280 



by Mr. Nichols, in his History of Leicestershire, Vol. iii. but 

 the figures are so very indistinct as not to allow a well- 

 founded conjecture on the genera to which they belong. 

 The figure in the Rev. Mr. Townsend's work, although 

 doubtlessly performed with every regard to fidelity, does 

 not convey any decisive information respecting the genus 

 to which it may be referred. Two specimens are in the 

 possession of the writer, contained in the lias in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Lyme, which are flat and of a trigonal form, 

 about twelve inches in length and nine in width, and are 

 remarkable for their square, highly polished, black and com- 

 paratively large scales. One of the scales, detached and 

 showing its root, is figured, Organic Remains, Vol. iii. PL 

 xviii. fig. 9. In another specimen, several of these scales 

 are involved in a nodule of lias from the neighbourhood of 

 Whitby. These fishes, from the situation of their eyes not 

 being discoverable, and from no traces of their fins appearing, 

 afford no means of determining in what part of the icthyologi- 

 cal system they are to be disposed.* Here are also to be found 

 the armour, the spinous radii, of some fish, having fluted sides, 

 terminating in a strong pointed extremity, and bearing 

 sharply-pointed spines on their posterior sides. A very fine 

 specimen of one of these fossils is figured in Mr. Townsend's 

 work, " The Character of Moses," PL xi. These are by no 

 means unfrequent in this formation, and have, until lately, 

 been considered as part of the jaw of an unknown animal. 

 The leech-like palate teeth of some species of fish are also 

 found in some of the strata of the lias. Numerous teeth, 

 of a small size, are also found in these situations, very much 



* A paper by M. de la Beche, which was read at a meeting of 

 the Geological Society, June 28, 1823, describes a fossil fish from 

 Lyme, which appears to agree very nearly with those which are 

 mentioned above. It is named, by M. de la Beche, Dapedium 

 politum. 



