250 ROY L. MOODIE. 



body with a series of pectinations which are continuous with 

 ridges, separated by grooves occurring on the body of the expan- 

 sion. The pectinations are not always regular and do not always 

 project from the body. In a few cases they are lacking entirely. 

 The handle may be round, triangular or flattened and is usually 

 more or less curved toward the pectinated edge. In some cases 

 the entire clasping organ may be S-shaped, one of the curves 

 occurring in the body of the comb. 



The comb-like bodies were first described and figured by 

 Fritsch in 1879 from the Permian rocks of Bohemia. Previous 

 writers had regarded these objects as the jaw bones of fishes or 

 lizards but further research brought out the fact, first indicated 

 by Fritsch, that they could not be jaws since they were entirely 

 covered by an enamel-like substance. 1 They were found asso- 

 ciated with the remains of Ophiderpeton pectinatum Fritsch and 

 the species is defined as follows : " Stabchen des Bauchpanzers 

 dreimal so lang als die Wirbel, rauh ! Kammplatten liegen zu 

 wenigstens 3 Paar in der Aftergegend (?)." Fritsch regarded 

 the " Kammplatten " as occurring in the cloacal region on ac- 

 count of the position in which they were found on a block of 

 shale with portions of the pelvis of the species. " Spater erhielt 

 ich ein Stuck Bauchpanzer eines Ophiderpeton, neben welchen 

 zwei dieser ratselhaften Gebilde lagen und diess brachte mich auf 

 die Idee, dass die Kammplatten modificirte Stabchen des Bauch- 

 panzers sind, welche wahescheinlich in der Kloakengegend als 

 Hilfsorgane bei der Paarung dienten." 



In 1901, when the last volume of the " Fauna der Gaskohle " 

 was issued, Fritsch figured and described another species of 

 Ophiderpeton, 0. persuadens Fr. with the "Kammplatten" in 

 place near the cloacal region of the specimen which was com- 

 posed of over one hundred consecutive vertebrae and had a 

 length of 1 5 cm. Only a portion of the tail was lost. Fritsch 

 says in regard to this species : " Das interessanteste bei diesem 

 Exemplar ist, dass in der Nahe des Afters zwei Rudimente von 

 Kammplatten liegen, . . . welche meine Vermuthung bestatigen 

 dass diese Organe in der Cloakengegend gelegen, ein Hilfsapparat 

 bei der Paarung waren." 2 



1 Fritsch, 1883, " Fauna der Gaskohle," Vol. I., p. 122. 



2 Fritsch, 1901, " Fauna der Gaskohle, " Supplement, Vol. IV., p. 89. 



