South America, which differs in the greater
number and closer imbrication of the scales on the posterior slope, and
in lacking the open cup-like forms of the anterior border; the elevated
dental plate is also less prominent.

Hemicardium columba, nov. sp. Fig. 26.

Shell (known only by the left valve) elevated, gibbous, carinated on
the umbonal slope ; posterior cordiform space profoundly hollowed ;
anterior border evenly rounded ; base slightly sinuous posteriorly, some-
what produced ; posterior border deeply emarginate ; beaks elevated,
transverse, the apex appearing as though directed to the rear ; cardinal
teeth two, enclosing a deep pit, the anterior one much the more promi-
nent ; lateral teeth lamellar, pyramidal ; entire surface of shell closely
ribbed, ribs echinated, about thirty-six in number, some thirteen of
which are on the posterior slope ; basal margin crenulated.

Height, to summit of beak, four-fifths of an inch ; length, .7 inch.

I have but two valves of this species, a near ally of the recent Hcuii-
cardiuin media of the southern coast, from which it can be distinguished
by its more upright form, the deeper hollowing of the posterior face, and
the more pronounced carination of the umbonal slope.

Chama arcinella, L.

Syst. Nat., p. 1139.

Numerous in the banks below Fort Thompson.

The individuals of this species vary in the fossil much as they do in
the recent form, the variation depending upon the convexity of the
valves, the disposition and thickness of the spines, the presence or ab-
sence of interstitial secondary radiating lines, etc. In the collections of
the Academy of Natural Sciences there are a number of Chama valves,
from Cape Fear River, North Carolina, which are marked in Conrad's
handwriting Arcinella spinosa. I am not aware that the species has ever
been described as such, but it is nothing other than an unusually spiny
variety of C. arcinella, and, doubtless, the form which is correctly re-
ferred in Emmons's North Carolina report to the living species.

Chama crassa, nov. sp. Fig. 27.

Shell thick, ponderous, cordiform, with a prominent sulcus descending
the posterior slope ; both valves very convex, the left one somewhat the
larger; beaks spirally twisted, much as \nlsocardia; the hinge-line (in

94 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

the left valve) with a profound arciform ligamental furrow, and two nearly
horizontally placed cardinal teeth, separated by a broad, slightly curved,
dental sulcus ; muscular impressions sharply defined, deep ; external sur-
face rugose, covered with the somewhat sinuous lines of growth ; basal
margin entire, not crenulated.

Length of largest specimen, measured along the antero-posterior axis,
and through the umbones, 3.7 inches ; height, nearly three inches ; depth
of a single valve somewhat over two inches.

Common in the banks below Fort Thompson.

This form may be readily distinguished from all the other species of
North American Chama, either recent or fossil, by its ponderous form, and
the near equality of the two valves, differing in the latter character con-
spicuously from the European Chama gryphoidcs, which much resembles
it. It differs in this respect also from the American Chama corticosa of
Conrad (Miocene), which, however, is a sinistral shell.

Lucina disciformis, nov. sp. Fig. 28.

Shell compressed, suborbicular, higher than broad, flattened on the
umbonal slope; beak subcentral, acute, overlooking a deeply impressed
lunule; ligamental sulcus profound; cartilage-pit oblique ; cardinal teeth
two in each valve, the posterior in the right valve, and the anterior in the
left valve, bifid ; anterior margin of shell impressed somewhat above the
middle ; muscular impressions elevated, the anterior ribbon-form, long
and narrow, departing somewhat from the rather distantly separated
pallial line; external surface ornamented with numerous distantly placed
lines of growth, which at nearly equal intervals rise into rugose elevated
lamella? ; interior of shell longitudinally rugated.

Height, 2.5 inches ; width, 2.4 inches.

This shell bears a similarity of outline to the Miocene Lucina Ameri-
cana (L. anodontd), and is barely distinguishable from that species by
external characters alone ; the latter is, however, edentulous. Among
recent forms it approximates L. Childreni, but that species is inequivalve.

Area scalarina, nov. sp. Fig. 29.

Shell obliquely rhomboidal, elevated, ventricose, angulated posteriorly,
flattened ; anterior end short, everjy rounded ; beaks prominent, trans-
verse, about eight, distant; ligament-area diamond-shaped, nearly smooth
in the young shell, with delicate transverse lines — in the adult, with a
limited number of coarse, sinuous longitudinal lines ; hinge-line straight,
somewhat more than one-half the greatest length of shell ; teeth num-
erous, somewhat oblique toward either end.

Ribs prominent, about twenty-four, broad, square, robustly crenate,
those of the left valve broader than the interspaces, flattened posteriorly,
about eight on the anal angulation ; those of the right valve of about the

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 95

same width as the interspaces (the anterior ones the broadest), with an
interstitial secondary rounded rib in the centre of the interspace ; the
two valves unequal, the basal margin of the left valve greatly protruding
beyond that of the right; base profoundly crenulated.

Length, 3.3 inches ; height, 2.5 inches.

Abundant in the banks of the Caloosahatchie below Fort Thompson.

I am not absolutely satisfied as to the value of this species, although
the form, so far as all the specimens collected by us are concerned, is a
very clearly defined one. It closely resembles the shell identified by
Tuomey and Holmes with Area scalaris of Conrad (Foss. Med. Tert. Form.
U. S., p. 59, pi. 3 1 , fig. i ; Tuomey and Holmes, Pliocene Fossils of South
Carolina, p. 43, pi. xvi, figs. I, 2), and might, indeed, be readily mistaken
for it. Through the kindness of Prof. Whitfield I have been permitted to
make a comparison with the type-forms described and figured by Tuomey
and Holmes, and find that their shell differs very materially from the
Florida fossil. In the first place it is decidedly more oblique, and
secondly, the ribs adjoining the posterior slope (on the left valve) are not
nearly as broad relatively, nor as flattened, as they are in A. scalarina ; the
ribs of the left valve are more remotely placed from one another, and lack
the pronounced interstitial secondary rib, which is so prominently defined
in the Florida fossil. Its place is taken by a hair line, which is present
in same of the intercostal spaces. The characters of the Florida shell
are remarkably constant, showing practically no variation, and were I as
positive of the stability of characters in the Carolina fossil, I should have
no hesitation in regarding the two as specifically distinct; unfortunately,
only a single pair of valves of Tuomey and Holmes's shell has been posi-
tively identified, which, therefore, gives no information on this point. As
it is, the characters of the two are sufficiently distinct, indeed, fully as
well-marked as those which separate the Florida fossil from the recent
Area incongrua of the Southern coast, which may, with much plausibility,
be looked upon as its immediate descendant. The recent species agrees
more nearly in the general outline of the shell, being upright rather than
oblique, but differs in the less width (in the left valve) of the ribs, and in
lacking the true interstitial rib of the right valve (although an indication
of it appears in a faint elevated line), agreeing in this respect with the
South Carolina fossil. That the three forms are most intimately related
there can be no question, and I believe there is likewise little or no
question that they all lie on the same line of descent. Tuomey and
Holmes assert that their shell is closely allied to Area transversa. This
is certainly a mistake; the two shells, beyond the general characters
uniting the majority of Areas, have very little in common — neither in
shape, size, nor ornamentation.

Another point that remains to be determined in this connection is

90 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNEK FREE

whether the fossil described by Tuomey and Holmes is really the Area
scalaris of Conrad, or not. That paleontologist was acquainted with the left
valve only of his species, nor do the collections of the Academy of Natural
Sciences, which embrace the greater number of the specimens either
obtained or described by Conrad, show any other portion of that species
but the left valve. Inasmuch as one of the more important distinguish-
ing characters lies in the opposite valve, it is impossible to say whether
the form in question would approximate more nearly the South Carolina
fossil or Area scalarina, or, indeed, whether it is the equivalent of either
the one or the other. All the valves, which include the figured form, are
of comparatively small size, and, as far as mere outline is concerned,
more nearly resemble A. scalarina. The posterior ribs, however, as in
the South Carolina shell, are narrower than in the Florida fossil, lacking
the peculiar flattening of that species, and, reasoning from the fact that
the shell was obtained from the same series of deposits which also
yielded the South Carolina fossil, it may perhaps be assumed that the
two are identical. This is, however, a matter of conjecture. The
umbones in Conrad's shell are considerably less prominent than in either
the South Carolina or the Florida fossil, and possibly the form never
attained a size comparable with that of either of the two other forms.

Area crassicosta, nov. sp. Fig. 30. .

Shell subquadrangular; vcntricose, ponderous, ornamented with about
twenty coarse, elevated, transversely barred, terete, ribs, which are some-
what irregular and crowded on the anterior half of the shell, becoming
widely separated and profoundly elevated on the posterior half; beaks
nearly anterior, looking forward, separated from each other by a fairly
broad interval ; hinge-line almost as long as the greatest length of the
shell, pectinated with numerous narrow, nearly vertical teeth; ligamental
area narrow, elongated, with about six longitudinal lines, which rise
toward the apex of the beak ; interior of the shell coarsely rugated ; base
ascending anteriorly, profoundly crenated.

Length, 2.7 inches ; height, two inches.

Below Fort Thompson.

This shell can be readily distinguished by its profoundly elevated
and widely separated ribs, being the most coarsely costated Area with
which I am acquainted. It closely resembles Area rustica, of Tuomey
and Holmes (Pliocene Fossils of South Carolina, p. 39, pi. xv, fig. i),
and may, indeed, be that shell. Unfortunately, these authors have given
but a very meagre and unsatisfactory description of their species, which
barely permits of an absolute determination being made. Their figure,
drawn from a mere fragment, does not represent the profound ribs seen
in the Florida fossil ; the posterior interspaces are apparently also much

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 97

narrower, nor does there appear to be any marked variation either in the
disposition or the size of the costal. Still, the differences here indicated,
which are based upon figure and description only, may be more apparent
than real, and the two forms, as above intimated, may in reality repre-
sent a single species. Unfortunately for the determination of this point,
the only perfect valve possessed by Tuomey and Holmes was lost before
the publication of their monograph, and the fragment which served as
the type of the species, for both figure and description, and which, as far
as I am aware, was the only other specimen extant illustrating the
species, has since been lost from the collection of the South Carolina
geologists. I am informed to this effect by Prof. Whitfield, of the Amer-'
ican Museum of Natural History, of New York city, where the type
collections of the South Carolina Survey are deposited.

Area lienosa, Say.

American Conchology, pi. 36, fig. i.
Area Floridana (recent), Conrad.

This shell is identical with the recent Area Floridana, from the Florida
coast, the specific name of which will have to be replaced by that of
Say's species, which has priority. The only difference that it presents,
and this is probably not constant, and at most a trifling character,
is a somewhat greater anterior projection of the hinge-line, making the
shell appear more distinctly eared. It does not appear, however, that
the recent form attains the size of that seen in the fossil ; one of the
specimens from the upper Caloosahatchie measures six inches in length,
and three inches in height to the top of the umboues. The ribs where
worn, especially towards the base, show a double or quadruple struc-
ture, best seen in the larger specimens.

Area aquila, nov. sp. Fig. 31.

Shell (known only by its left valve) elongated, rectangular, winged,
profoundly sulcated on the posterior slope ; anterior border vertical,
straight ; basal line slightly sinuous beyond the middle ; posterior border
deeply emarginated ; hinge-line straight, of nearly equal length with the
base ; teeth very numerous, gradually increasing in size towards either
end, where they are markedly oblique; hinge-area broad, obscurely fur-
rowed in longitudinal lines ; beak moderately elevated, incurved, the apex
directed backward ; surface of the shell radiately ribbed, the ribs sinuous,
beaded — especially on the anterior portion of the shell, where they are
separated by an intermediate fine line — becoming obsolete in the posterior
sulcus and on the wing, where they are represented by two pairs of lines ;
lines of growth prominent towards the base and on the wing ; basal mar-
gin crenulated.

