The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 1 of 5] : $b Fossil mammaliaOwen, Richard
Science
The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 1 of 5] : $b Fossil mammalia
Owen, Richard
Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Mammals, Fossil; Paleontology -- South America; Zoology
Bahia Blanca, situated in latitude 39°, and about 250 miles south of the
Plata, constitutes the second district, in which I found the remains of
quadrupeds. This large bay is nearly surrounded by very low land, on
which successive lines of sand dunes mark in many parts the retreat of
the water. At some distance inland a formation of highly indurated marl,
passing into limestone, forms an escarpment. Beyond this, rocks of the
same character extend over a wide and desolate plain, which rises
towards the flanks of the distant mountain of the Sierra de la Ventana,
composed of quartz. On the low shores of this bay, only two places
occur, where any section of the strata can be seen; and at both of these
I found fossil remains.
At Monte Hermoso, a line of cliff of about 120 feet in height, consists
in the upper part of a stratum of soft sandstone with quartz pebbles;
and in the lower of a red argillaceous earth, containing concretions of
pale indurated marl. This lower bed has the same mineralogical character
with the Pampas deposit; and possibly may be connected with it. The
embedded bones were blackened, and had undergone more chemical change
than in any other locality, which I examined. With the exception of a
few large scattered bones, the remains seemed to belong chiefly to very
small quadrupeds.
In another part of the bay, called Punta Alta, about eighteen miles from
Monte Hermoso, a very small extent of cliff, about twenty feet high, is
exposed. The lower bed seen at ebb tide, extends over a considerable
area; it consists of a mass of quartz shingle, irregularly stratified,
and divided by curved layers of indurated clay. The pebbles are cemented
together by calcareous matter, which results, perhaps, from the partial
decomposition of numerous embedded shells. In this gravel the remains of
several gigantic animals were extraordinarily numerous. The cliff, in
the part above high-water mark, is chiefly composed of a reddish
indurated argillaceous earth; which either passes into, or is replaced
by, the same kind of gravel, as that on which the whole rests. The
earthy substance is coarser than that at Monte Hermoso, and does not
contain calcareous concretions. I found in it a very few fragments of
shells, and part of the remains of one quadruped.
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