THE SCALES OF PTERASPIS 



region of Pteraspis is one which I obtained 

 when I was a boy (in 1864) at a quarry in 

 Herefordshire, the workmen from whom I got 

 it saying it was a fossihzed fir-cone. As a 



c 



B 



■ A 



Fig. 187. — Drawings of the head-shield of the fossil fish 

 Pteraspis. A is the species Pteraspis crouchii. B is 

 Pteraspis rostratus. C shows a view of the under surface 

 of the fish's head, Avhich was protected by a peculiar oval 

 plate (called Scaphaspis, when it was supposed to repre- 

 sent an independent kind of fish). The probable position 

 of the mouth in front of the oval shield is shown. 

 (Original.) 



Httle concession to my vanity, I have had this 

 sohtary specimen, which I gave long ago to the 

 British ]Museum, photographed of the natural 

 size (Fig. 188). It is not much to look at, but 

 it is one of the most interesting specimens I 



259 



