552 Researches in Fossil Zoology. 



History as the basis of species or genera, which also prove 

 the mistake of those arguments, founded on analogy, of which 

 Cuvier could have had no idea, when he insisted on deciding 

 the species itself from a small fragment, I have given a se- 

 ries of examples in my before-mentioned description of the 

 turtles from the turf moors. During my journey in Swit- 

 zerland, last June [1837], all the fossil bones from the ter- 

 tiary formation of Switzerland, with some others from an 

 older deposit, were opened to my examinations, and all re- 

 quisite information was afforded me. I found amongst the 

 various specimens a kind of slate, which incloses several fish 

 and Chelonia Knorri. This kind of slate, which appears in 

 the Plattenberg [Canton Glacis], is now determined to be 

 limestone. Of these kind of turtles there exists only one 

 representation in Andrews' ' Letters on Switzerland.' Upon 

 this old figure rests the examination of Cuvier, and he gives 

 a copy of it in his 'Oss. Foss.' I have now made a new draw- 

 ing of this rare petrifaction, and have well examined the 

 original itself. During my examination of the celebrated 

 collection of Lavater at Zurich, I fortunately discovered in 

 some plates [platten] of the Senhofer slate, several fragments 

 of the Pterodactylus, which have not been noticed until 

 now, although they certainly must have been long since in 

 the collection. They consist of two plates, one containing 

 the elongated digit, the other the humerus with the radius 

 and the ulna. This finger differs so much from all those 

 hitherto known of Pterodactylus, that it must be the remains 

 of a new species, and which I shall describe more exactly 

 as Pterodactylus Lavateri. This species resembles in size 

 the Pter. crassirostris, or Pter. medius. 



The observations about the construction of the Pterodac- 

 tylus are quite new. I allude to the following which I made 

 on the remains of the Pterodactylus Macronyx in the lias 

 from' the environs of Baireuth, viz. that certain bones are not 

 only hollow, but that they also have air holes [Luftlcecher] 

 in which they bear a great resemblance to certain bones of 

 birds. I found likewise confirmed the truth of my conjec- 

 tures respecting the fragments of the jaw bones in the same 

 lias, and in the lias of Baney, that those teeth which Buck- 

 land [Geolog. Trans, iii. 2. s. 27, p. 3.] supposed to belong 

 to Pterodactylus Macronyx are not from this animal. In 

 the rich collection of fossil bones which M. Hugi, of Solo- 

 than, has collected from the Portland stone of the Jura, I 

 found no bones of birds. All those which were considered 

 as the remains of birds, are the bones of Pterodactylus. 

 Some of the remains supposed to have been found in the 



