'Military Report on South-West Persia, Including the Provinces of Khuzistan (Arabistan), Luristan, and Part of Fars' [‎350] (397/466)

350
From the same cliff, and from the bed of sandstone No. 2, I obtained
relief casts of impressions made by rain-drops wbich had fallen on the red j
clav : pieces of clay adhered to the casts. ■ Pi
" Between the Baladrud river and the Bedderhu (Bidruge) stream are gravels, ^
sands, and variegated marls, arranged in the usual order. On the sonth-west , ^
the o-ravels predominate in extensive beds ; proceeding north-east these alternate L Pf
with calcareous red sandstones, but at length give place bo considerable depo
sits of red and vandyke-coloured marks, though they still occur in connection
with the sandstones intercalated between the marls, but without any trace of ti
gypsum. At Hussameah, where the sandstones are of great thickness, I pro- ^
cured natural casts of footprints, which belong to some animal of the feline f
order."* _ . . ^ # ?ltC!
One of these foot-prints is remarkably distinct (and is now in the British s
Museum). The pads of the foot and of the four toes, as well as of the claws, ilt;
are well developed. On comparing it with the right fore-foot of a full-grown 0
chetah [Felisjubata, Schr.) in the possession of Colonel Tcherikoff, the Russian 4
Commissioner, I found a perfect resemblance in size, namely, 4^ inches long u
by inches wide. In form, however, there is a slight difference; the pads 1]$
of the toes in the east are somewhat more elongated. Adhering to the |ij
hollows are pieces of red clay. About an inch behind the first cast is another,
probably of the hind-foot, but not very distinct. On the same slab are traces ^
of fucoids.
Other indistinct and irregular marks are sometimes seen on sandstones ^
of this formation, but this-is the only instance in which I have observed any m
indications of the existence of animal life so high up in the gypsum series.
The lithological structure of the rocks, and the foot-prints which occur , j
in them, appear to indicate some connection with the conglomerate sandstones ^
and bone-beds of Sind and the Himalaya. They all occupy a similar ^
position with regard to the underlying nummulitic rocks, and show that they
have been deposited under similar conditions,—namely, on the shore of a
shallow estuary, frequented by land and fluviatile animals.
If it be possible to found an argument from the presence of but one
fossil, we might remark that a similar generic distribution of animals seems to V
have prevailed formerly as now in the respective regions in which they occur. ,
Thus, while on the flanks of the Himalaya the large elephantine groups
abounded and still abound, and in Sind the crocodile continues to appear ^
as the characteristic animal, so in Luristan, where these genera are entne y
absent at the present day, the feline tribes occupy their place, and (as far as ^
our evidence goes) are alone represented in the fossil state. ^
The Bedderhu stream affording more moisture than is usually to be
found in this inhospitable sandstone region, the Lurs have sedulously avai e
themselves of every level plot of ground for cultivation, and many are t le
little oases seen among these otherwise desert sand stone ^ridges.
On quitting the Bedderhu (Bidruge) stream for Kalah-i-Reza, the road tol-
lows along the strike of the beds at that portion of the series where the vane
gated marls are evidently preponderating over the sandstones, and dipping as
usual to the south-east. About 10 miles to the east of the road, a few thin an
unimportant beds of gypsum crop out from under the marls, and rest agams
the slope of the limestone chain of Tukomani, being now ^nd^ then c ^? ie
by nearly horizontal deposits of limestone gravel and breccia in a re is 1
yellow pasty matrix. .
* This is doubtful.