48 Obituary — R. H. Traquair. 



in the Museum of Science and Art,^ Edinburjih, which occurred on 

 jS^ovember 22, 1912, at his residence, " The Bush," Colintoii, 

 Midlotliian, in his 72nd year. 



Early in life he took a keen interest in fossil fishes, his attention 

 liaviof^ been a^■rested by discovering a portion of a Palseeniscid fish in 

 the Wardie Shales. In passing his raedical course in the University (if 

 Edinburgh, where he studied under Professor Goodsir and Sir William 

 Turner, he chose as the subject for his meiiical thesis the asymmetry 

 of the flat fishes, for which lie was awarded a gold medal. 



In 1866 Traquair became Professor of Natural History in the 

 lloyal Agricultural College, Cirencester; in 1867 Professor of Zoology 

 in the lloyal College of Science, Dublin ; and in 1873 Keeper of the 

 Natural History Collections in the Science and Art Museum, Edin- 

 burgh, a post which he held till his retirement in 1906. 



At the Edinburgh Museum he had the charge of the collection of 

 fossil fishes, and during thirty-three years he acquired a very fine series 

 of fish-remains from the Old lied Sandstone and Carboniferous rocks 

 of Scotland. 



His researches led to the entire revision of the classification and 

 nomenclature of Agassiz and other early investigators, especially in 

 the Palseoniscidse and the Platysomida3, Traquair's work being based 

 on the morphological structure, not on the mere outline of the body or 

 the configuration of the scales and teeth. 



During his long career Dr. Traquair published upwards of 130 

 papers on zoological and palaeontological subjects, chiefly on fossil 

 fishes, which have mostly appeared in the volumes of the Palasonto- 

 graphical Society, the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 

 and the Royal Physical Society. Between 1871 and 1902 he also 

 contributed about 30 papers to the Geological Magazine. By 

 means of the fish-remains he arranged the Carboniferous rocks of 

 Scotland in two divisions, and on the same principle he established 

 a triple classification of the Lower, Middle, and Upper Old Red 

 Sandstone. 



For several years he filled the office of Swiney Lecturer on 

 Geology at the British Museum (Natural History), where he displayed 

 his remarkable talent as a draughtsman on the blackboard. Much of 

 liis success in Ichthyology no doubt was the result of this graphic 

 skill and accurate anatomical knowledge in drawing fossil fishes. 



He was the recipient of many honours in recognition of his work. 

 In 1881 he was elected an F.R.S. of London; the Lyell Medal 

 was awarded him by the Geological Society in 1901, and a Royal 

 Medal in 1907 by the Royal Society. His life and portrait appeared 

 in the June Number of the Geological Magazinp; for 1909 

 (pp. 241-50). 



He was quite lately engaged on his final memoir on the 

 Palseoniscidae for the Palseontographical Society, and up to the very 

 last of his life, even when his health liad given way, he bravely 

 continued his labours until the end. 



His widow, two sons, and one daughter survive him.^ 



' Now known as the Eoyal Scottish Museum. 



^ In part from the Scotsinan, November 23, 1912. 



