78 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Kote on Footprints from the Carboniferous of Nova Scotia, in the 

 collection of the Geological Survey of Canada, by J. W. Dawson, LL.D., 

 F.R.S.i 



" Sauropus unguifer." 



''' The principal specimens are several large slabs of Ijrownish sand- 

 stone, bearing series of footprints in relief. Of the largest and most 

 distinct series, 40 to 50 footprints have been preserved, and are arranged 

 in two rowar 5 1-2 inches apart. T may confine my attention in the first 

 place to this series, as the most important of the whole. 



They were probably produced by a large Labyrinthodont Batra- 

 chian, walking on a muddy shore, near the edge of the water, and 

 are not very dissimilar from those described by Sir C. LyalL as found 

 by Dr. King in the Carboniferous of Pennsylvania. They also closely 

 resemble in size and form, the footprints found by Mr. R. Brown, 

 F.R.S., in the coal field of Sydney, Cape Breton, and described by me 

 in the second edition of '' Acadian Geology," n. 358, under the name 

 Sauropus Sydnensis, and still more closely those found by Mr. J. M. 

 Jones, F.L.S., at Parrsboro, N.S., and noticed in the same work. With 

 these they may in the meantime be included in the provisional genua 

 Sauropus. 



The dimensions of the footprints are as follows : 



Hind foot, breadth 2.71 inches 



Hind foot, length 4. 24 " 



Fore foot, breadth 2. 63 " 



Fore foot, length 2.77 " 



Length of stride 11». 53 " 



Average distance between the rows of 

 footprints made by right and left 



foot 5.48 " 



These measurements correspond ver}'' nearly to those of my 

 Sauropus Sydnensis above referred to. 



The hind foot, it 'will be observed, is considerably larger than the 

 fore foot, and has a sort of plantigrade appearance, and there are some 

 indications which show that the legs must have been strong and thick. 



The hind foot shows four well developed toes, the three outer 

 stronger than the remaining one. There was also a fifth toe which 

 must have been placed at a higher level than the others, on the outside 

 of the foot. It bore a long claw, which was plunged into the mud at 



' Geol. Mag-. I^ndon, Vol. IX.. 1872, p. 2.51. 



