The former consist of blue clays and
lignites, with an abundance of plants. The latter consist of sands
and conglomerates, with remains of large Carnivorous Mammals,
Mastodon, Elephant, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, &c.
4. In Sicily, Newer Pliocene strata are probably more largely
developed than anywhere else in the world, rising sometimes to a
height of 3000 feet above the sea. The series consists of clays,
marls, sands, and conglomerates, capped by a compact limestone,
which attains a thickness of from 700 to 800 feet. The fossils of
these beds belong almost entirely to living species, one of the
commonest being the Great Scallop of the Mediterranean (_Pecten
Jacoboeus_).
5. Occupying an extensive area round the Caspian, Aral, and Azof
Seas, are Pliocene deposits known as the "Aralo-Caspian" beds.
The fossils in these beds are partly freshwater, partly marine,
and partly intermediate in character, and they are in great part
identical with species now inhabiting the Caspian. The entire
formation appears to indicate the former existence of a great
sheet of brackish water, forming an inland sea, like the Caspian,
but as large as, or larger than, the Mediterranean.
6. In the United States, strata of Pliocene age are found in
North and South Carolina. They consist of sands and clays, with
numerous fossils, chiefly _Molluscs_ and _Echinoderms_.
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