161 



times. Verbeek ') pointed to tiiis in connection witli tiie fact that 

 Eocene fisii-species of the Higiilauds of Padang differ from the Tertiary 

 species of Europe, wiiereas tliey bear a close relationsinp to the 

 species still living in the East-Indian Archipelago, so that tliej seera 

 to he Miocene rather than Eocene. From this it seems to follow 

 that the Tertiary fishes of the tropics are not suitable to determin- 

 ation of age, and the species here described could be of the same 

 age as the Eocene or Oligo-iVliocene reefs. 



Finally we wish to point out that after this discovery of fossil 

 fishes, about which only very little is known as yet in the East- 

 Indian Archipelago, it may be expected that on closer inspection of 

 the localit}' more fossils will be found. The lithographic limestone 

 of Solnhofen is poor in fossils. That the lemarkable fauna of this 

 formation has gradually become known is due to the quarry-indus- 

 try and to the special attention given to the occurrence of fossils. 



Description of the fossil fis/ies by L. F. de Beaufort. 



Prof. H. A. Brouwer entrusted me with the study of two fish- 

 fossils imbedded in tertiary limestone, which have been found during 

 the construction of a road in South Celebes. 



The smaller and more complete fossil can be recognized at once 

 as a Clupeid. As the anterior pait of the head as well as the 

 pectorals, ventrals and anal are missing, a further determination 

 would have been doubtful, if the scales had not been extraordinarily 

 well preserved. The greater part of the scales show a number of 

 small holes in their posterior part, whereas the anterior part 

 possesses more or less distinct transversal grooves, which are inter- 

 rupted in the middle. As far as I know such perforated scales have 

 only been found in four closely related species of herrings, which 

 inhabit the Indo-Australian Archipelago. 



These species belong to the genus Clupen SGnsn latiore. Following 

 Bleeker, Weber and I (Fishes of the Indo Australian Archipelago 

 II, 1913, p. 68) have placed these species with a number of others, 

 which however do not show the characteristics mentioned above, 

 in the subgenus Harengula. Tate Regan (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) 

 XIX, 1917, p. 377) has rai.sed this subgenus to the rank of a 

 genus and has separated from it as Sardinelld those species, which 

 differ from Harengula, besides in some other characteristics, also in 

 the structure of the scales. In Harengula the transversal grooves of 



1) R. D. M. Verbeek. Topographische en Geologische Beschrijving van een ge- 

 deelte van Sumatra's VVestkusl. Batavia 1883, p. .3.55. 



