33 Mr. Murchison on the Bituminous Schist and 



the upper limits of the schist where the furnaces are now esta- 

 bhshecl. The few fragments however which I collected have 

 enabled Mons. Valenciennes, the able coadjutor of Baron Cu- 

 vier in his new work on Fishes, to give the following account 

 of them. 



" There appear to be at least four species of fish among 

 these specimens ; of which three are particularly distinguished, 

 by having quadrangular scales without articulating points, and 

 ranged in sinuous and oblique rows, thus resembling the 

 Esox osseus of Linn^us {Lcpisosteus of Lacepede) : but the 

 fragments marked No. 1. and 2.* show that this species was 

 of a form essentially different from the Esox osseus, in having 

 a forked tail. The anal fin is placed behind and fnear the 

 caudal, whilst a number of bony spines, at least eight in one 

 of the specimens, appear in front of the articulated rays. The 

 absence of vertebral fins prevents my deciding positively upon 

 the order. 



" In No. 3. the scales of the tail resemble those of the fossil 

 fish of the Kilpfcr schiefer of Mansfeldt andEisleben; with this 

 distinction, that they do not advance so far into the tail fin. 



" No. 4. differs from those above described in the larger 

 size of its scales. 



" No. 5. differs entirely from the three species described, in 

 the form and much smaller size of the scales. The existence 

 of dorsal, pectoral, and ventral fins, places this fish in the order 

 Abdominales. The head and tail are wanting, but the scales 

 of the belly form a toothed keel, and thus leave no doubt that 

 it belongs to the genus Clupea" 



In the form of their scales and in their general character, 

 these fish of Seefeld have a strong resemblance to several of 

 the genera and species found in the various deposits subordi- 

 nate to the new red sandstone and magnesian limestone; whilst 

 they differ altogether from the Dapedium of the lias, or any 

 family offish as yet discovered in, or above the oolitic series. 

 These fish were the only animal remains I could detect in the 

 formation, or in the accompanying range of dolomite, nor was 

 there a trace of any fossil of the oolite or lias. There were 

 however in the schist a few fossil vegetables ; of which one 

 specimen bears great resemblance to a Lycopodium, a family 

 of plants which (as well as the fish) is chai'acteristic of the for- 

 mations beloia the new red sandstone. 



In mineralogical characters the rock of Seefeld accords in 

 many respects with that of Caithness, described by Professor 



* These specimens arc deposited in the Museum of the Geological So- 

 ciety, and were previously cxaniincd l)y Mons. Valenticiiiics during his 

 recent visit to this country, 



Sctljrwick 



