128 



Evolution and Distribution of Fishes 



Flourishing with the above, but as land dwellers Daw- 

 son {8j: 523) has described various eurypterids, species of 

 insects, and an abundant flora that included Calamites, 

 Lepidodendra, numerous species of fern, the specialized 

 genus Cordaites and other less certain types. 



Succeeding to the above, and during mesodevonic times, 

 an extensive tract of palaeodevonic sea-bottom became ele- 

 vated over a wide extent of New York and Pennsylvania, 

 westward to Illinois and Iowa. This became peopled with 

 a flora and fauna that approximated to the lower part of 

 the European Old Red Sandstone, but which includes some 

 striking intrinsic types. This is the Onondaga, Ulsterian, 

 or Corniferous limestone area above referred to. In ad- 

 dition to three species of Coccosteus, remarkable allies of 

 it are Dinichthys with jawbones (Fig. 13) about two feet 

 in length, Protitanichthys, Macropetalichthys, and Aster- 

 osteiis. 



Fig. 13. Dinichthys hertzeri.. Upper figure shows view of jaw- 

 bone from inner side, lower figure from outer side. (Reduced from 

 Newberry.) 



Now Newberry, in his elaborate palaeontological re- 

 ports, takes it for granted throughout that these were 

 marine fishes and of marine origin. Thus, to quote only 