98 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Length, 1.25 inches; height, from base to hinge-line, .5 inch.

This winged ark is at once distinguished from A. aviculceformis (
by the absence of the anterior rostrum and its rectangular form. The last
character, in addition to differences in the ornamentation, also serves to
distinguish it from the Miocene Area incilc, which resembles it somewhat
in the pterination of the posterior slope.

ARCA.
Subgenus Arcoptera, Heilprin.

Shell elongated, aviculaeform, rostrated anteriorly, winged posteriorly ;
hinge-line practically the entire length of the shell, exceedingly narrow,
and pectinated with a crowded series of transversely directed or partially
v-shaped teeth ; umbones widely separated ; ligamental area very broad,
open ; base sinuous, with a median opening.

I propose this subgenus for a series of very remarkable arks, which
can be readily distinguished from all other members of the genus by their
peculiar pterination and rostration, giving an external outline precisely
that of Avicula. This character is accompanied by a most extraordinary
attenuation anteriorly of the chamber of the shell.

Area (Arcoptera) avioulaeformis, nov. sp. Fig. 32.

Shell elongated, aviculaeform, rostrated anteriorly, winged posteriorly,
with a prominent obtuse carination on the umbonal slope bounding the
wing; rostrum declivous, marked off from the body of the shell by a
broad hollow ; basal margin of shell sinuous, showing a median opening,
and rapidly sloping upward in the direction of the rostrum; posterior
border deeply emarginate.

Umbones acute, very excentric, moderately elevated, and but slightly
incurved, with a gradual continuous slope to either extremity of shell ;
hinge-line nearly the whole length of shell, very narrow, pectinated with
a crowded series of lamellar, transversely directed, teeth, which exhibit a
tendency to become oblique and v-shaped on the posterior half of the
line ; ligamental area broad, open, arching upward in a gentle curve,
longitudinally lined, and irregularly grooved by numerous diagonal or
v-shaped furrows resembling insect borings.

Surface of shell ornamented with numerous radiating wavy lines, alter-
nating in coarseness, which become more or less obsolete on the umbonal
slope, and are wholly wanting on both the beak and wing, which only
show concentric lines of growth ; of the radiating lines on the anterior
part of the shell the series runs about as follows : coarse line, followed
by two finer lines, then a slightly more prominent single line, again
two finer lines, and then a coarse line, same as first, marking the coarse

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 99

lines at intervals of about six or seven ; interior of shell deep, cunei-
form ; margin entire.

Length, 5.4 inches; width across the beaks, 2.5 inches.

Caloosahatchie, in the banks below Fort Thompson.

Spondylus rotundatus, nov. sp. Fig. 33.

Shell (known only by the larger valve) capacious, orbicular below the
hinge-line, distinctly auriculated ; hinge-line triangular, pyramidal, the
beak acute, laterally twisted at the apex, traversed by a median slit;
cartilage-pit profound, reaching about half-way to the apex ; cardinal teeth
powerful, slightly spreading ; external surface coarsely ornamented with
irregular squamous ribs and intermediate scaly fine lines, the (imbricated)
scales on the latter drawn out into flattened spines or echinations.

Height to apex, 3.5 inches; greatest width, 2.5 inches.

A solitary, perfectly preserved valve from the banks below Fort
Thompson.

This species is quite distinct from any form, either recent or fossil,
with which I am acquainted.

Pecten solarioides, nov. sp. Fig. 34.

Shell suborbicular, depressed, of about equal height and width ; ribs
about 2O (?), quadrangular or flattened, broader than the interspaces,
crossed by fine rugose lines of growth ; a faint median longitudinal line
or carination can be detected on some of the ribs, probably eroded on the
others ; the interspaces with two or more elevated longitudinal lines ; left
ear of right valve with about five very oblique, narrow ribs, rugose with
the lines of growth ; right wing ? Interior of shell prominently ribbed.

Height, 5.7 inches.

The half of a single right valve, and a fragment of probably the other
valve, from the banks below Fort Thompson.

This shell can be readily distinguished from the only species that at
all resembles it, Pectcn comparilis, by its more elevated form, the height
of its wings, and the structure and disposition of its ribs, which are more
distinctly quadrangular and elevated. In the fragment which possibly
represents the left valve the ribs are broader than in the opposite valve, of
about twice the width of the interspaces, which, at least in the upper
portion of the shell, are deep and nearly parallel-sided. They show a
single median elevated line.

Pecten comparilis, Tuomey and Holmes.

Pliocene Fossils of South Carolina, p. 29, pi. xi, figs. 6-10.
Pecten eboreus of Conrad (in part).

I refer to this species a number of large Pectens, found in the banks
below Fort Thompson, and also at Thorpe's, some of whose forms are

100 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

absolutely undistinguishable from the Carolina fossil* The largest
perfect specimen measures 4.2 inches in height, and nearly five inches in
greatest width. The form appears to be a rather variable one, the varia-
tion depending upon the relative convexity of the valves and ribs, the
latter, in the larger individuals, more generally assuming the flattened
form, with a submarginal carination ; the interspaces between the ribs
may also exhibit two or more faint carinations (imbricated longitudinal
lines), a character which was used by Conrad to distinguish P. Edgcco-
incnsis (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1862, p. 291) from P. eborcns. I have
not seen any specimens of P. Edgccomcnsis, and am therefore unable to
say whether it corresponds to the variety of P. comparilis here indicated,
or not.

Peoten (Pleuroneotes) Mortoni, Ravenel.

Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., ii, p. 96.

Identified by one nearly perfect specimen and several fragments from
among the fossils of the upper Caloosahatchie. This species is most
intimately related to Pleuruncctes Japonicus, of the East Asiatic seas,
and can only be distinguished from it by the characters drawn from
the radiating raised lines of the interior of the shell, which in P. Mortoni
are disposed in narrow pairs, passing as such to the border. In P.
Japonicus the lines, while starting in pairs, lose their dual character long
before reaching the margin.

Fecten nodosus, L.

Syst. Nat., i2th ed., p. 1145.

A solitary fragment, absolutely undistinguishable from the recent
species.

Caloosahatchie, below Fort Thompson.

Ostrea meridionalis, nov. sp. Fig. 35.

Shell (at first) strongly plicated, suborbicular or elongated, becoming
massive and ponderous when full-grown, with an almost complete oblit-
eration of the plications ; the plications in the adult not visible on the

• I have examined what is supposed to be the type-specimen of Tuomey and Holmcs's
Pecten comparilis, and find that it differs somewhat from what has generally been assumed
to be species in question. The characters in which it varies, as the greater convexity of the
apical portion of the shell, and a slight reduction in the number of ribs, are, however, insig-
nificant, and inasmuch as the specimen is a solitary one, and consequently throws no light
upon individual variation, I think that the identity of the species with the form that Conrad
has recognized as P. comparilis, a shell attaining a very much larger size than that figured
and described by Tuomey and Holmes, may be fairly assumed. This form, moreover, is
that which was also subsequently identified with their own species by the South Carolina
geologists. Whether the species is distinct from Conrad's Pecten eboreus is a question
which, in the absence of a sufficiently large number of specimens for comparison, I am not
prepared to answer.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 101

interior faces of the valves ; hinge-area, in the adult, greatly elongated,
either straight or laterally twisted, sometimes nearly one-half the length
of shell ; the median groove of variable width and depth, projecting
below the lateral ridges, so as to make the hollow of the shell appear
two-horned ; cavity of shell shallow, impressed medially just below the
hinge-line ; muscular scar semilunar, deep.

Length (height), 6.3 inches ; width, variable ; thickness of shell, two
to two and a half inches and upward.

Very abundant in the " marl " banks below Thorpe's, where the shell
can be seen several feet below the surface of the water ; less abundant in
the banks below Fort Thompson, and at one or two points between this
locality and Thorpe's.

This form may be readily distinguished from all the other Eastern
species of Ostrea by its ponderous proportions, greatly surpassing in this
respect 0. percrassa from the Miocene of New Jersey. In its early
stage it resembles in both outline and ornamentation the recent 0. borcalis,
but the adult form, from its manner of growth, is wholly different.

The following additional species of Mollusca were obtained from the
deposits below Fort Thompson : —

Nassa vibex, Say.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., ii, p. 231.

Crepidula cymbaeformis, Conr.

Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., ii, p. 173.

Crepidula fornicata, L.

Syst. Nat., p. 1257.

Bulla striata, Brug.
Diet., No. 3.

Siliqua bidentata, Spengler.

Skrivt. Nat. Selsk., iii, p. 104.

Semele variegatum, Lam.

Anim. s. Vertebr., vi, p. 126.

Eangia cyrenoides, Des M.

Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux, v, p. 57.

Venus cancellata, L.

Syst. Nat., p. 1130.

Venus Eileyi, Conr.

Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., p. 9, vi, fig. I.
Venus Mortoni, Conr.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., vii, p. 251.

Artemis discus, Reeve.

Conch. Icon., Artemis, 9.

Artemis elegans, Conr.

Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., p. 30.

Dione (Calliste) gigantea, Chem.
Conch. Cab., x, p. 354.

102 TRANSACTION'S OF THE WAGNER FREE

Dione maeulata, L.

Syst. Nat., p. 432.

Cardium magnum, Born.

Mus. Cses., pi. 3, fig. 5.

Cardium isocardia, L.

Syst. Nat. (Gmelin ed.), p. 3249.

Lucina edentula, L.

Mus. Ulr., 74.

Lucina Pennsylvanica, L.
Syst. Nat., p. 1134.

Lucina Floridsna, Conr.

Amer. Journ. Science, xxiii, p. 344 (1833).

Luoina tigerina, L.

Syst. Nat., p. 1133.

Carditamera arata, Conr.

Foss. Shells Tert. Form. U. S., p. 20.

Area plioatura, Conr. (et Area improcera).
Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., p. 61.
Heilprin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., 1881, p. 451.

Pectunculus lineatus, Reeve.

Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1843.

Peotunculus aratus, Conr.

Am. J. Science, xli, p. 346.

Plicatula ramosa, Lam.

Anim. s. Vertebr., vi, p. 176.

Peoten nucleus, Born.
Mus., p. 107.

Anomia Ruffini, Conr.

Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., p. 74.

Ostrea Virginica, Gmel.
Syst. Nat., 3336.

List of species found in the deposits of the CaloosaJiatchie .

*Murex imperialis, Panopasa Menardi,

brevifrons, Floridana,

Fusus Caloosaensis, " navicula,

Fasciolaria scalarina, Semele perlamellosa,

gigantea, * " variegatum,

* tulipa, *Rangia cyrenoides,
Melongena subcoronata, Venus rugatina,
Fulgur rapum, * " cancellata,

* " contrarius, " Rileyi,

" excavatus, * " Mortoni,

* " pyrum, *Artemis discus,

* " pyriformis, * " elegans,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 103

*Nassa vibex, *Dione (Calliste) gigantea,

Turbinella regina, * " maculata,

Vasum horridum, Cardium Floridanum,

Mazzalina bulbosa, *Cardium magnum,
Voluta Floridana, isocardia,

Mitra lineolata, Hemicardium columba,

Marginella limatula, *Chama arcinella,
*Oliva literata, " crassa,

* " reticularis, Lucina disciformis,
Columbella rusticoides, * " edentula,
*Cancellaria reticulata, * " Pennsylvanica,
Pleurotoma limatula ? * " Floridana,
Conus Tryoni, * " tigerina,

" Mercati ? Carditamera arata,

" catenatus ? Area scalarina,

Strombus Leidyi, " crassicosta,

* " pugilis, * " lienosa,
Cypraea(Siphocypra;a)problematica, " aquila,
*Pyrula reticulata, " plicatura,

*Natica canrena, " (Arcoptera) aviculaeformis,

* " duplicata, • *Pectunculus lineatus,
*Crucibulum verrucosum, aratus,
Crepidula cymba^formis, Spondylus rotundatus,

* " fornicata, *Plicatula ramosa,
Turritella perattcnuata, Pecten solarioides,

" apicalis, " comparilis,

" cingulata, " Mortoni,

" mediosulcata, * " nodosus,

" subannulata, * " nucleus,

*Cerithium atratum ? Anomia Ruffini,

" ornatissimum, Ostrea meridionalis,

*Bulla striata, * " Virginica.
*Siliqua bidentata,

The species preceded by an asterisk are living forms.

