140 



body long ; length of head, a little less than the largest diameter 

 of the body ; the head has the shape of an equilateral spherical 

 triangle ; tip of nose, or snout, curiously tuberculated and dotted ; 

 gill plates cannot be dissected, they are so brittle and confused 

 with the head; Jins, pectoral a little behind gill plates, and 

 extend below the fish -^^ of an inch, — it is a narrow-pointed 

 fin, well marked with its rays. Dorsal Jin far back towards the 

 tail, a little anterior to anal ; it is half an inch long and -^-^ of 

 an inch high, and is well marked with its rays. Anal Jin some- 

 what larger than dorsal, a little posterior to it. Abdominal Jin 

 very small, situated a very little in advance of the middle of the 

 body ; tail unequally bifurcated or heterocercal ; scales run 

 down on it, becoming smaller and more and more acutely rhom- 

 boidal or lozenge-shaped as they recede ; caudal rays come 

 exclusively from under side of upper division of tail. Scales 

 obtusely rhomboidal on anterior and middle of body, and are 

 distinctly striated parallel to anterior and lower margins, while 

 they are smooth and very brilliant towards and upon the tail ; 

 dorsal scales large and in form of obtuse spherical triangles 

 pointing backwards towards the dorsal fin. This species is not 

 described in any book I have examined, and believing it to be 

 new, I shall take the liberty of naming it PalcBoniscus Cairnsiiy 

 after the highly intelligent superintendent of the Albert coal 

 mine, William Cairns, to whose active and unremitting labors I 

 am indebted for so many specimens of these interesting fossils. 



No. 4. This large and elegant fish was most unfortunately 

 broken in splitting it out from the rock, only the posterior part of 

 it having been saved in a fit condition for delineation. The 

 whole length of the fish was originally fifteen inches. That por- 

 tion which remains entire is 5^ inches long ; it was broken off 

 through the posterior edge of the dorsal fin. It was an old fish, 

 as is evident from the appearance of the scales, which are thick, 

 heavy, and have their striations in part obliterated, while the ser- 

 rations are extremely sharp and deep. The scales are elongated 

 rhomboids, and have many striae upon their surface which run 

 parallel with their upper and lower margins. Caudal scales, 

 acute lozenges. They run down on upper division, which is long 

 and covered with them. Rays of tail come off very distinctly, 

 exclusively from under side of the upper division, and the tail is 



