Australasian Fossils
A Students' Manual of Palaeontology
9781465626189
118 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
William Smith, the Father of English Geology, used to apologize for the study of palaeontology by claiming that “the search for a fossil is at least as rational a proceeding as the pursuit of a hare.” Those of us who are accustomed to take the field, armed with a hammer, in the search for “medals of creation” and from time to time have experienced the sporting enjoyment of bringing to light a rare or perfect specimen are quite prepared to support his claim. But the student of fossils needs the help of a text book to guide him to the literature on the subject, to help him with his identifications or to indicate that some of his finds are new and hitherto undescribed. European and American workers have long been provided with excellent books treating generally of fossils, but the illustrations have been quite naturally taken mainly from forms occurring in the Northern Hemisphere. Our own fossil forms both plants and animals are numerous, interesting and in many cases peculiar, but the literature concerning them is so widely scattered in various scientific publications that a warm welcome should be given to this book of Mr. Chapman’s, in which the Australian evidence is brought together and summarised by one, whose training, long experience, and personal research qualify him to undertake the task. Especially will teachers and students of Geology and Palaeontology value such an undertaking. Workers in other countries who have only partial access to the Australian literature on the subject should also find this a valuable book of reference. In the study of fossils we are concerned with the nature, evolution and distribution of the former inhabitants of the earth. The study of Palaeontology may be justified as a means of scientific discipline, for the contributions the subject makes to the increase of natural knowledge and the unfolding of panoramas of ancient life. It also provides perhaps the most positive evidence in the story of evolution. So, too, the student of the present day distribution of animals and plants finds the key to many a problem in zoo-geography in the records of past migrations yielded by the study of fossils in different lands. The stratigraphical geologist is of course principally concerned with two important aspects of the study of fossils. The masterly generalisation of William Smith that strata can be identified by their fossil contents established by close study of the rocks and fossils of the British Oolites has been confirmed generally by subsequent work. The comparative study of the fossil contents of rocks in widely separated areas has proved to be the most valuable means by which the correlation of the rocks can be effected and their identity of age established. In some cases the recognition of a single fossil species in two areas separated, perhaps, by thousands of miles may suffice to demonstrate that the rocks are of the same age. For example, a graptolite such as Phyllograptus typus is found in many parts of the world, but has only a very restricted range in time. It has been found only in rocks of Lower Ordovician age. Its occurrence in Wales and in the rocks of Bendigo practically suffices to establish the identity in age of the rocks in these widely separated areas. Generally, however, much closer study and a more detailed examination of a large number of the fossils of a rock series are required before the age of the rocks can be surely established and a safe correlation made with distant localities.
