^ REPORT — 1856. 



connected with the stomach of the saurian, the conclusion was forced upon him that 

 they were not portions of skin, but were to be accounted for by supposing that the 

 Ichthyosauri had fed upon naked cephalopods, alUed to the cuttle-fish. On continuing 

 his investigations on the subject, Mr. Moore proved that there were many cephalopods 

 existing with the Ichthyosaurus that would supply these hooks, and that they were fre- 

 quently to be found on the fleshy arms of the Omjclioteuthis and allied genera. 

 Mr. Moore exhibited to the Meeting the body of a small saurian, which at this distant 

 time had its soft skin entire ; and appealed to it in confirmation of his opinion, that 

 the black patches containing these hooks were no portion of its outer covering. In 

 conclusion, Mr. Moore produced some of the dark matter taken from the stomach of 

 one of his Ichthyosauri, and stated that he could show to the Meeting, that although 

 it had through so many ages been lying in the stomach of this ancient creature, and 

 had been mixed with other food, it could be no other than what was once the fluid 

 ink of a cuttle-fish ; a fact, which was demonstrated to the Meeting, by his showing 

 them that it retained its colouring matter almost as perfectly as if it had been taken 

 from a recent sepia. Of the genus Teleosaurus a very beautiful example was shown 

 to the Meeting, which, like the Gavise of the present day, was covered with bony 

 scutes or scales. In clearing this specimen, Mr. Moore was fortunate enough to 

 make an incision into its stomach, in which, though so long a period had elapsed since 

 it had taken its last meal, there was still to be seen there, in perfect preservation, a 

 small fish of the genus Leptolepis. 



On the Middle and Upper Lias of the West of England. 

 By Charles Moore, F.G.S. 

 Sections were given of these beds at Ilminster, their most westerly point, from 

 whence they were traced to Yeovil, where they were shown to become extremely thin, 

 and to be covered up by the sands of the Inferior Oolite, from whence they were traced 

 to Bath and to the neighbourhood of Cheltenham, where they were shown to be of 

 considerable thickness. In noticing the organic remains of the Middle Lias, Mr. 

 Moore called attention to the Brachiopoda in these beds, and exhibited many of the 

 original specimens of this class published by the Palaeontographical Society. The 

 attention of the meeting was also directed to a series of microscopic shells of the family 

 Foraminifera, nearly 150 species of which were shown by Mr. Moore to have existed 

 during the deposition of the Middle and Upper Lias. From the latter beds a magni- 

 ficent series of organic remains was exhibited, chiefly consisting of Saurians, Fishes, 

 Crustacea, and Insects. Mr. Moore amused the Section by informing them what 

 animals were contained in certain stones, which, on being broken, presented the animals 

 indicated. 



On the Bone Beds of the Upper Ludlow Rock, and base of the Old Red Sand- 

 stone. By Sir R. I. Murchison, FM.S. 

 Sir Roderick Murchison gave an account of certain additional discoveries made 

 in those strata, which, whether they pertain to the uppermost beds of the Silurian 

 rocks, or to the lowest junction strata of the Old Red Sandstone, have been grouped 

 under the term of "Tilestones." In his original description of the upper Ludlow 

 rocks he had described a layer, near their summit, as being characterized by the 

 remains of bones of fishes, principally the defences of Onchus, with jaws and teeth, 

 and numerous small coprolitic bodies. He also formerly noticed, in several locali- 

 ties, the occurrence of a still higher bed, which seemed to form a passage into the 

 Old Red Sandstone, and in which remains of terrestrial plants occurred. He had 

 further pointed out, that the Upper Ludlow Rock was the lowest stratum in which 

 the remains of Vertebrata were discovered, — an observation which has remained 

 uncontroverted till the present day, — no remains of true fishes having yet been detected 

 in more ancient strata in any part of Europe. In an ascending order, on the other 

 hand, it was well known that Ichthyolites augmented rapidly; and the object of the 

 present communication is to show how the recent Ouservations of Mr. Richard Banks, 

 of Kington, and of Mr. Lightbody, of Ludlow, have made us acquainted with the 

 presence of fish remains in thin layers a few feet above the original bone-bed of the 

 Upper Ludlow Rock. 