It will be seen from the above enumeration that of a total of some
eighty-nine species forty-one are still members of the recent fauna, con-
stituting forty-six per cent, of the entire number. In addition to these
immediate representatives of the recent fauna there are a number of forms
which are secondarily representative in the circumstance of being ances-
tral, /. e., they are manifestly types from which, through an evolutionary
process, a portion of the recent fauna has been derived. The close rela-
tion which thus binds together1 the fauna of the present period with that

104 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

of the Caloosahatchie leaves no doubt as to the Pliocene age of the
latter.

The exact position in the Pliocene series which the Caloosahatchie
deposits occupy, gauged by the standard of classification adopted by
European geologists, cannot be readily determined, owing to the very
limited number of forms which appear to be common to both sides of the
Atlantic. In the percentage of living forms the formation stands nearest
to the Antwerp (Black) Crag, the Diestian of the Belgian geologists and
to horizon III of the Bolognese Apennines, in which the proportion of
living to extinct forms, as determined by Foresti, is somewhat above 43
per cent, (vide Fuchs, Die Gtiedenatg ttcr Tertiarbildungen am Nordab-
hange der Apenninen von Ancona bis Bologna, Sitzungsb. d. k. Akad.
Wissensch., Lxxi, p. 177, Vienna, 1875 ; Heilprin, Contributions to the
Tertiary Geology and Paleontology of the United States, p. 64, 1884).
This horizon constitutes the base of the Italian Pliocene series (Astian)
according to those geologists who, like Capellini, recognize in the lower
sub-Apennine deposits a transition formation (Mio-Pliocene ; Messinian, in
part, of Meyer) uniting the Miocene with the Pliocene. The relation held
by the " Floridian " formation to the deposits of next oldest date occurring
in the eastern United States is almost precisely similar to that which
obtains in the case of the Bolognese Apennines. Thus, the "Carolinian"
formation, which until the discovery of the South Floridian bed just
referred to was considered to represent the newest stage of the Atlantic
Tertiary series, occupies a position analogous to the Mio-Pliocene of Capel-
lini. In its upper member, which comprises the beds occurring in South
Carolina, the proportion of living to extinct molluscan forms is, as I have
elsewhere shown,* from 35-38 per cent., and I have indicated that while
both stratigraphically and faunally this series is more nearly Miocene
than Pliocene, it yet might be considered to occupy a position intermedi-
ate between the two. In the upper member of Capellini's Mio-Pliocene,
Foresti's horizon II, the percentage of living forms is 38.8. The " Flori-
dian " formation may thus be safely considered to represent the base of the
true Pliocene. The percentage of recent forms in the oldest of the British
Crag series, is, according to Lyell, upwards of sixty.

* Contributions to the Tertiary Geology and Paleontology of the United States, p. 62.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 105

FOSSILS OF THE SILEX-BEABING MABL (MIOCENE) OF
BALLAST POINT, HILLSBOBO BAY.

GASTEROPODA.

Genus WAGNERIA, Heilprin.

I propose this genus for a very remarkable shell, distinguished by
peculiarities of structure which broadly separate it from all other Gaste-
ropoda. These peculiarities are : firstly, that the inner or columellar lip
is so largely developed as to cause it to envelop a very large, if not the
greater, part of the shell, duplicating the outer wall and labrum ; and
secondly, that through an apparent conjunction of both folds of the
mantle, a dome of shell is built over the spire, from which its own walls
are separated by a free air-space. This part of the shell appears, there-
fore, as a second section, completely separated from the basal or apertural
division. In what precise manner this dome was formed it is impossible
to say, but manifestly the lobes of the mantle must have extended upward
from the aperture, arched over, and deposited the shell-layer. The free
space which separates the dome from the spire would seem to indicate
that the mantle possessed a special rigidity, by which it retained itself.
The genus may be briefly characterized as follows :

Shell irregularly oval or rounded-fusiform, intumescently knobbed ;
spire elevated, broadly scalariform, concealed in a pointed dome which is
formed over it by a free upward extension of both lobes of the mantle ;
aperture narrow, deflected forward in its upper course, where it is reduced
to a mere slit, appressed to the body of the shell by a pseudalar expan-
sion of the outer lip ; inner lip developed to a most extraordinary extent,
covering by its expansion almost the entire, or the whole, shell, duplicating
the outer lip.

This extraordinary genus of shells, which I take pleasure in naming
after the late Prof. William Wagner, the generous founder of the Wagner
Free Institute of Science, of this city, is apparently a near ally of Orthaulax
of Gabb (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., 1872, p. 272, pi. ix, figs. 3, 4;
Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., xv, p. 234), a form evidently closely related to some
of the Rostellariae, as Calyptrophorus and Hippochrenes (Macroptera), in
which the inner lip is frequently abnormally developed. The remarkable
duplication seen in Wagneria, produced by the complete backward pro-
longation of the labium, which actually overlaps a large, if not the greater,

106 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

part of the labrum, serves, apart from all other characters, to readily
distinguish it from the more nearly related forms of the group. Mr. Gabb
remarks that in Orthaulax the "adult shell [is] enveloped over the whole
spire by an extension of the inner lip," but adds that the " outer lip [is]
apparently sharp and simple." An examination of the specimens deposited
by Gabb in the Academy of Natural Sciences shows that the latter part
of his statement is incorrect, the outer lip being to a considerable extent
duplicated. The Florida species which I refer to Wagneria, exhibits
this character in a very striking degree, the backward extension of
the labium, as seen on a cross-section some distance from the actual
base, being fully as ponderous in structure as the labrum proper, which
it overlaps as a very distinct outer layer. The duplication exists over at
least two-thirds of the shell. The unique dome which conceals the spire
is a character not seen in Orthaulax, and is one of the most anomalous
structures found among the Gasteropoda.

Wagneria puguax. nov. sp. Fig. 36.

Shell irregularly oval, obconical, flattened, the flattened appearance
being due to three irregular swellings or knobs, one of which immediately
adjoins the anteriorly-directed fissure of the aperture ; aperture narrow,
projected forward (in its upper course) as a closely compressed fissure,
which in a crescentical curve ascends to within a comparatively short
distance of the apex of the spire ; outer lip ? (broken in specimen) ; inner
lip largely developed, completely concealing the whorls of the spire, and
duplicating for a veiy considerable extent the outer lip ; spire freely
enclosed in a pointed superstructure, or dome, built over it by an exten-
sion of the mantle; surface covered with longitudinal lines of 'growth,
which extend continuously from the apex to the base.

Length (of imperfect specimens, lacking probably upward of an inch),
2.7 inches; width, 1.75 inch.

What the precise relationship of the genus represented by this species
may be I am not prepared to say.

Zittel (Handbuch der Palaeontologie, I, part ii, p. 260) unites Orthau-
lax with Hippochrenes, but in doing so this eminent paleontologist ap-
pears to have been misled by the rather imperfect diagnosis of the fossil
given by Gabb. That its position is near to that genus I believe there
can be no doubt.

Murex larvaeeosta, nov. sp. Fig. 37.

Shell angulated, obscurely scalariform ; varices seven to eight in
number, obtusely rounded, direct ; whorls moderately angulated on the
shoulder, crossed by numerous elevated revolving lines, about ten of
which on the body-whorl are much more prominent than the remainder,

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 107

and show a tendency to become lamellar, especially toward the base of
the shell ; the spaces between the more prominent lines covered with
numerous finer (tertiary) lines, and a median secondary line ; aperture
somewhat more than one-half the length of shell, the (slightly-deflected)
canal about one-half the length of aperture.
Length, 1.6 inch ; width, .9 inch.

Murex crispangula, nov. sp. Fig. 38.

Shell strongly angulated, markedly rugose; spire elevated, of about
five volutions ; varices six (on the body-whorl), sharp, deflected obliquely
toward the base of the shell ; surface of shell very strongly lined, the
lines of three series, primary, secondary, and tertiary ; those of the first
series about ten on the body -whorl, very prominently elevated on the
varices, becoming spinose toward the base of the shell and on the aper-
tural varix ; aperture slightly exceeding one-half the length of shell,
the very narrowly-contracted canal gently deflected.

Length, 1.6 inch; width, .7 inch.

This species may be readily distinguished from M. lama>costa, which
it somewhat resembles, by its narrower outline, the smaller number of
and greater sharpness of its obliquely directed varices, and its generally
rugose surface.

Murex tritonopsis, nov. sp. Fig. 39.

Shell consisting of about six regularly-convex whorls ; varices, three
on each whorl, profoundly convex and entirely destitute of spines or
lamellar processes ; two more or less nodulose costse between each pair
of varices ; aperture exceeding one-half the length of shell, the canal
deflected, very narrow ; surface of shell covered with closely placed,
elevated revolving lines, which regularly alternate in size.

Length, 1.2 inch; width, .7 inch.

This species very closely resembles Murex Mississippiensis, Conr., from
the Vicksburg beds, but may be distinguished by the presence of two
sharply-defined costae between each pair of varices, and in the character
of the revolving striae, which are very much finer and more crowded in
the Mississippi fossil.

The young of M. pomum somewhat resembles the Florida fossil, but
may be readily distinguished by the superior angulation of the whorls
and the irregularity of the costation.

Murex trophoniformis, nov. sp. Fig. 40.

Shell having the form of Trophon ; whorls about six, sub-angulated
superiorly, very convex ; varices placed at irregular intervals, four on
the body-whorl, the intervariceal spaces with one, or two, or even three
secondary costs ; aperture about two-thirds the length of shell, contracted

108 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

into a short, sharply-deflected, and open canal ; surface of shell covered
with numerous alternating, elevated lines.
Length, 1.2 inch; width, .8 inch.

Murex spinulosa, nov. sp. Fig. 41.

Shell elevated, elongated, about equally attenuated to both extremi-
ties ; whorls strongly angulated superiorly, bearing short, outwardly
directed, spines on the shoulder angulation ; a row of similar (supra-
basal) spines in the siphonal region ; aperture about one-half the length
of shell, the canalicular portion the longest ; umbilicus long and open ;
surface of shell below the shoulder with a limited number of prominent
revolving lines, four on the body-whorl.

Length, slightly exceeding one inch ; width, half-inch. This species
somewhat resembles the recent M. (Urosalpinx) fusifonnis of Adams.

Latirus Floridanus, nov. sp. Fig. 42.

Shell fusiform, about equally tapering; whorls convex, sub-angulated
superiorly, costated ; about ten obtuse costae on the body-whorl ; aper-
ture somewhat exceeding one-half the length of shell, contracted into a
gently-deflected, open canal of moderate length; outer lip striated in-
ternally; columellar folds feeble, one or two in number, sdmewhat ob-
lique; surface of shell covered with rugose revolving lines, alternate in
size.

Length, 1.7 inch ; width, .6 inch.

An apparent variety of this form, possibly a distinct species, has a
somewhat more depressed outline, a more pointed apex, and is generally
more rugose in its ornamentation. The columellar folds are more nearly
transverse, and three to four in number.

This species appears to be on the whole most nearly related to the
recent Latirus infundibulum, from which it differs in the greatly reduced
spire, and a proportional elongation of the siphonal tract.

Fulgur coronatum, Conr.

Bull. Nat. Inst., p. 187.

A fossil from the Miocone deposits of Maryland.

