From the Carboniferous of EaMale. 5 



series of oblique neural spines. They are rather obscure, yet they 

 may be seen to be elongated, and slightly consti'icted in the middle, 

 and consisting of granular calcified cartilage. There is no appear- 

 ance of vertebral centra, or of ribs. 



Fins. — Behind the head are two obliquely placed cartilages, which 

 are evidently the right and left elements of the shoulder-girdle, and 

 below and behind these on the vertical margin are some remains of 

 a pectoral member, consisting of some rod-shaped cartilages, evi- 

 dently radials, beyond which are some obscure indications of the 

 shagreen-covered expanse of the fin. 



Again, on the ventral margin opposite the insertion of the second 

 dorsal spine, is a moderately-sized fin, whose internal structure shows 

 pointed radial cartilages, and whose surface is covered with minute 

 ridged and pectinated shagreen granules. This I interpret as ventral. 



The first dorsal spine (Fig. 2), deeply and obliquely implanted, 

 measures 4^| inches in length, its greatest antero-posterior diameter, 

 about If inch from the root, being J inch. It has a blunt base, acute 

 point, gently convex anterior margin, the posterior one, towai'ds the 

 extremity, being also slightly concave. The limits of the implanted 

 and exposed portions are not exhibited, the exposed part is also 

 slightly injured near the base, but by carefully clearing out the 

 counterpart and taking an impression in wax, a pretty good view of 

 the sculpture was got. The exposed portion of this, the left, side of 

 the spine, somewhat convex proximally and flattened distally, shows 

 eleven longitudinal ridges, diminishing by alternate suppression to 

 three at the extremity. The distance between each pair of these 

 ridges averages aV inch. They enlarge at intervals into small 

 nodular tubercles ; those on the anterior ridges are closely placed, 

 there being about eight to every ^ inch, while on the ridges further 

 behind (Fig. 4) they become more distant, reduced to three or four 

 in the same space, and towards the point dying away altogether. 

 When these tubercles are perfect (Fig. 3), they are seen to be 

 brilliantly enamelled and striated longitudinally by three or four 

 sharp ridges and sulci. The posterior margin of the spine is evidently 

 cut off flat, while a row of small recurved denticles, five to ^ inch, 

 arms the line of junction of the posterior and lateral surfaces. 



The second dorsal spine, four inches in length, has its surface 

 more injured, and as the counterpart of this part of the specimen is 

 gone, the plan of taking a wax impression to supplement our 

 knowledge of the external sculpture, was not available. Never- 

 theless, so far as can be seen, the characters of this spine are quite 

 the same as those of the first, though it is shorter and apparently a 

 little straighter. Behind the spine is a mass of calcified cartilage, 

 evidenced by the mosaic of minute calcareous pieces, which at first 

 sight look something like flat polygonal shagreen granules ; distally, 

 however, this mass becomes difl'erentiated into pointed rod-like 

 bodies, of which six are visible, and which are clearly radial cartilages 

 of the fin. Scattered about here are also undoubted shagreen bodies, 

 showing the same ridged and pectinated character already described. 

 The caudal fin is very distinctly bifurcated and heterocercal, though 



