Miscellaneous. 389 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



On the Affinities of the so-called Torpedo (Cyclobatis, Egerton) from 

 the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon. By A. Smith Woodwakd, 



F.G.S., r.z.s. 



In 1844, Sir Philip Egerton read a paper before the Geological 

 Society of London, describing a small Selachian from the chalk of 

 Mount Lebanon, under the name of Cyclohatis oligodactylus ; six 

 years later Prof. E. J. Pictet figured a second specimen, showing 

 further anatomical details ; and quite recently Mr. James "W. Davis 

 has published some notes on the genus, adding a new species, C. 

 major. Following Egerton's original determination, the fish seems 

 to have been universally regarded up to tlie present time as referable 

 to the Torpedinidse, partly on account of its rounded shape, and 

 partly on account of the supposed absence of dermal defences. The 

 fine series of specimens now in the British Museum, however, ap- 

 pears to demonstrate conclusively that these generally accepted views 

 as to affinities of Cyclobatis have no sure foundation in fact. That 

 the genus is truly referable to the Trygonidse seems evident from 

 the following considerations : — (1) The pectoral fins are uninter- 

 ruptedly continued to the end of the snout, and were thus probably 

 confluent in front. (2) The pelvic arch is placed far forwards, and 

 the rays of the pelvic fins scarcely extend posteriorly beyond the 

 extremity of the pectorals. (3) There are no traces of median fins. 

 (4) The skin is armed with spinous tubercles. The fact last named 

 has not been noted before ; but on the dorsal aspect of the fish there 

 is a longitudinal median row of large spinous tubercles, and the re- 

 mainder of the body and fins is covered with innumerable prickles. 

 In one small fossil the tail has the appearance of being completely 

 encased in rows of the large tubercles. There is thus no evidence, 

 as yet, of the existence of ' electric rays ' of an earlier date than 

 those made known by Volta and Baron de Zigno from the Eocene of 

 Monte Bolca, near Verona, in Northern Italy. — Abstract, Section G, 

 British Association, Manchester, 1887. 



Zygcena dissimilis, Murray. 



GENrLEMEN, — In the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History ' for 

 October is a paper by Mr. Murray, of the Kurrachee Museum, who 

 in describing a hammer-headed shark which he supposed to be new, 

 observed upon it not being delineated in my ' Fishes of India.' 

 The reason seems to be that the species is the Zygcena moTcarran 

 of Riippell, figured in Taf. J 7. fig. 3, ' Neue Wirbelthiere der Fauna 

 Abyssinien,' 1835, and who fully described the fish. I did not 

 obtain it in India when there, neither did it exist in any of the 

 local museums, which was my reason for not inserting it. Also 

 Lamna Ghientheri of the same author from the same locality, described 

 in your journal, (5) vol. xiii. p. 349 (1884), is figured and described 

 in my work as Carcharias tricu^pidatus, p. 713, pi. 186. fig. 1. 



Cheltenham, Oct. 24, 1887. Francis Day. 