Pulgur spiaiger t Conr.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., new ser., i, p. 117, pi. n, fig. 32, as Fusus.

A solitary specimen, somewhat imperfect, which differs from the Vicks-
burg fossil only in the slightly more depressed character of the
shoulders of the whorls.

Turbinella polygonata, nov. sp. Fig. 43.

Shell elevated, turreted ; whorjs abruptly flattened on the shoulder —
rendering the spire scalariform — the upper ones gently convex, obscurely
noded or costated; body-whorl quadrangular, with a broad, flat shoulder;

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 109

the costse obsolete, resolved into a number (about eight) of shoulder-
nodes, which break the circumferential outline into a polygon ; aperture
greatly exceeding the spire in length ; columellar folds three, transverse,
situated immediately below the body of the shell ; revolving lines of sur-
face feebly defined, almost obsolete on the body-whorls, except on the
siphonal tract, where they are well-marked, and of equal significance.

Length (of fragment, lacking probably two-thirds of an inch below,
and a third of an inch above), 1.8 inch ; width, .8 inch.

Vasum subcapitellum, nov. sp. Fig. 44.

Shell elevated, pagoda^form ; whorls of the spire about seven in
number, coronated and strongly costated, the concentric lines (two or
three) below the shoulder prominent, those on the rugose shoulder less
distinct ; the coronary spines prominent, sharp, and directed outwardly ;
body-\vhorl with a single row of sharp basal spines, about six in number,
below which are two not very prominent lines, and above, some seven
sharply-defined concentric ridges, separated by interstitial finer lines ;
shoulder of whorls elevated ; outer lip strongly lined internally ; inner
lip well expanded, but leaving a broadly-open umbilicus ; columellar
plaits three, transverse, the upper the largest ; surface of shell covered
with rugose lines of growth.

Length, 1.4 inch; width, .7 inch.

This shell very closely resembles the recent Vasum capitellum, espe-
cially the young of that form, and might at first sight be readily
mistaken for that species. It differs in its less foliaceous aspect, smaller
size, the elevation of the shoulder (nearly flat in V. capitclliuii), and in
the presence of only a single row of basal spines (instead of two). I
believe there can be no doubt as to its being the ancestor of the living
form.

Voluta musicina, nov. sp. Fig. 45.

Shell cylindriform ; spire elevated, of about seven volutions ; whorls
convex, strongly costated, impressed below the suture, so as to divide
the costae into a double series ; costas very prominent, obtuse, about ten
on the body-whorl, crossed at right angles by rather distantly-placed,
elevated revolving lines ; outer lip with a reflected border ; inner lip
distinct in its lower half, plicated over its entire extent, the plicae increas-
ing in size from above downward, nearly transverse in direction ; aperture
considerably over half the length of shell, narrow.

Length, nearly two inches ; greatest width, at about the middle of
the shell, slightly exceeding one inch.

The shell bears a very general resemblance to the recent Valuta
vii/sica, of which it may be considered an immediate ancestor, differing
from that form principally in its narrower outline, the depressed shoulder

110 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

of the body-whorl, and the subsutural impression. There is no trace of
coronation. The form is intermediate between Voluta proper and Lyria,
perhaps nearer to the latter.

Voluta (Lyria) zebra, nov. sp. Fig. 46.

Shell cylindriform, with an elevated, slightly scalariform spire of about
six volutions; whorls costated, the costs; (about twenty on the body-whorl)
closely-placed, sharply-defined, oblique, forming a pseudo-coronation on
top of the whorls ; outer lip greatly thickened on the border, slightly
ascending; inner lip irregularly plicated over its entire extent, the three
or four basal plica; much the strongest; aperture somewhat more than
half the length of shell, narrow, elliptical, contracted basally into a short
open canal ; surface of shell, barring the costse, smooth over almost its
entire extent, with a few impressed revolving lines on the base of the
body-whorl.

Length, an inch and a quarter ; greatest width, .6 inch.

This shell most nearly resembles Voluta pnlcliclla of Sowerby, a
Miocene fossil of Santo Domingo (Q. J. Geol. Soc. London, vi, p. 46, pi.
ix, fig. 4), but may be distinguished by its narrower spire, the greater num-
ber (best seen on the spire) and more direct obliquity of the costas, and
the costal coronation on top of the whorls. Exceptionally the costas are
equally crowded in V. pulchdla, but the regular convexity of the whorls,
and the absence of the subsutural coronation, seem invariably to dis-
tinguish that form. Much the same characters separate it from Otocheilus
(Fulgoraria) Mississippiensis of Conrad, from the Vicksburg (Oligocene)
group, which is also a narrower shell. In its ornamentation the Florida
fossil more nearly approaches the recent V. Delessertiana.

Mitra (Conomitra) angulata, nov. sp. Fig. 47.

Shell ovately cylindriform, longitudinally plicated ; whorls of the spire
very convex, slightly angulated above ; body-whorl more prominently
angulated ; revolving lines absent or obsolete, except from the base of
the shell ; aperture somewhat exceeding one-half the length of shell ;
columellar folds four, the upper nearly oblique.

Length, .4 inch; width, .17 inch.

Conus planioeps, nov. sp. Fig. 48.

Shell broadly conical, rapidly tapering toward the base ; spire reduced
to a minimum, represented in most specimens by an exceedingly gentle
rise, crowned by a papilla (apex); whorls about seven, all of them fully
exposed on the crown, the shoulders concentrically lined ; revolving lines
nearly obsolete over the greater extent of the body-whorl, prominent on
the basal portion ; notch ?

Length, 1.4 inches; width of crown, .8 inch.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. Ill

Very closely resembles Conns Haitcnsis of Sowerby, a Santo Domingo
fossil, from which it may be distinguished by its more regularly depressed
crown, and the character of its ornamentation. The latter species is so
variable, however, that not impossibly the Florida form may ultimately
prove to be only a variety, although in the extensive series of specimens
contained in the Gabb collection, illustrating Sowerby's species, I fail
to find anything which fully agrees with it.

1 Pleurotoma ostrearum, Stearns.

I identify with this species a small Pleurotoma which appears to
differ (?) from the living form only in having the costae more distantly
removed from one another, and possibly also a little more prominent.
It very closely resembles P. abitndans, of Conrad, from the Vicksburg
deposits of Mississippi.

Cypraea tumulus, nov. sp. Fig. 49.

Shell completely involute, inflated, very convex, the greatest elevation
being immediately back of the apex ; the dome abruptly truncated pos-
teriorly, sloping more gradually in the direction of the anterior extremity ;
aperture narrow, subcentral, slightly flexuous, directed obliquely over the
apex ; outer lip produced somewhat beyond the inner lip posteriorly, with
about twenty-five evenly placed dental plications ; columellar surface
flattened, the teeth less prominent; surface of shell covered with very fine
revolving lines, which, however (in the specimens before me), are only
visible in immediate proximity to the aperture; base gently convex.

Length, 1.6 inch; width, one inch; greatest elevation, .9 inch.

This species may be readily recognized by the marked elevation of
its dome, which is more pronounced than in the case of any other
American species of the genus, except C. splicer aides, Conr., from the
Vicksburg (Oligocene) beds, in which this character is still more empha-
sized. The latter species may be distinguished by its globose form, con-
tracted aperture, and the absence of revolving striae.

Onisoia Domingensis, Sowerby (1850).

Q. Journ. Geol. Soc. London, vi, p. 47, pi. 10, fig. 3.

Gabb, "Santo Domingo," Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv, p. 223 (as Morum).

A single individual, measuring .7 inch in length, in which the gran-
ules are largely wanting on the columellar surface, a condition which,
according to Sowerby, also characterizes the young of the Dominican
form. Mr. Gabb affirms that this species is " very different from Oniscia
harpnla, Conr., from the Vicksburg Eocene [Oligocene], although Mr.
Conrad has asserted their identity." I must admit, however, that an
examination of the type of Conrad's species, described in the Journal of
the Academy of Natural Sciences for 1848 (p. 119), inclines me to the

112 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

belief that Conrad's determination is the correct one. The two forms
are certainly most intimately related, despite Gabb's assertion to the con-
trary ; the Mississippi fossil has a somewhat higher spire, and a more
thickened outer lip, but these distinguishing characters may belong
exceptionally to the single individual which in the Philadelphia collection
represents Conrad's species.

Natica amphora, nov. sp. Fig. 50.

Shell semi-globular, depressed on the basal surface; spire elevated,
of about four volutions, all the whorls deeply channeled along the
sutural line ; body-whorl about three-fourths the size of the entire shell ;
aperture semi-lunate, contracted above, effuse below ; inner (columellar)
border of aperture direct, diagonal ; deposit of callus considerable,
leaving a long, narrow umbilical fissure; base of shell sub-carinated ;
surface smooth.

Length, about four inches ; greatest width, across the centre of
aperture, 3.7 inches.

This species, the largest of the American fossil Naticas, cannot be
readily confounded with any of the hitherto described members of the
genus. Although in a general way recalling the recent N. diiplicata, it
is immediately distinguished from that form by the deeply impressed
sutural-line and the exposed umbilicus. Its nearest ally appears to be
N. maxima, Grateloup, from the deposits of Bordeaux and Dax, France,
but it lacks the peculiar expansion of the body-whorl of that species, and
further differs in the exposed umbilicus.

Amaura Guppyi, Gabb.

Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv ("Topography and Geology of Santo Domingo"), p. 224.

Identified by a single specimen.

Natica streptostoma, nov. sp. Fig. 51.

Shell depressed, oblique, with the spire almost concealed ; aperture
very large, sigaretiform, the border flattened on the columellar side, and
folded over into a pseudo-carina, which passes beneath the labium as the
outer bounding-line of the umbilicus ; umbilicus narrow, vertical ; surface
smooth.

Length (height), one inch ; greatest width, diagonally across the
apertare, 1.2 inch.

May be readily identified by the large, oblique aperture, and the basal
carina.

Turritella pagodaeformis, nov. sp. Fig. 52.

Shell gently elevated, gradually tapering ; whorls numerous, hollowed
medially, with an expanded base, which projects considerably beyond the

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 113

boundary of the whorl upon which it rests, and forms a series of well-
marked carinations ; a secondary carination above the basal one, followed
(in the direction of the apex) by two prominent, faintly beaded, lines and
several less prominent ones in the hollow of the whorl, and these again
by several alternately placed lines of less value ; aperture quadrangular ;
base flat.

Length of longest fragment, three inches ; greatest width, .7 inch.

Turritella Tampse, nov. sp. Fig. 53.

Shell moderately elevated, the whorls flattened, slightly impressed in
the middle, and becoming discontinuous at about a distance of an inch
and a half below the apex ; revolving lines distinct on the upper whorls,
becoming more or less obsolete on the basal ones, except those in the
medial impressed furrow, where they remain distinct, appearing somewhat
crowded, and alternate in degree of coarseness; aperture sub-quadrangular;
base convex.

Length ?

Turbo crenorugatus, nov. sp. Fig. 54.

Shell moderately elevated, the whorls regularly convex, ornamented
with coarse concentric beaded or " roped " lines, which are of unequal
sizes, the third and fifth lines below the suture finer than those between
which they are placed ; the beads or crenulations oblique (inclining
downward to the left), becoming very coarse and irregular toward the
aperture, and scaly or imbricated on the base ; the basal lines of nearly
equal width, except the one immediately adjoining the labium, which is
of about twice the normal width; umbilicus covered; aperture oval; base
convex.

Length (height), 1.2 inch ; width of base, 1.4 inch.

Most nearly resembles the recent T. crenulatus.

Turbo heliciformis, nov. sp. Fig. 55.

Shell dome-shaped, the whorls convex, closely enveloping above —
toward the apex — less so below, ornamented with numerous equally-
placed revolving lines, upon one or more of which immediately adjoining
the suture there is a faint crenulation ; aperture obliquely-oval ; base
convex ; umbilicus deep, round.

