Australasian Fossils: A Students' Manual of PalaeontologyChapman, Frederick
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Australasian Fossils: A Students' Manual of Palaeontology
Chapman, Frederick
Paleontology -- Australia
The coals of Jurassic age in Australia are derived from the remains of
coniferous trees and ferns; and some beautiful examples of these plants
may often be found in the hardened clay or shale associated with the coal
seams.
The Brown Coals of Cainozoic or Tertiary age in Australia are still but
little advanced from the early stage, lignite. The leaves found in them
are more or less like the present types of the flora. The wood is found
to be of the Cypress type (_Cupressinoxylon_). In New Zealand, however,
important deposits of coal of a more bituminous nature occur in the
Oligocene of Westport and the Grey River Valley, in the Nelson District.
BONE BEDS.--The bones and excreta of fish and reptiles form considerable
deposits in some of the sedimentary formations; especially those partly
under the influence of land or swamp conditions. They constitute a kind of
conglomerate in which are found bone-fragments and teeth (Fig. 51). These
bone-beds are usually rich in phosphates, and are consequently valuable
as a source of manure. The Miocene bone-bed with fish teeth at Florida,
U.S.A., is a notable example. The nodule bed of the Victorian Cainozoics
contains an assemblage of bones of cetaceans (whales, etc.).
[Illustration: =Fig. 52.--Bone Breccia, with remains of Marsupials.=
About 3/4 nat. size. Pleistocene.
Limeburners Point, Geelong, Victoria.
(_Nat. Mus. Coll._)
]
BONE BRECCIAS.--These are usually formed of the remains of the larger
mammals, and consist of a consolidated mass of fragments of bones and
teeth embedded in a calcareous matrix. Bone-breccias are of frequent
occurrence on the floors of caves which had formerly been the resort of
carnivorous animals, and into which they dragged their prey. The surface
water percolating through the overlying calcareous strata dissolved a
certain amount of lime, and this was re-deposited on the animal remains
lying scattered over the cave floor. A deposit so formed constitutes a
stalagmite or floor encrustation. As examples of bone-breccias we may
refer to the limestone at Limeburners Point, Geelong (Fig. 52); and the
stalagmitic deposits of the Buchan Caves.
IRONSTONE.--Rocks formed almost entirely of limonite (hydrated peroxide of
iron) are often due to the agency of unicellular plants known as diatoms,
which separate the iron from water, and deposit it as hydrous peroxide
of iron within their siliceous skeletons. In Norway and Sweden there are
large and important deposits of bog iron-ore, which have presumably been
formed in the beds of lakes.
[Illustration: =Fig. 53.=
=Cainozoic Ironstone with Leaves (Banksia ? marginata, Cavanilles).=
Slightly enlarged. Below Wannon Falls, Redruth, Victoria.]
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