Miscellaneous. 233 
On the Discovery of true Batrachians in Palcozore Rocks. 
By M. A. Gavpry. 
Hitherto Batrachians of existing types seemed to be of recent 
geological date; most paleontologists believed that these animals 
did not occur in any formations more ancient than the Tertiaries. 
There was some ground for astonishment that Vertebrata of such 
low organization should have come upon the earth so late; and this 
fact seemed to be in opposition to most of those which paleontology 
has registered. 
I have the honour to bring before the Academy some remains of 
Batrachians which have just been discovered in Paleeozoic rocks. 
One of them was communicated to me some months since by M. 
Loustau, engineer on the Northern Railway ; it was collected by 
M. Roche in the bituminous schists of Permian age at Igornay 
(Sadne-et-Loire). A few days ago M. Francois Delille brought me 
a slab upon which may be seen seven little Batrachians, which 
closely resemble those of Igornay. He obtained it at Millery (Sadne- 
et-Loire); and, like the specimen from Igornay, this slab was pro- 
cured from bituminous schists of Permian age. 
-I propose to give the Batrachians of Igornay and Millery the 
name of Salamandrella petrolei, to indicate that they have affinities 
with the salamanders, and to note that they have been buried in 
deposits from which petroleum is extracted. They are very small: 
the individual communicated to me by M. Loustau is 30 millims. in 
length from the outer edge of the muzzle to the extremity of the 
tail; and the largest of the individuals found by M. Delille is only 
35 millims, Notwithstanding their small size, it is probable that 
they were adult ; for the heads, tails, and limbs of the different ex- 
amples are clearly of the same proportions. The heads are broader 
than long, triangular, and much flattened: as not one of them is 
placed on its side, I think that this flattening is natural and not 
merely the result of the compression of the beds. The orbits are 
very large and elongated ; we see no place for the postorbitals and 
suprasquamosals, which are so much developed in the Ganocephali. 
The vertebree have the centrum ossified: I count 29 of them, viz. 
3 cervical, 10 dorsal, 8 lumbar, and 8 caudal, the last very much 
reduced. The cervical and dorsal vertebree have arched ribs, much 
shorter than those of the Ganocephali. I have not been able to 
perceive any indications of the entosternum and episterna, so re- 
markable in the Ganocephali and Labyrinthodonts. The fore and 
hind limbs are nearly of the same size; both are furnished with 
four digits. I see no traces of scales which could be attributed to 
the Salamandrella; and, indeed, I cannot distinguish around the 
skeleton any deposit or coloration indicating a hardened skin, which 
would have persisted longer than the other soft organs. 
One cannot help being struck by the resemblance of the Little 
Batrachians of Igornay and Millery to the terrestrial salamanders. 
Nevertheless their head is a little broader ; the bones of their limbs 
seem to have had the extremities less well-defined; the hind limbs 
