426 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



by these Eskdale deposits, which have proved so rich in 

 palseichthyological treasures. We are not aware of any 

 ganoid, recent or fossil, whose body is entirely destitute of 

 dermal hard parts, for even the all but naked Polyodon of 

 the present day, and also the Carboniferous Phanerosteon 

 have still a few scales on some part of their surface. It 

 seems also scarcely probable that the aj)parent absence of 

 membrane bones from the head and shoulder-girdle is en- 

 tirely due to deficient preservation ; and the granular struc- 

 ture of the vertebral apophyses and radials is not paralleled, 

 so far as I know, in any Ganoid. It certainly is not an ordi- 

 nary Ganoid, nor is it an Acanthodian. On the other hand, 

 its affinity to the Selachii seems to be indicated by the posi- 

 tion of the shoulder-girdle, and by the granular calcification 

 of the vertebral apophyses and radials, and probably also of 

 the head and shoulder-girdle. If it be a Selachian, it is cer- 

 tainly one of a very primitive and at the same time aberrant 

 type. In its long dorsal fin it resembles Xenacanthus ; but 

 there is no cephalic spine, apparently no paired fins (though 

 this may, indeed, be due to defective preservation), the verte- 

 bral centra are more developed, and the two rows of dorsal 

 interspinous cartilages, or " Flossentrager," described by Kner 

 in that genus, seem to be absent. It is certainly a new, as 

 well as a most interesting form, for which I accordingly 

 propose the name of Chondrenchelys prohlematica. 



XXXVI. Notes on a Visit to Fernando Noronha. By George 

 Eamage, Esq. [Plate XIX.] 



(Bead IStli January 1888.) 



The island of Fernando Noronha is of a rudely triangular 

 form, its longest side looking due north-west, its second 

 longest due south, and its shortest due east. The most 

 prominent angles are at the north-east, south-east, and west. 

 There is, also, a prominent peninsula on the south coast, 

 terminating in a headland knowm as Tobacco Point. The 

 smaller islands cluster principally around the north-east 

 angle. Eat Island, the largest, is furthest off. Between it 