Length (height), .4 inch ; diameter of base, .6 inch.

Most nearly resembles Turbo (Omphalius) viridis.

Delphinula (?) solariella, nov. sp. Fig. 56.

Shell turbinate, moderately umbilicated ; whorls subangular, chan-
neled on the basal margin, ornamented with about five concentric beaded
lines, the beads largest on the upper lines ; base of shell flattened, indis-
8

114 TRANSACTIONS OP THE WAGNER FREE

tinctly rayed., with an equal number of revolving beaded lines, the beads
most prominent on the umbilical line ; aperture orbicular, the border
nearly continuous ; umbilicus deep.

Length (height), .18 inch; width of base, .2 inch.

Closely resembles Solariorbis bclla, of Conrad, from the Claiborne
(Eocene) sands of Alabama, but the whorls in that shell are much more
angular, and have two equally prominent circumferential channels
instead of the single basal one seen in the Florida fossil. The generic
position of the species cannot be definitely determined.

Genus PSEUDOTROCHUS, Heilprin.

Shell turbinate, umbilicated, with the general aspect of the members
of the family Turbinidce or their allies, but differing in the siphonate
character of the aperture; aperture round, the lip continuous except at
the base, which is truncated through the formation of a sharply and ob-
liquely deflected short canal.

I propose this genus for a rather anomalous shell, whose relationship
I cannot even guess at. As stated in the generic diagnosis it recalls in
habit the turbos, troques, or delphinulas, from which, however, it is
immediately separated by the apertural canal. It also in a measure
recalls Triclwtropis, but is of a much firmer and heavier build. Whether
or not the shell was nacreous in structure I am unable to say, as the
original material has been completely replaced by silica. I know of no
form, either recent or fossil, with which it can be said to be closely related.

Pseudotroohus turbinatus, nov. sp. Fig. 57.

Shell doubly turbinate, sloping about equally to base and apex;
whorls of the spire crenulated on the angulation immediately above the
suture, concentrically striated; body-whorl sharply angulated and
sub-carinated in the middle, the crenulations appearing as pseudo-
costulations, which are crossed by several transverse lines ; base of shell
pyramidally convex, concentrically ridged and lined ; aperture sub-
rotund, canaliculate; inner lip raised, and forming a border to the
umbilical sulcus.

Length, .8 inch ; greatest width, .8 inch.

Cerithium precursor, nov. sp. Fig. 58.

Shell small, slender, of the general habit of the recent C. mitscantiu ;
whorls about ten, longitudinally plicated and concentrically ridged, the
ridges or lines about three on each of the whorls of the spire, five on
the body-whorl, which in some specimens exhibits one or more irregular
excrescences ; aperture oval, oblique, produced into a short canal.

Length, .6 inch.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 115

Differs from C. innscarum in lacking the basal carination of that
species ; from C. femiginevm, apart from differences in the character of
the ornamentation, in the form of the outer lip, which is not sub-orbicular.

Genus POTAMIDES.
Sub-genus Pyrazisinus, Heilprin.

I propose to designate under this name certain shells which combine
the general characters of Potamides and Pyrazus, differing from the
former in the non-canaliculate character of the aperture, and from the
latter in the possession of a deep sinus in the labrum ; the outer lip is
effuse, thickened — much as Cerithidea — and carried completely over to the
labium, so as to enclose a round siphonal aperture, as seen in the recent
Pyrazus sulcatns.

Pyrazisinus campanulatns, nov. sp. Fig. 59.

Shell elevated, rapidly tapering ; whorls of spire about ten, convex,
obliquely costated, concentrically striated, appearing generally rugose ;
costae nearly obsolete on the body-whorl, which is disfigured by one or
more (?) prominent excrescences or knobs ; outer lip effuse, broadly-thick-
ened on the border, with a deep, nearly parallel-sided, sinus ; basal border
of labrum extending completely over to the columellar surface, enclosing
a round siphonal aperture.

Length, nearly two inches ; width of base, one inch.

Fartula Americana, nov. sp. Fig. 60.

Shell ovately-cylindrical, of about seven volutions ; the whorls very
convex, longitudinally finely lined, the lines, which are barely visible to
the naked eye, somewhat more regular than simple lines of growth, and
directed downwards obliquely to the right ; body-whorl nearly two-thirds
the length of shell ; aperture narrowly oval, vertical, somewhat less than
half the length of shell ; lip reflected.

Length, .65 inch ; width, .3 inch.

This shell, as far as I am aware, is the first fossil species of Partula
known, and is remarkable as extending the range of the genus to a region
removed by one-half the circumference of the globe from its true habitat.
In what manner its ultimate distribution was effected can only be a matter
of conjecture. The species is closely related to P. grisca.

Eelicina, sp.?

Several specimens closely resembling in outline H. substriata of Gray.

Strophia, sp.?

One specimen, very like .S. incana of Binney, only a trifle broader ;
compared with recent specimens from Florida.-

116 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

Venus penita, Conrad.

Am. Journ. Science, second ser., ii, p. 399.
f Venus Floridana, Conr., id., ii, p. 400.

Shell cuneiform, evenly rounded anteriorly, produced posteriorly ;
base sinuous ; umbones prominent, overlooking a broadly cordiform
lunule; the posterior slope sharply angulated, the angulation preceded
by a gentle undulating fold ; ligamental margin very oblique, and straight
from umbo to extremity ; cardinal teeth robust ; external surface covered
with fine concentric lines, the series interrupted at irregular intervals;
base crenulated.

Length of largest specimens, 1.3 inch ; height, nearly one inch.

The shell is not produced posteriorly to the extent that is represented
in Conrad's figure, which is taken from a cast ; nor is the anterior portion
prolonged much beyond the beaks, so that despite its peculiar cunei-
form outline the shell appears high. I have little doubt that Conrad's
V. Floridana is the young of this species, which is closely related to the
recent V. inacrodon of Deshayes, from the coast of Central America.
The latter form is distinguished by its much coarser ribs, and the inter-
stitial semi-line that appears on the posterior angulation.

Venus magnifica, Sowerby..

Thesaurus Conchyliorum, ii, p. 704, pi. 153, fig. 5 ; Gabb, " Santo Domingo," Trans.
Am. Philos. Soc., xv, p. 249.

A single valve, which is undistinguishable from the Dominican fossil
(Miocene) and the recent species of the Philippine seas ; it differs from
V. puerpera in having a straight hinge-line. In the collection of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of this city there is an undetermined
species of Venus from Egmont Key, Florida, which is very closely re-
lated to our fossil. It differs in the want of regularity of the concentric
raised lines, and in its broadly cordiform lunule.

? Cytherea staminea, Conrad.

Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., pi. 21, fig. i.

Two valves, which differ in but insignificant details from the Miocene
fossil of the Atlantic slope.

T Cytherea Sayana, Conrad.

Foss. Med. Tert. U. S., p. 13.

A single valve, which has much the aspect of this species, but is a
somewhat longer shell and less convex proportionately. It may possibly
represent a distinct form.

Cytherea nuciformis, nov. sp. Fig. 61.

Shell erect, sub-trigonal, moderately convex ; base evenly rounded,
posterior slope rapidly declining ; beaks elevated ; surface covered with

INSTITUTE of SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 117

fine concentric lines of growth, disposed in a somewhat interrupted
series ; teeth ?

Length, .8 inch ; height, .7 inch.

Several specimens which can be readily identified by their small size
and erect outline.

1 Chama maorophylla, Chemnitz.
Conch. Cab., vii, p. 149.
Gabb, "Santo Domingo," Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv, p. 251.

Numerous small shells, the largest not measuring over one inch in
greatest extent, which have a general resemblance to the recent form. In
the absence of larger specimens I prefer to consider the identification as
somewhat doubtful, seeing how very closely the young of different species
of Chama resemble one another. The species appears to be both dex-
tral and sinistral, unless, indeed, two distinct forms are represented by
the valves in my possession. One or more of the individuals are undis-
tinguishable from Conrad's Chama congrcgata (Miocene of the Atlantic
border).

Lucina Hillsboroensis, nov. sp. Fig. 62.

Shell (known only by the left valve) disciform, suborbicular, evenly
rounded anteriorly and basally, truncated posteriorly ; beak pointed,
sub-central; the pre-umbonal border rapidly declivous, direct; two ob-
lique, fairly prominent, cardinal teeth ; surface covered with numerous
regularly-placed, concentric and slightly flexuous, lamellae, about
eighteen to the inch, between which are seen finer lines.

Length, 2.2 inches ; height, the same.

Differs from Lucina disdfonnis, Heilpr., in its suborbicular outline ;
from the recent L. Ji/osa, apart from other characters, in lacking the
convexity of that species.

Crassatella deformis, nov. sp. Fig. 63.

Shell thick in substance, obliquely-oval, the beaks well anterior ;
anterior border, beginning at the beaks, evenly rounded; posterior border
abruptly truncated ; basal margin evenly rounded, not flexuous, crenu-
lated ; external surface profoundly sulcated, the s»lci not extending beyond
the angulation of the broad posterior slope, which is slightly hollowed,
and only shows the lines of growth.

Length, nearly three inches ; height to summit of umbo, 1.7 inch.

This species can be readily recognized by its oblique form, the broad
posterior slope, and the prominence of the sulcation.

Cardita (Carditamera) serricosta, nov. sp. Fig. 64.

Shell ventricose, obliquely-oval, highest in the anterior region ; um-
bones well anterior, very prominent, overlooking a deeply impressed,

118 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

cordiform lunule ; hinge-tooth (in right valve) an elongated lamellar plate,
which advances beneath the lunular depression (where it is thickened), and
is received into a corresponding sulcus in the left valve ; external surface
radiately ribbed, the ribs about sixteen in number, profoundly elevated,
narrow — much narrower than the interspaces — and strongly knobbed or
serrated, those of the posterior slope irregular in size; base creno-
carinated.

Length, 1.3 inch ; height to the top of umbo, one inch.

This species bears a close resemblance to the recent C. laticostata, but
may be distinguished by the narrowness of its ribs — as broad as or broader
than the interspaces in the recent form — and the prominence of its um-
bones.

Area imbricata, Bruguiere.

Encycl. M£th., 1789, p. 98.

Gabb, "Santo Domingo," Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv, p. 254.

A number of individuals, which are practically identical with the
recent forms from Key West, Fla. (from the collections of Hemphill), and
the Miocene fossil of Santo Domingo (Area Noizt of Guppy, Q. Journ.
Geol. Soc. London, xxii, p. 293). The species is also very closely related
to, if not identical with, the Mediterranean A. tetragona of Poli. Area
ocellata, Reeve, from the coasts of the Malay Peninsula, so nearly resembles
the Florida fossil as to be barely distinguishable from it. The only points
of difference appear to be a more pronounced angulation (in the eastern
shell) of the posterior slope, and the lack of radiating lines on the basal
portion of this slope. Area protracta, Conrad, from the Oligocene de-
posits of Vicksburg, is a close ally, but is a much more elongated shell,
and has the posterior border emarginated or sinuous, instead of direct.

Area Listeri 1 Philippi.

Abbild. und Beschreib. Conchyl., iii (1851), p. 87.

I have identified with this form a number of arks undistinguishable
from a recent species of the South Florida coast, which Mr. Tryon has
determined to be Lister's species. I am not absolutely satisfied as to the
correctness of this determination, since the recent Florida shell lacks the
peculiar light color stripe which, according to Philippi's description,
would appear to be characteristic of his species, and has the umbonal
region in addition less inflated. The general habits and other characters
are, however, the same in both forms. Gabb's Barbatia Bonaczyi, from
the Miocene of Santo Domingo, appears to be identical with the
Florida form.

Area aronla, nov. sp. Fig. 65.

