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XXXIV. On the Affinity of some Fossil Scales of Fish from the 

 Lancashire Coal Measures with those of the recent Salmonidse. 

 By W. C. Williamson, Esq., Curator to the Manchester 

 Natural History Society* . 



[With Figures : Plate II.] 



N examining the roofstone of the black and white coal at 

 Peel near Worsley, I was fortunate enough to meet with 

 remains of fish, of a character sufficiently interesting to merit 

 this brief notice. This coal occupies a position about a thou- 

 sand yards from the top of the carboniferous series, and at 

 Peel presents in its immediate vicinity the following section : 



Metal, 15 yards. Ft. In. 



Coal 7 



Metal, 4 yards. 

 White sandstone, 35 yards. 

 Metal, 44 vards. 



"White" coal .' 2 5 



Clav, one to seven vards. 

 " Black" coal \ 2 5 



The shale in which the fish occur rests immediately upon 

 the " white coal." It is very compact, bituminous, and well 

 calculated for the preservation of minute characters. In this 

 shale I have already detected at least four species, belonging 

 to as many distinct genera, but at present would only call the 

 attention of ichthyologists to one, scales of which magnified 

 to thrice their natural size, are represented by the sketches 

 (PI. II.) figs. 4, 5, and 6. I have met with several specimens 

 of the fish to which they belong, but all are more or less in a 

 crushed condition. The scales vary in form from being nearly 

 circular to an oblong rhomboid, and on examining the scales 

 of recent Salmon id a?, I found that they had the same general 

 forms. A more minute examination exhibited a strong resem- 

 blance in the arrangement of the cycloid striae, which are 

 nearly as distinct in the fossil as in the recent species, especially 

 on the inferior surface of the scale, part of which is repre- 

 sented at fig. 5. 



Fig. 1, 2, and 3 exhibit scales of the common salmon (after 

 the pearly enamel is removed) magnified to the same degree 

 as the fossil ones. 



The only specimen I have yet found showing all the fins 

 is about 4 inches long. The head is crushed, but the body 

 and tail are nearly perfect. The anterior dorsal and the ven- 



* Communicated by the Author. 



