We have seen that most of the fossil shells of the Older Pliocene strata of
Suffolk which are of recent species are identical with testacea now living in
British seas, yet some of them belong to Mediterranean species, and a few even
of the genera are those of warmer climates. We might therefore expect, in
studying the fossils of corresponding age in countries bordering the
Mediterranean, to find among them some species and genera of warmer latitudes.
Accordingly, in the marls belonging to this period at Asti, Parma, Sienna, and
parts of the Tuscan and Roman territories, we observe the genera Conus, Cypraea,
Strombus, Pyrula, Mitra, Fasciolaria, Sigaretus, Delphinula, Ancillaria, Oliva,
Terebellum, Terebra, Perna, Plicatula, and Corbis, some characteristic of
tropical seas, others represented by species more numerous or of larger size
than those now proper to the Mediterranean.
OLDER PLIOCENE FLORA OF ITALY.
(FIGURE 134. Oreodaphne Heerii.
Leaf half natural size. (Feuilles fossiles de la Toscane.))
I have already alluded to the Newer Pliocene deposits of the Upper Val d'Arno
above Florence, and stated that below those sands and conglomerates, containing
the remains of the Elephas meridionalis and other associated quadrupeds, lie an
older horizontal and conformable series of beds, which may be classed as Older
Pliocene.
Pages:
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401