Shell moderately elongated, sharply angulated on the posterior slope,
the dorsal and ventral borders nearly straight and parallel with one

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 119

another; dorsal (hinge) line not much more than half the length of
shell ; anterior border projecting forward basally ; posterior border
acutely angulated with the base ; beaks anterior, not very prominent, nor
very widely separated ; ligamental area narrow ; teeth almost obsolete
in the middle of the hinge-line, becoming oblique toward either
extremity ; interior of shell deep ; external surface closely ribbed, the
ribs strongly imbricated by the rugose lines of growth ; ribs most
prominent on the posterior slope, where they are echinated.
Length, 1.7 inch; height to top of umbo, one inch.

Leda flexuosa, nov. sp. Fig. 66.

Shell subequal, the posterior portion somewhat the longest ; basal
margin evenly rounded, not sinuous ; posterior or ligamental slope
feebly arched, nearly direct ; teeth crowded, v-shaped ; external surface
covered with concentric, not very fine, lines, which are gently angulated
and flexed on the posterior slope.

Length, .55 inch; height, .25 inch.

This shell most nearly resembles the recent Leda costdlata of
Sowerby, but differs from that species in the non-flexed basal outline,
and in lacking the very pronounced angulation of the concentric lines on
the posterior slope. From L. acuta it differs in the comparative coarse-
ness of its ornamentation, its larger size, and the posterior flexion in its
lines.

Lithodomus, sp.?

Two casts, very much like L.iiiflatiis or L. corrugatus.

\ Lima scabra, Born.

Mus. Caes., p. no.

Two valves which are undistinguishable from the less spinose variety
of the recent species inhabiting the West Indian seas. The echination
is very fine, appearing somewhat like a raised tessellation. Possibly
this form may represent a variety of the East Indian L. tcnera, of
Chemnitz.

List of Species occurring in the Miocene deposits of Ballast Point,

Hillsboro Bay.

Wagneria pugnax, Turbo heliciformis,

Murex larvaecosta, Delphinula (?) solariella,

" crispangula, Pseudotrochus turbinatus,

" tritonopsis, Cerithium precursor,

" trophoniformis, Potamides (Pyrazisinus) campanu-
" spinulosa, latus,

Latirus Floridanus, Partula Americana,

120 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Fulgur coronatum, Helicina sp. ?

" spiniger? *Strophia incana ?

Turbinella polygonata, Venus penita,

Vasum subcapitellum, * " magnifica,

Voluta musicina, Cytherea staminea?

" (Lyria) zebra. " Sayana?

Mitra (Conomitra) angulata, nuciformis,

Conus planiceps, *Chama macrophylla ?

*Pleurotoma ostrearum, Lucina Hillsboroensis,

Cypraea tumulus, Crassatella deformis,

Oniscia Domingensis, Carditamera serricosta,

Natica amphora, *Arca imbricata,

" streptostoma, * " Listeri,
Amaura Guppyi, " arcula,

Turritella pagodaeformis, Leda flexuosa,

Tampae, *Lithodomus inflatus?

Turbo crenorugatus, *Lima scabra.

The species preceded by an asterisk are living forms.

Of the forty-seven species here enumerated from four to eight are
living forms, so that the representation of the recent fauna might perhaps
in a general way be assumed to be about 13-15 per cent. The Miocene
age of the deposit is thus placed beyond question ; and if the proportion
of living forms determined for this limited collection be assumed to be
approximately correct for a more extended series, then manifestly the
exact position of the horizon will be not far from the base of the Miocene.
This accords well with the location of the formation, and its own special
faunal relationship. None of the fossils — possibly, with one exception —
appear to be identical with forms found in the Oligocene deposits of the
southern United States ; on the other hand, some six or more — Oniscia
Domingensis, Amaura Guppyi, Venus niagnifica, fCliama tnacropliylla, Area
imbricata, fArca Listeri, Lithodomus, sp. ? — are common to the deposits of
Santo Domingo. In these deposits the proportion of recent to extinct forms
is claimed by Gabb to be as high as3Oto33percent.("Topographyand Ge-
ology of Santo Domingo," Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., xv, p. 101), which would
make the formation of considerably newer date than is indicated by the
Florida fossils. I have not had an opportunity to verify Mr. Gabb's determi-
nation, but from a casual examination of his collection it appears to me that
strong exceptions might be taken to many of the specific determinations.
Comparisons with a number of forms satisfy me that in at least several
cases the selected distinctive characters cannot be relied upon, being more
imaginary than real, and this criticism applies as well to cases of specific
identification as to those of specific separation. But with all necessary

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 12l

allowances for imperfections and deficiencies, it would still be impossible
to determine whether the percentage of recent forms ought rather to be
increased or diminished, unless a critical re-examination of all the species
were entered into. It is, however, a significant fact, that the percentage,
as determined by geologists who preceded Mr. Gabb, is placed very
much lower than by Gabb himself. Thus, by Guppy the proportion is
reduced to 20 per cent,, and by Carrick Moore to from 17 to 8 or 9 per
cent. (Q. Journ. Geol. Soc. London, xxii, p. 577). Mr. Guppy further
recognizes the proportion of living forms among the Jamaican fossils,
nearly all of which are stated by Gabb to occur also in Santo Domingo, to
be likewise 20 per cent., but in all these cases the material upon which
the determination was made was much less complete than that which
served as a basis for Gabb's computation, so that not unlikely the latter's
figures are more nearly correct than those furnished by his predecessors.
Granting the accuracy of Mr. Gabb's conclusions, the Santo Domingo
formation would then seem to represent a horizon somewhat higher in
the Miocene scale than is represented by the Florida deposits, in which,
as has already been shown, the proportion of recent forms is reduced to
13-15 per cent. This conclusion is in a measure borne out by the com-
paratively limited number of forms that are held in common by the two
series of deposits, a fact significantly emphasized when the proximity to
each other of the two areas under discussion is taken into consideration.
Still, it is not safe to premise on too scanty material, and while it may
be admitted without reservation that the silex-bearing deposit of Ballast
Point is of Miocene age, its exact horizon in the Miocene scale may be
considered to be as yet undetermined, although the strong probability
points to its representing a part of the " Virginian " series. It is surprising
that so few of the distinctly Miocene fossils of the Atlantic border should
be found here, the more especially as on the Big Manatee River, not more
than some thirty miles distant (almost due south), such fossils — Pccten
Madisoniiis , Pccten Jcff'crsoiiins, Venus alveata, etc. — are prominent by
their abundance.

The fact that the silex-bearing deposit of Ballast Point can be
shown to be unequivocally of Miocene age is important as bearing
directly upon the age of the foraminiferal rock occurring at the same
locality, and at Magbey's Spring, about a quarter of a mile above Tampa,
on the Hillsboro River. It will be remembered that this rock was cor-
related by Conrad with the white limestone of the Vicksburg (Oligocene)
group, and merely from the circumstance of its containing in abundance
the remains of a foraminifer, supposed to be a nummulite (Nummulites
[Assilina] Floridanus). This supposed nummulite is, however, no nummu-
lite at all, but an orbitolite, so that whatever inference may have been
drawn from the occurrence of a form considered to be nearly related

122 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

to the foraminiferal exponent of the Vicksburg beds counts for naught,
although in itself the presence in great quantity of an orbitolite would, if
not exactly indicate, at least suggest, the Oligocene period. But the
genus is also fairly abundant in the periods preceding and succeeding —
i. e., Eocene and Miocene — so that corroborative evidence of one kind or
another is needed before we can definitely assign its true position as a
constituent of rock masses. Now, it is a significant circumstance that the
Oligocene rock proper of the Floridian peninsula — that which I have indi-
cated as the " Orbitoitic " — which is characterized by an abundance of
remains of the genera Orbitoides and Nummulites (either of the one or
the other, or of both), is wholly wanting in the genus Orbitolites, at least
no indications of that genus have as yet come to light there. On the
other hand, the genus is represented in the Miocene deposits of the island
of Santo Domingo, and by a form which differs but little, if at all, from
that which is so abundantly developed in the cream-colored or yellowish
limestone of Ballast Point and Magbey's Spring. This form appears to
be closely related to, if not identical with, Orbitolites complanata, a well-
known fossil of the European Tertiaries, whose range extends from the base
of the Eocene possibly to the present time. Again, in the orbitolite rock
of the localities just referred to, I failed to detect even as much as a trace
of either Nummulites or Orbitoides, a circumstance of no little significance
when the proximity of this formation to the recognized Orbitoitic of the
North is taken into account. The conjunction of these circumstances leads
naturally to the supposition that the rock in question is not a member of
the Oligocene series, as has been very generally supposed. Its geographical
position, and the fact that the genus Orbitolites is a member of the
Dominican fauna, lends strong support toward considering the true
age as Miocene, a conclusion which receives further confirmation
from the evidence carried by the fossils associated with Orbitolites.
These are in most cases in the form of casts and impressions, mainly
undeterminable, but a few of them are sufficiently distinct and charac-
teristic to permit of definite location. One of these, and possibly the
form that is most abundantly represented, is Venus • penita, from the
casts and impressions of which in this rock the species was originally
described by Conrad. This shell figures very prominently among
the silicified fossils of Ballast Point, but is, as far as I am aware, entirely
wanting in the Cerithium rock of the Hillsboro River, which, as has
already been shown, underlies the rock containing Orbitolites. Other
species apparently identical with forms occurring in the silex-bearing
"marl" of this locality are Cytherea staminca and C. nncifonnis. A large
cone, possibly identical with Conus planiceps, is represented by several
casts.

It is to be further remarked, that the Cerithium — C. Hillsboroensis —

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 123

which constitutes the distinctive faunal feature of the underlying cherty-
rock of the Hillsboro, and of the tough blue rock which crops out at
Ballast Point, is wholly absent from the rock with orbitolites ; similarly,
the orbitolite appears to be wanting in the Cerithium rock. What the
precise age of the latter deposit may be cannot be determined from its
faunal features alone, since the Cerithium, which, as far as my own experi-
ence goes, constitutes the only clearly definable species among the num-
erous molluscan impressions, has thus far not been met with in any other
formation, and consequently gives no clue as to the horizon represented
by it ; but from the position occupied by the rock — stratigraphically under-
lying the Miocene (probably the lowest member of the Miocene) and
geographically wedged in between the Oligocene and Miocene — from
both of which it differs widely in faunal characters — I think it may be fairly
assumed that it lies on the border horizon of the two series, forming the
transition ground.

124 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

FOSSILS FHOM LOCALITIES NORTH OF BALLAST POINT.

Cerithium Hillsboroensis, nov. sp. Fig. 67.

Shell elevated, of ten or more volutions; sutures impressed; whorls
ornamented with four clearly-defined lines of granulations, the granula-
tions of the top series very large, prominent, and somewhat in the form
of tubercles ; those of the second line very minute ; moniliform and
nearly equal on the third and fourth lines, in some cases those of the
third line most prominent, in other cases the reverse ; surface covered
with longitudinal, curved creases ; base depressed, with some four or five
revolving lines ; aperture ?

Length, 1.5 inch.

Of the type of the European Ccritliiuui clcgans, but the moniliations
on the lower lines of the whorls are direct, and not oblique, and the
number of such lines is also different; the upper granulations are, in
addition, comparatively more prominent.

Very abundant in the rock forming the bed of the Hillsboro River,
which is the first example in this country of a true Cerithium bed. The
horizon represented is probably the junction of the Oligocene with the
Miocene.

Cerithium cornutum, nov. sp. Fig. 68.

Shell elevated, rapidly tapering, of about 10-12 volutions; whorls
convex, strongly costated, the costae (about seven on the penultimate
whorl) oblique and somewhat sigmoidal ; body-whorl with two (or
three?) broadly-spreading prominences or horns, one of which is situ-
ated obliquely over the aperture, partially bounding the posterior
siphonal canal ; aperture oblique, terminating in a short deflected canal ;
inner lip broadly-reflected, partially ensheathing the apcrtural horn.

