13 



crossing some of the upper septa of the phragmocone, and it would 

 appear that the siphuncle is phiced on tlie same side as that towards 

 which the apices of the guard and phragmocone point. 



Mr. S. P. Woodward says--^ that tlie apex of tlie phragmocone of a 

 Belemnite points to the ventral side of the guard, and if this be uniforml}' 

 the case, the)i, in this species both the siphuncle and the apical groove 

 are jn'obably ventral. M. Duval Jouve, j however, maintains that in 

 some of the Neocoraian Belemnites the siphuncle is dorsal, and in others 

 ventral. Hence it is by no means certain that the apical groove, or the 

 siphuncle of this species, are ventral, but both seem to be situated on the 

 same side, and that the one towards Avliich the ajMces of the guard 

 and phragmocone point. 



In his remarks upon the Queen Charlotte Island Cephalopoda alread}- 

 referred to, Mr. Billings says that these small Belemnites belong to the 

 sub-section Acuarii of Bronn's section Acaili, also that they are " closely 

 allied" to the Belemnites Bussiensis and B. Km/hisensis of D'Orbiy-n}-, 

 two species which are described and figured in Volume II. of Murchison 

 Verneuil aiul De Iveyserling's " Geologie de la Bussie et des Montagnes 

 de VOural.'" In both of these opinions the writer entirely' concurs, but 

 the Belemnites collected by Mr. Richardson are apparently distinct 

 from both of their Eussian analogues. The guard of B. Kirghisensis is 

 represented as much longer and slenderer than is that of the present 

 species, and in B. Kirghisensis the apices of the guard and phragmocone 

 point in opposite directions. The general shape of the guard of B. Rus- 

 Sie7isis is certainly very like that of the fossil now under consideration ; but 

 in the Eussian Belemnite the apical groove is placed on one of the flattened 

 sides, which, moreover, appear to be respectively dorsal and ventral. 



No traces of a slit down the anterior end of the guard could be 

 detected, nor any indications of a corresponding raised rib on the phrag- 

 jnocone, so that these sjiecimens can scarceh' be referred to D'Orbigny's 

 genus Belemnitella, but to Belemnites proper. 



The specitic characters of these Belemnites are so imperfectly shown 

 in the few fragments yet obtained, that it is not thought desirable to 

 propose a new name for them, although they cannot be satisfactorily 

 referred to anj^ known sj)ecies, and are probably new to science. The 

 peculiar compression of the guard may be due to the distortion to which 

 so many of these fossils have been subjected. 



• " Manual of the MoUusca." Page 73. 



t " Monograph of the British BeleniniticlEe." Bv Prof. Phillips. Part H., page 30. Palwontographical 

 Society: 1866, 



