36 SPHENOmYLLUM. 



Type. V. 4190, Geol. Dept. British Museum (Wat. Hist.). 



Stem slender, articulated ; internodes ridged. Leaves whorled, 

 each whorl consisting of six leaves arranged in three pairs of unequal 

 size, and successive whorls superposed. Leaves spreading, entire, 

 always undivided, elongate-ovate, or ovate. Venation of the 

 Sphenopliyllum type. 



V. 4190. PI. I, Figs. 1, la. Type. 



The type, which is here refigured, is a fine specimen, 15 cm. 

 long and 6 - 3 cm. across, showing nine whorls of leaves. The stem 

 is very slender, from 1 to Lomm. broad. The internodes hear two 

 fairly prominent ridges, but the preservation is not sufficiently good 

 to determine whether these ridges are continuous at the node. Two 

 pairs of leaves in the whorl are elongate-ovate, entire and spreading, 

 each member being about 2 - 8 cm. long by 9 mm. broad, the smaller 

 pair, 16 by 9 mm., are ovate and reflexed. The veins are distinct, 

 somewhat distant ; usually two veins enter the leaf at the base and 

 spread with frequent branching throughout the lamina. 



In the type-specimen the two longer pairs of leaves in the whorl 

 appear to be of approximately equal size. In other specimens,' 

 however, all the three pairs are dissimilar in length. Feistmantel 

 states that the leaves are arranged uusymmetrically at the node, 

 and not radially disposed. It is difficult, however, to ascertain 

 with certainty whether this is really the case in the type-specimen, 

 although it may possibly be true of other examples. 



There would seem to be no real evidence in support of 

 Feistmantel's 2 view that this plant was an aquatic; a view based 

 on the disproportionate size of the leaves to the axis. We may 

 rather regard the Indian species as a climbing plaut of the 

 ' scrambler ' habit, like other Sphenophyllums. 



SpJienophyllum specio&um is known only from the Barakar and 

 Rauigauj groups of the Damuda division of India. 



2. Sphenophyllum, sp. (from South Africa). 



V. 3132, V. 7583. Text-fig. 11. 



This specimen consists of the two halves of a piece of shale 



1 Feistmantel (80), p. 70. - Feistmantel (80), p. 09. 



