450 On Benedenius deneensis, Traquair. 



it [^Benedemiis] is after all more Palseoniscid, and should be 

 restored to the family Palasoniscidae " ; the result of which 

 has been, as 1 think, an incorrect allocation of this genus in 

 Mr. Smith Woodward's ' Catalogue of Fossil Fishes.' 



At the suggestion of Dr. Traquair, who has most kindly 

 assisted me with advice, I have compared the new specimens 

 with the type in the Zoological Museum of Louvain Uni- 

 versity, which has been most kindly entrusted to me by 

 Prof, Gilson. I entertain no doubt as to their specific iden- 

 tity, although the proportions differ a little, as may be seen 

 from the following measurements of the type specimen : — 



millim. 



Total length 296 



Length of head 63 



From head to caudal fin ] 68 



Caudal fin 85 



Greatest depth of body lOS 



Length of caudal peduncle 20 



Depth of caudal peduncle 31 



From head to dorsal fin (in a straight 



line) '.. 104 



From head to ventral fin 76 



From head to anal fin 120 



Length of dorsal fin 60 



Greatest depth of dorsal fin 38 



Length of anal fin 26 



After the excellent description given by Traquair of that 

 specimen, I have naturally little to add. I must, however, 

 point out that the shape and sculpture of the scales approaching 

 the dorsal ridge-scutes have not been correctly figured ; they 

 entirely lose the rhomboidal shape and assume a more con- 

 centric striation, as I have described above. A piece of this 

 region is figured, enlarged, on PI. X. fig. 5. The base of the 

 dorsal fin is denuded, but there remain a few of the distal 

 hourglass- shaped fin-supports (baseosts), noticed above, and I 

 can also distinguish the extremities of several of the proximal 

 supports (axonosts), the presence of which had not yet been 

 ascertained in Benedenius ', these axonosts are nearly as thick 

 as the baseosts. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 



Plate IX. 



Benedenius deneensis, Traq., nearly complete specimen (A), preserved in 

 the Abbey of Maredsous. The greater part of the head and the 

 extremity of tlie tail omitted. Natural size. 