Length (of imperfect specimen, lacking probably a half-inch, or
more), 1.8 inch; diameter of base, .8 inch; length of horn, .3 inch.

From the Oligocene (?) formation of the Pithlachascootie River, a
short distance above the mouth of that stream ; obtained by Mr. Willcox.
This form may be readily recognized by its peculiar cornual protuberances.

Orbitolites Floridanus, Conrad (sp.)

Am. Journ. Science, new ser., ii, p. 293, as Nummulites (Assilina).
Ncmophora Floridana, Conr., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., 17, p. 74, 1865.
Crisletlaria? Floridana, D'Orbigny, Prodrome de Paleontologie, ii, p. 406.

In my paper " On the Occurrence of Nummulitic Deposits in Florida,
and the Association of Nummulites with a Fresh-water Fauna " (Proc.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 125

Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., July, 1882; Contributions to the Tertiary
Geology and Paleontology of the United States, 1884, p. 80) I call atten-
tion to the vague description and apparently imperfectly represented
figure of the fossil which Conrad refers to Nummulites, remarking that
its reference appeared to me very doubtful. Up to that time I had not
seen any specimens of the fossil in question, my search among rock
fragments that had been sent to me by different parties from Florida
proving in all cases ineffectual. At Ballast Point, on Hillsboro Bay, and
again in the rock at Magbey's Spring, about a quarter of a mile above
the town of Tampa, on Hillsboro River, I was fortunate in finding great
quantities of the form that I had been so long in search of, and which
had been overlooked for a period of nearly forty years. A cursory
examination of the species immediately confirmed my suspicions as to
the inaccuracy of its generic determination. The species does not even
belong to the great group which includes Nummulites, much less to the
genus ; it is a true orbitolite, and very close specifically to — if not, indeed,
identical with — the common European Orbitolites complanata. Its internal
structure can be determined even with an ordinary hand-magnifier with
considerable precision. The greater number of the individuals are
regularly involute, but others assume the cycloidal form represented by
Conrad, an appearance in some cases brought about by an irregular
exposure of the different planes of the test. More frequently, perhaps,
the same form is due to an actual exocyclic involution of the test, as has
also been observed by Carpenter and others in the European fossil and
the recent species.

The probable Miocene age of the Orbitolitic rock has been commented
on in the last section.

Other Foraminifera observed in the peninsula were : —

Nummulites Willooxi, Heilpr.

Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., 1882, p. 191 ; Contributions to the Tertiary Geol-
ogy and Paleontology of the United States, 1884, p. 80.

Very abundant in the rock at Loenecker's, on the right bank of the
Cheeshowiska River, about four miles above its mouth.

Nummulites Floridensis, Heilpr.

Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences Phila., 1884, p. 321.

Associated with the preceding in the same locality.

Orbitoides ephippium (sella), Schloth.
Die Petrefact., 1820, p. 89.

Very abundant at the nummulite locality on the Cheeshowiska; less
abundant near the mouth of the river (John's Island, etc.), at the spring-
head, and in the rock of the Homosassa.

126 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

? Orbitoides dispansa, Sowerby.

Trans. Geol. Soc. London, 2d sen, v, pi. xxiv, fig. 10, 1840, as Lycophris.
With the preceding.

Heterostegina, sp. ?

In the Miliolite limestone of the Homosassa River.

Sphasroidina, sp. ?

ii it ii * it it

1 Biloculina, sp. ?

it it it it tt

Triloculina, sp. ?

ti it it it it

Quinqueloculina, sp. ?

it it it tt it

Spiroloculina, sp. ?

Several of the last named genera are also represented in the rock
near the head-springs of the Chceshowiska River, and in the mass that
crops up on the immediate ocean-front above the landing at Clearwater.

The following table exhibits the relations of the Tertiary formations
of the eastern and southern United States : —

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA.

127

Atlantic and Gulf Tertiaries of the United States.

POST-PLIOCENE.

Foreign Equivalents.

PLIOCENE.

FI.ORIDIAN.

Deposits of the Caloosahat-
chie.

Astian, in part ; Foresti's
horizon III of the Bolog-
nese sub- Apennines?

MIOCENE.

CAROLINIAN.
(Upper Allan
tic Miocene.)

VIRGINIAN.
(Middle Allan
tic Miocene.)

MARYLANDIAN.
(Lower Allan-
lie Miocene.)

Deposils of Norlh and Soulh
Carolina ("Sumter" epoch
of Dana). Fossiliferous
beds of Rocky Bluff, Mana-
tee River, and of Philippi'sl
Creek and Little Sarasota
Inlet, Florida?

Probably the equivalent of
a portion of Ihe Messin-
ian of Mayer (Sarmalian,
in parl, of Auslrian geol-
ogists), and of the Mio-
Pliocene of the Bolognese
sub-Apennines.

Deposits of Virginia and the; Probably of the age of the

newer group in Maryland
("Yorktown" epoch, in
part, of Dana). Silex-
bearing "marl" of Ballast
Point; Orbitolile rock of
Hillsboro Bay and River
(Florida)?

Second Mediterranean"
of Ihe Auslrian geolo-
gists, and of the faluns of
Touraine ; Caroni beds
of Trinidad; and Mio-
cene of Santo Domingo,
Jamaica and Cumana?

Older Miocene deposits of Probably (or at least par-
Maryland, and possibly the tially) the equivalent of
lower beds in Virginia
("Yorktown" epoch, in
part, of Dana).

the " First Medilerra-
nean " of the Auslrian
geologisls, and of Ihe
faluns of Leognan and
Saucats.

OLIGOCENE.

ORBITOITIC.

Strala characterized by spe-
cies of Orbitoides. Vicks-
burg beds, Florida Num-
mulitic beds, etc.

Aquitanian. Deposits of
Crosara and Castel Gom-
berlo (Vicentin), Oligo-
cene of the Mayence
basin, sands of Fontaine-
bleau, lower limestone of
Malta, Fernando beds on
Trinidad, Antigua chert,
St. Bartholomew Oligo-
cene.

JACKSONIAN.

CLAIBORNIAN.

BUHRSTONE.

Jackson beds of Mississippi,! Barton Clay (Bartonian).
"White Limestone" of Sands of Beauchamp?
Alabama.

EOCENE.

Eo-LlGNITIC.

Fossiliferous arenaceous de-
posit ofClaiborne, Ala., etc.

Beds below the true Clai-
bornian on the Alabama
River, "Chalk Hills" of
the southern part of the
Slate, etc. " Siliceous Clai-
borne" (Hilgard) of Mis-
sissippi. Maryland Eocene,
in part?

Lignite, sands, and clays sit-
uated at the base of the
Tertiary series in Alabama,
etc. Marlborough and
Piscataway beds of Mary-
land? Shark River de-
posils of New Jersey.

Age of Ihe "Calcaire Gros-
sier" of France (Paris-
ian).

Londonian?

Thanetian? Bognorrock?

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 129

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORIDIAN FAUNA.

Tropidonotus taxispilotus (?) var Brocki. PI. 17.

I venture to describe, under the above name, the ophidian figured on
plate 17, which agrees in general characters with one of the common forms
of southern water-snake (Tropidonotus taxispilotus), but yet differs in
certain elements of structure, which, taken by themselves and under
absolutely normal conditions, would be considered to be of at least generic
value. This peculiarity of structure rests principally in the disposition
of the parietal head-shields, which, instead of consisting of the normal
triangular pair, meeting in the median line, diverge from one another,
leaving in the opened posterior angle or space a parr of accessory minor
plates, that might be termed intcr-parietals. The presence of this accessory
pair may be due to a want of coalescence in calcification, since even the
primary parietals show a disposition to split off into minor plates ; or, at
any rate, the presence of the outlines of the ordinary rhomb scales in
these plates proves them to be composites in structure. In how far the
peculiarly modified parietals, and the presence of the accessory pair, may
represent permanent structures, I am unable to say, inasmuch as we
obtained but a single individual of the species; but it is interesting to note,
as will be observed by a reference to plate 17, that the distinctive feature
is accompanied by a slight variation also in the arrangement and disposi-
tion of the ventral head-shields as well. Recognizing the multiple
character of the head-shields, it becomes a question in how far these may
be used as a basis for classification. In the present instance, although I
have not been able to discover a parallel case, I feel confident that the
characters are not of generic, nor probably of even specific value, and I
have, therefore, referred the form in question to Tropidonotus taxispilotus,
although separating it as a sub-species or variety.

Kagle Bay, Lake Okeechobee.

Ictalurus Okeechobeensis, nov. sp. PI. 18.
(Okeechobee Cat.)

Of the general form and outline of Ictalurus lacnstris, from which it
differs principally in color, the relative position of the dorsal fin, and the
greater length of the humeral spine. Head broad, depressed, of nearly
equal width and length, with the eye nearly central antero-posteriorly ;
body moderately stout; dorsal fin nearer to the adipose fin than to the
snout (the reverse in /. lacnstris); humeral process moderately acute,
covered by skin, about one-half the length (or more) of the pectoral

130 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

spine (barely more than one-third in /. laciistris); caudal fin deeply forked,
the two lobes nearly equal, with a slight advantage in favor of the upper
one. Color above, and largely over the sides, black or bluish-black,
yellowish or cream-white on the under surface; one pair of inferior
barbels white.

Total length, 21 inches.

Found in Lake Okeechobee.

Aplysia Willooxi, nov. sp. PI. 19.

I would propose this name for a species of Aplysia which is probably
fairly abundant in some of the western shallows, although we only met
with it in Little Gasparilla Bay. The animal, in its general characters,
appears to be most closely related to the Enropean A. dcpilans (Icporina),
with which it may have been heretofore confounded, but differs in several
well-marked points of structure, notably in color, the position of the
buccal aperture, and in the characters of the pore connecting with the
shell cavity. While in A. dcpilans, as described by Rang in his mono-
graph of the Aplysia group (Histoire Natnrcllc dcs Aplysicns, Paris, 1828),
the mouth is placed beneath the tentacular lobes — /. e., the latter are
superior, in the Florida species it is central with regard to those organs,
the lobes being circtimferentially connate, and completely encircling the
aperture. The pore leading to the shell-sac is minute, and raised on a
small papilla; the stellate markings radiating from the base of the
papilla are very feeble, and can barely be discerned without close exam-
ination. The shell, which is about two inches in length, is horny-
calcareous, deeply emarginate, and striated longitudinally and transversely.
General color of the animal sea-green, tinged with purple, and irregularly
blotched and speckled with spots of lighter color. Length, / to 8 inches.
The animal emits a brilliant crimson fluid.

Found on a grass-bank, at a depth of about 2 to 3 feet, and also floating
on the free surface of the water.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 131

SUPPLEMENT.

ADDITIONAL SPECIES FROM THE PLIOCENE DEPOSITS OF THE

CALOOSAHATCHIE.

For the following new species of fossils I am indebted to Mr. Joseph
Willcox and Dr. W. H. Dall, by whom they were collected during
a recent visit to the region.

Peoten pernodosus, nov. sp. Fig. 69.

Shell nearly equivalve, strongly plicated and ribbed, the basal margin
of both valves incurved ; ribs about nine, broadly elevated, and pro-
foundly knobbed on both valves, those of the right valve almost through-
out broader than the interspaces, those of the left valve of equal width,
or narrower than the interspaces, and alternating in size; knobs closely
placed, more or less hollow, about ten on each rib in the largest speci-
men ; ribs and interspaces radiately ribbed or lined, the lines crossed by
numerous rugose creases of growth ; ears unequal, longitudinally lined
or grooved, the lines declivous ; cardinal pit moderately deep.

Length, four inches ; height, from apex to basal margin, four inches.

