THE ANNALS 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 

 No. 2. FEBRUARY 1868. 



XII. — Notes on various Sj)ecies of Ctenoclus obtained from 

 the Shales of the Northumberland Coal-field. By Thomas 

 Atthey. 

 The curious genus Ctenodus was founded by Agassiz on a 

 single specimen of a palatal tooth procured from the compact 

 coal of Tons:, and preserved in the Leeds Museum. It was 



^bJ 



preg 



named C. cristatus, and was described in his ' Recherches sur 

 les Poissons Fossiles,' where it is tolerably well figured. He 

 mentions two other species, under the respective names of G> 

 alatus and C. Robertsoni — the former from Ardwick, the latter 

 from Burdie House ; but I can find no specific description of 

 either*, though there is an account and figure of the micro- 

 scopic structure of C. Robertsoni ; but these do not assist us at 

 all in determining its specific identity. So far as I am able 

 to ascertain, C. cristatus is, then, the only described species of 

 this genus belonging to the Carboniferous system ; I am there- 

 fore gratified to find myself in a position to add several new 

 species of Ctenodus to the fauna of our Coal-measures. 



During my long -continued examination of the shales in the 

 neighbourhood of Newcastle I have not only found divers spe- 

 cimens of Agassiz's species, but have also obtained five or six 

 others, all of which are distinguished by well-marked charac- 

 ters. It is my intention to give in this communication short 

 descriptions of the whole of them, reserving for some future 

 occasion more lengthened details of their characteristic features. 

 In the first place, however, a few remarks may be made re- 

 specting the fishes to which this beautiful armature belonged. 



Agassiz thought they were Placoids ; and so they were 

 deemed to l^e for several years, until Hugh Miller f obtained 



* From a remark in Agassiz's ' Monogi-. des Poiss. Foss. du Vieux Gres- 

 rouge,' it appears that both species are inedited. 

 t See ' Footprints of the Creator,' p. 62. 



Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.4. Vol.i. 7 



