Loxomma Allmniiiii /// the Xorthumherland Coal-field. ii77 



siiring upwards ot" four inches lung and one incli and a lialf 

 wide at the ])r()jection ot" the interorbital bone. Behind this 

 point, which divides it into two parts, an anterior and poste- 

 rior, the orbit extends obliquely out\\ards and forwards ; and 

 in front of it the anterior division, which is the larger, turns a 

 little inwards and fur^vards. 



The maxilhe extend backwards to Avithin tlirce inches of 

 the external cornua ; as much as four and a ({uarter inches of 

 the posterior portion is present : they are luirruw and straight, 

 and border the straight outer margin of the malar, forming the 

 lateral boundaries of the cranium. In the right maxilla there 

 are five teeth — four towards the anterior fractured extremity, 

 and the fifth, of which the stump only remains, is seven- 

 eighths of an inch from the hinder extremity. Three of the 

 anterior ones are perfect : the first is placed a quarter of an 

 inch from the broken end of the jaw, and is about half an inch 

 from the next tooth ; the second, third, and fourth are a quarter 

 of an inch apart (the crown of the latter is gone) ; the fifth is 

 placed an inch and three-quarters further back, the inter- 

 mediate teeth liaving probably been removed. The remains 

 of three or four teeth are observed in the left maxilla, placed 

 about the same distance apart as those of the right maxilla. 



These teeth are of equal size ; the perfect ones measure 

 three-tenths of an inch in length ; they are grooved from the 

 base halfway up the crown ; the upper portion is compressed 

 in the direction of the long axis of the jaw, and the sides are 

 produced into wide, sharp cutting-margins ; the extremities 

 are abruptly pointed. 



A large palatine tooth or tusk is seen a little within the 

 fractured extremity of the right maxilla, sinking into the ma- 

 trix ; the exposed portion is three-quarters of an inch in length; 

 it is half an inch wide at the base, and is three-eighths of an 

 inch wide at the upper extremity ; it is therefore probable that 

 not half the tooth is seen, and that it cannot have been less 

 than an inch and a half in length. 



The under surface of the specimen is partially exposed ; but 

 too little is displayed, and that little is too much disturbed, to 

 admit of clear elucidation. Part, however, of the basisphenoid 

 and its lateral processes can be observed, as well as a portion 

 of the palatal bones ; also the palato-teraporal foramen seems 

 to be in part recognizable. 



We have already stated that this fine cranium is the first 

 authenticated evidence of the occurrence of Loxomma in the 

 shale of the Xorthumberland coal-field. Mr. Atthey, however, 

 has had in his cabinet for several years the crushed cranial 

 bones of this Labyriuthodont ; but, owing to the confusion of 



