120 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



April 6. 

 The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. 

 Twenty-six members present. 



Remarks on a Coal Fossil, etc. Prof. Leidy said that among 

 the objects presented this evening there are several worthy the 

 attention of the members. 



One of these is a specimen of the Ceratodns Forsteri, from 

 Queensland, presented by Dr. John Belisario, of Sidney, Austra- 

 lia, through Dr. McQuillen. The fish is a representative of the 

 Dipnoi, or double breathers, like the Lepidosiren, being provided 

 with both lungs and gills. The genus was long ago named by 

 Agassiz, from isolated teeth found in the Triassic and Jurassic 

 rocks of Europe. The C. Forsteri was discovered only a few 

 years since, and was referred to Ceratodus by Dr. Giinther, from 

 the near resemblance of the teeth of the fish to the fossils de- 

 scribed under that name. 



Another specimen, presented by Dr. S. C. De Vesy, of Williams- 

 town, Dauphin Co., Pa., appears to be a fitting companion to 

 the former. It consists of a fragment of coal shale, from the 

 coal mines of Williamstown, with an impression which looks as 

 if it might be that of the tail of a relative of the Ceratodus, or of 



a huge tadpole. Among the many 

 enigmatic impressions occurring 

 in the coal shales, this is better 

 defined than usual. It is 8f inches 

 long and 6 inches at the widest 

 part. The accompanying figure 

 is an outline sketch one-fourth the 

 diameter of the original. Towards 

 the upturned end of the specimen 

 there are many strongly impressed 

 conical pits, looking as if produced 

 by prominent scale-like append- 

 ages, in the interspaces of which 

 there are many minute impressions 

 of the same form. The character 

 of the fossil is very uncertain ; it 

 may be that of a batrachian or fish 

 allied to Ceratodes. The coal 

 period is well characterized by 

 abundance of remains of both 

 kinds of animals. Perhaps, how- 

 ever, the impression may be of vegetable origin. 



Accompanying the fossil, there is another fragment of coal shale 

 with vegetable remains, and apparently a lamellibranch shell. 



i i diameter. 