This beautiful scallop, which is, with little doubt, the immediate ances-
tor of the recent Pccten nodosus, can be readily distinguished from that
'species (and likewise from Pccten snbnodosits, which is hardly more than
a variety of P. nodosus) by the much greater prominence and regularity
of its closely packed knobs, and in the circumstance that both valves are
nearly equally knobbed. In Pecten nodosus the ribs of one valve, usually
the right, are largely destitute of true knobs, although exhibiting here
and there ephippial undulations; the knobs are also less regularly rounded,
and the radiating lines are less numerous. Much the same differences
separate the species from P. Peedcensis, from the Miocene of South
Carolina.

Cardium Dalli, nov. sp. Fig. 70.

Shell ovately elevated, moderately ventricose, with the beaks apical,
touching (or nearly so), and directed slightly backwards ; ribs about 30
to 33, smooth, moderately elevated, teretely rounded, with narrow, im-
pressed interspaces; the ribs on the posterior slope narrower and more
crowded than over the general surface, minutely echinated in part.

Hinge-line narrow, acutely curved, with prominent lateral teeth; a
prominent triangular cardinal tooth in each valve.

132 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

Height, from apex to basal margin, 5.3 inches; length (width), 3.7
inches.

This very interesting cockle, which I have the pleasure of naming after
Mr. W. H. Dall, the distinguished malacologist of the U. S. National
Museum, is closely related to the recent Cardium snbclongatiuii from the
West Indian seas, of which it is not unlikely the progenitor. In the lat-
ter the ribs are much narrower, scarcely exceeding in width the inter-
spaces, and proportionately much more elevated. The echination on the
posterior slope in the recent form appears also to be more strongly de-
veloped. As far as the color traces remain in the fossil species it would
seem that the general scheme of coloring was the same in both species.

An interesting relationship is also maintained between Cardium Dalli
and the Eastern C. elongation, from the Philippines, which in size and
general habit perhaps even more nearly corresponds to the Florida
fossil than does C. subclongatnm ; it is, however, a much more vcntricose
shell.

Cerithidea scalata, nov. sp. Fig. 71.

Shell broadly turreted, scalariform ; whorls ten or more, strongly
ribbed, those beyond the sixth or seventh whorl from the apex with a
more or less hollowed or excavated shoulder ; ribs oblique, defined only
on the lower half of the later whorls, twenty or more on the body-whorl,
with one or two variceal interruptions; revolving lines distinct on the
apical portion of the spire, cancellating that part of the shell ; aperture?
(broken) ; canal short, moderately deflexed.

Length (of imperfect specimen), 2.4 inches.

Vasum hoiridum, nov. sp. Fig. 72.

Having received a number of perfect specimens of this beautiful species,
I am now able to supplement and complete the description given on page
75 of this report (Fig. 6).

Shell turbinate, thick, with the greatest width at about one-third the
distance from the apex to the base ; spire moderately elevated, of about
6 to 7 whorls, most of which are doubly coronated or calcitrapated by
prominent lamellar or flattened spurs ; the spurs regularly increasing in
size, with the apices turned slightly backward.

Body-whorl strongly angulated on the shoulder, beautifully coronated,
and crossed by about eight prominent revolving ridges, the four immedi-
ately following the shoulder coronation nearly equal, scaly, the sixth and
seventh, more particularly, carrying long lamellar spines or tubercles,
those of the sixth row indexed upward.

Columellar plaits three, the uppermost by far the most prominent;
aperture about two-thirds the length of shell, flexuous inferiorly; umbilicus
long and broad.

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 133

Cypraea (Siphocypraea) problematica, nov. sp. Fig. 73.

Specimens of this species (y. ant., p. 87, Fig. 12), with a complete
coating of enamel, show that the general color of the shell was buff or
cream-yellow above, irregularly and minutely spotted with darker shades
of the same color (inclining to orange), and impure white below.

Mitra liueolata, nov. sp. Fig. 74.

Specimens of this shell, in certain respects more perfect than the type
described on p. 79, indicate that the surface was covered by revolving
lines of purple, corresponding in position to the raised lines, and that .
these were regularly blotched with spots of the same color, resembling
the similar markings of Valuta Junonia. I have already indicated the
characters which doubtfully serve to distinguish this species from Conrad's
Mitra Carolinensis, and am now more than before inclined to believe that
it may prove only a variety of that form.

Conus Tryoni, nov. sp. Fig. 75.

Length, six inches.

The following additional species have been identified as occurring in
the " Floridian " (f liocene) deposits of the Caloosahatchie :

Fusus exilis. Niso, nov. sp.

Fasciolaria acuta. Turbonilla, sp.

*Marginella roscida. Corbula, sp?

*Terebra dislocata. *Tellina tenera.

*Columbella lunata. *Amphidesma equalis.

Cancellaria depressa ? *Semele rosea.

*Conus papilionaceus *Cardium serratum.

(with color markings). *Lucina cribraria.

*Conus Floridanus ? radians (Antillarum).

*Trivia pediculus. *Leda acuta.

*Xenophora conchyliorum ? Astarte undulata ?

Turbo, nov. sp. Glandina.

Crucibulum ramosum. Planorbis.

* " scutellatum. Amplcxa.

*Trochita centralis ? Paludina.
*Obeliscus arenosus.

The species preceded by an asterisk are living forms.

With the above were found associated the remains of a proboscidean,
horse, alligator and turtle.

Note on the geology of Little Sarasota Bay. — Mr. Willcox furnishes me
with the following observations, made during a more recent visit, bear-
ing upon the geology of this region : " Two small fresh-water streams
empty into Little Sarasota Bay, not far south of Mr. Webb's house. At

134 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE

the mouth of these streams a bed of ferruginous sandstone has been
formed, the largest being about 100 yards in extent along the bay. The
iron oxide, cementing the sandstone, undoubtedly was supplied by the
fresh-water streams. In this bed are found abundantly many species of
shells, such as are now found living in the Gulf of Mexico, one mile
distant from this locality. These shells are in good condition, indicating
only a small amount of erosion. More than twenty fragments of Indian
pottery were found in this bed during a late visit to it, some pieces being
nearly as large as a man's hand, and rudely ornamented. Vertebrae and
teeth of sharks also abound in this sandstone, also many fragments of
manatee bones ; the latter were, however, all eroded into smooth, oval
forms before they were enveloped in the sandstone."

Mr. Willcox also furnishes the following approximate section of the
North Creek exposure, to which reference is made in the report :

Sand (3 feet).

Hard limestone rock (2 feet).

Sand and calcareous marl (6 to 7 feet) containing shells, which are
most abundant near the water-level.

Water-level.
The shell deposit, in all probability, belongs to the Pliocene period.

TRAiSFo. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 1.

Fig. 1, Fuau3 Calooaaensia. 2, Faactolaria scaiarina. 3. 3a, Melongena aubcoronat-a.

PLIOCENE FOSeiLS OF FLORIDA.

TRANS WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL §.

9"

?ig. 4, Fulgar r.apurn. ", Llar.zalina bulboaa. 9, 9a, Mitra lineolata.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

TRANS WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE

OF SCIENCE

PL

Fig. 5, Turbinella regina.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

CIENCE.

PL 4.

6a

a, 12b, Gypreea tsiphocypr»a) problematica.

PLIOCENE FOSSIU3 OP FLORIDA.

•

OF THE

TJHITBRSITY

TRANS WAG-NER, FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 6.

&

Fig. 11, Strombus Leidyi.

PLIOCENE FOS8ILS OF FLORIDA.

TRANS. WAGNER FR.EE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL. 7

•

Fig. Ha, Strombua Leidyi

i-LIOCENK P'OboILS OF FLORIDA.

TRA\ !ER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL ;.

143

1 8

68

!• iK. :-*. •, Tarritella pariit.l.«nuata. 11, 14a, Turritella apicalia. 15. Tumteiia cingulata. 16, Turritslia mediosulcata .

.rritella 9Ubannu'.^'.-i. \^, IRa. CeritHium ornatiaaimum. .VJ, Turntslla pagodasformis 53, Turritella Tanipse. 67, Cerithium HiHsboro-inBia.

TERTIARY FOSSILS OF FLORIDA

TRANS. WAO-NER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 9.

Fig. \i>, Panopaea Monardi. 2J, Panopaea cymbuia.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA

fS. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OP SCIENCE.

--V,

Fig. 21, Panopgea Floridana. 22, Panopeea navicula.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

TRANS. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 11

j^r-*' """ ""^-^
•' - - " '

' */ • /--."- t- -***

' IN 4 OiKL-^SS- -" -^

240

.•*S«

26

26(Z

Fig. 23, Semele perlamellosa 24, 24a, Venaa ragatina. 25, 2ia, Cardium Floridacum. 2fl, 28a. Hemicardium columba 28, Lucina disciformis.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

\NS. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL

. 29, Area acalarina. 31, Area aquila.

PLIOCENt] FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

OF THR^^

[UNIVERSITY]
A.. °*

TRANS. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL IS.

Figs. 30 and 30a, Area craasicosta. 32, 32a, Area (Arcoptera) aviculseformia.

OCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

TRANS WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OP SCIENCE

PL. 14.

33

35

* meridionalia.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA

THB

UHIVERSIT7

TRANS WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL IS.

48

F188. S3.!Mi. Wigoarla pu?aaz. 37, Mara* Urv BMjti. 33, Marat ori.pinj-.il*. 31. Marsr tritonjpiis. 40, Muror trophoniforrnia. 41. Mure*
spinulosa. «, Litiras Floridanua. 43, Tarbinella polygouata. M. Vaaum auboapitoUam. «, Voluta om.icma. 49. Voluta (Lyrial zebra. 17, Mitra
ICor.omitra) angulata. 48, 43a, Conua planicepa.

MIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

fuSimsiTY

TRANS WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL. 16.

Figs. 4>, 4'-<i, Cypraaa tumulus. 50, Natica amphora. 51, Natica streptoatoma. 54, Turbo crenorugatus. 55, Turbo heliciformis. 56, Delpbinula (?)
<.. 57, Paeudotrochua tuibinatua. 58. Gerithium praecuraor. 59, Pyraziainus carcpanulatua. 63, P.irtula Americana. 61, Gytherea nuciformia.
MS Hillsboroensis. 63, Graaaatella deformia. 04, Gard'ta (Carditamera) aerrico^t-a 65, Area arcula 66, Leda flexuosa.

MIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA

THK

iUHIYZBSITT]
£&'

03T

TRANS. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL 16«

I"'.g. " Cardium Talli. 72, Vauu

•=ei) problematics. 74, Mitra lineolata

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIUA

3. WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 16"-

Figa. 69, 6fla, Fecten percodoaua. "1, Ceritbidea acalata. ?6, Ccnua Tryoni.

PLIOCENE FOSSILS OF FLORIDA.

..

TRANS WAG-NEK FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

PL 17.

Fig. a, Lateral aspect ol head, b. Ventral c. Dorsal

TROPIDONOTUS TAXISPILOTUS (?),. VAR: EROCKI.

TRANS WAGNER. 'F • TE OF SCIENCE.

PL. 18

TCTALURUri OKEKCHOBEEN3I3 (OKEECHOBEE CAT)

OF THR ^

[TJHI7EK2IT7]

.'.•'AG-NER FREE INSTITUTE OP SCIENCE

PL. 19

'.ring positiOQ 01' mouth, b. . ': . .MOD 01' mouth in A. i

APLYSLA W1LLCOXI.

LIBRARY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

THIS BOOK IS DUE BEFORE CLOSING TIME
ON LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW

'• • 4

• ,- "- '

' ' '

iE(7D Lfl AUG

8'73-lAMftH

•TEW tr tt* rVJ u

i o jy

-

-

—

—

—

—

—

LD62A-30m-2 '71 , .^en?ral H&r?.7
(P2003S10)9412A-A-32 OoiW^rf QllltOnita

?- '

LD 21-loOm-7,'33