mi.MAINS l\ Tllh: ("OAIi KOIi.MATIOX OF XOVA SCOTIA. 



Go I 



(Kci'L'ivi'd ScptoiiiliLT I, \x^-2.) 



Xofe III. — Oil the Footjiriiils »/ Jintriichiaiia ohscri'cd in the CarboiiiferouH Rocks 



(if Xorn Sfotta. 



Tliony'li it is iiripossililo to identity with certainty the footprints of [);irticular species 

 of the Uatnichians of the roiil-turiiiation, and tliou;;'h most of the animals whidi have 

 left impressions nf this kind are much larL;-er than those found in tlie erect trees, yet 

 to give completeness to this memoir, it may ])V. well to notice the indications of this 

 kind which have heeu observed ; more especially as they have not [)reviously been 

 hrouii'lit tou'ether into one view. 



P'or convenience, I shall refer the larger footi^'ints, prohahly those of Labyrin- 

 thodonts of considerable dimensions, to tlie genus Sainvpn.s, already established by 

 Lka, and the smaller impressions, due ]ierhaps to smaller Labyrinthodonts or to 

 Microsaurians, and usually showing a longer stride and more slender toes, to the 

 genus JIi/loj)Us. IVsides tliese, there are the curious trails named Diplichnites* and 

 which may have been made by largi' unknown Her[)entif irm batrachiaiis. 



Impressions of both tvpes Hrst a]ipear in the lowest carboniferous or I loirrox series, 

 corresponding to the " Tweedian series" of Tatk, the " calciferous sandstones" of 

 McLauhx, and the carboniferous slate and Coomhala grit of Jukks. No bones of 

 IJatrachians have as yet been found in tlu'se beds, but the I'ootprints indicate the 

 presence at the beginning of the Carboniferous I'criod, ami bef ire the deposition of 

 the lower carboniferous limestones, of both large and small species similar to those 

 of the coal- formation. At the other extremity of the carboniferous system, footprints 

 have been found on the sandstones of the uj)[)er coal-formation or ]»ermo-carboniferous 

 series. 



J. ^(iitrujxts 'iiKjiiij'i'i; Uawson. 



[Geological Magazine, vol. ix. ' Acadian Geology,' ard edition, supplement, p. 02.] 



This is the largest footprint yet found in the coal-formation of Nova Scotia. The 

 length of the hind-foot, on one of the slabs having the largest and most distinct 

 impressions,! is six inches, and its greatest breadth about five inches ; the stride is 

 from 1-2 to lo inches, the distance of the two rows of ti'acks being about seven 

 inches, and the hind-foot covering the im[)ression of the fore-foot, which from other 

 slabs woidd appear to have been smaller and shorter. The impressions show four 

 ordinary toes, and a fifth outer toe armed with a hjng claw or si)ur, which sometimes 

 trailed on the gn)und, and, when the foot was planted, was plunged into the mud. It 

 was no (Unibt an aid to the animal in ascending inclined surfaces of mud. 



* All'. Joiiriwil of Science, IsTa. 



t t'dllcclid liy S.Whioiin Fi,i:mim;, Kmi-, C.K., ami imw in the .Mn^^cnni nl' liic (.Iculngical Survey, 



