394. Mr. A. 8. Woodward on Fossil Fishes from 
moderate size. The opercular bones are smooth and the sub- 
operculum seems to have been at least as deep as broad and 
little inferior in size to the operculum. All the fins are small, 
and conspicuous fulcra are preserved on the pectoral and 
dorsal. The pectoral fin-rays, not less than sixteen in 
number, do not appear to have been articulated except perhaps 
at the distal extremity ; the pelvic fins, though imperfect, are 
evidently relatively small and short-based and arise midway 
between the pectoral arch and the anal fin. The rays of the 
dorsal and anal fins exhibit distant articulations, and in each 
fin there are a few short basal rays in front of the long ante- 
rior rays on which the fulera are arranged. The dorsal fin is 
at least as deep as long, comprising about twenty- -five rays 
besides the basals, and ‘is almost completely in advance of the 
anal fin, which has a much greater extent and comprises not 
less than forty, perhaps forty-five, rays in addition to the 
basals. The whole of the trunk is covered with scales, and 
there is a series of large post-claviculars attached to the hinder 
border of the pectoral arch ; there are also one or two enlarged 
ridge-scales at the origin of the dorsal and anal fins. The 
scales of the flank are about as deep as broad, but become 
much narrowed ventrally and reduced in size on the caudal 
pedicle. One of the postclaviculars is marked with oblique 
ridges and all the principal scales exhibit numerous fine 
oblique pectinations at their hinder margin, a character 
gradually becoming obsolete on the caudal region; apart 
from the pectinations, all the scales are smooth. The lateral 
line is conspicuous. 
Generic Determination.—The absence of the tail renders it 
impossible to determine with certainty the family position of 
the specimen just described; but it may be placed either in 
the comprehensive family of Paleoniscide or in the Cato- 
pteridz. Before the discovery of the species of Dictyopyge 
in the Hawkesbury Beds of Australia * it would have been 
concluded that such a head as is possessed by the South- 
African fossil could only belong to a Paleoniscid and 
undoubtedly implied a strongly heterocereal tail. The 
Hawkesbury fishes, however, have most distinctly the same 
type of head, combined with a remarkably atrophied hetero- 
cercal tail, such as occurs in Lictyopyge and Catopterus. No 
decision as to the genus can therefore be arrived at until the 
caudal extremity is discovered. If the fish is a Paleoniscid 
* Smith Woodward, “The Fossil Fishes of the Hawkesbury Series at 
Gosford,’ Mem, Geol. Surv. N.S. Wales, no. 4 (1890), pp. 16-22, with 
229 
figs, 
