Mr. T. Atthey on Paleoniscus Hancock. 311 
Paleoniscus Hancockt, n. sp. 
This elegant little fossil fish I have ventured to name after 
my late lamented friend Mr. Albany Hancock. 
It measures from 24 to 34 inches in length, and its depth 
immediately behind the pectoral fin 34; of an inch; this 1s 
maintained as far as the ventral fin, beyond which it diminishes 
towards the tail: the body is therefore long and slender. The 
fins are small; the articulations of each of the rays of the 
pectoral are very distant, those of the ventral, anal, and dorsal 
less so; the rays of the ventral, anal, and dorsal are more slender 
than those of the pectoral. So far as can be made out, the tail 
is delicate, the upper lobe somewhat longer than the lower. 
There are two conspicuous rows of scales on the side of the 
ventral part of the body near the margin : these scales are twice 
as high as they are wide ; their external surface is smooth, and 
their posterior margin finely serrated. The other scales are 
only about half the size of the above mentioned, and of rhom- 
boidal form. The head, in length, is about the sixth part of 
the body. The teeth are very minute, and of two sizes (larger 
and smaller), sharp-pointed, and set closely in the jaw. ‘The 
mouth is large; the maxille: and mandibles and the bones of 
the upper surface of the skull are covered externally with a 
delicately sculptured and shining pattern of convoluted ridges 
and grooves, the former of which are flattened. The oper- 
culum is large and smooth, the suboperculum less. Hight 
branchiostegal rays exist, and project beyond the line of the 
mandible, the one next to the pectoral fin being by far the 
largest. The lower border of the mandible is furnished with 
a row of projecting points, continuations of the ridges on the 
side of the mandible. 
The above characters so clearly separate P. Hancocki from 
other Paleonisct that I am in doubt whether or not it should 
be ranked as a member of the genus; but I have given the 
name Paleoniscus to it provisionally, in order to bring the 
fossil to the notice of paleontologists. It is from the North- 
umberland Coal-measures, and has been found in the black 
shale of the Low Main at Newsham, Cramlington, and 
Kenton. 
Note.—-I take the present opportunity of correcting two 
errors into which Mr. Miall appears to have unconsciously 
fallen. First, in his paper in the ‘ Journal’ of the Geological 
Society for December 1874, he says :—‘‘A restoration of the 
palate of Ctenodus cristatus forms one of the illustrations of 
Messrs. Hancock and Atthey’s series of papers on the Fishes 
22* 
