﻿R. Etheridge, Jun. — Contributions to FakBontology. 307 



Pit, Kinniel, near B'oness. — Collection of the Geological Survey of 

 Scotland, collected by Mr. James Bennie. 



Genus Oracanthus, Agassiz. 



Oracanthus Ifilleri, Agassiz. Plate XIII. Figs 4-6. 



0. Milleri, k^. ; Rech. Poissons Foss. vol. iii. (1833-34), p, 13, Atlas iii. t. 3, f. 1-4. 

 „ „ M'Coy, Brit. Pal. Foss., p. 634. 



Spine. — Four-sided, more or less laterally flattened, tapering, hollow 

 nearly to the apex, substance thin. Apex where broken = 10 lines 

 by 4-| lines ; base = 2 inches 2 lines by 1 inch (about) . Section of 

 the base transversely oval ; section of the apex oval, wider at one 

 end than the other, solid. Anterior end (?) narrower than the 

 posterior ; posterior end (?) flattened, at right angles to the sides. 

 Canal large, occupying the whole of the internal portion of the 

 ray, but terminating towards the apex at the fractured point. Sur- 

 face covered with conical, fluted tubercules, arranged singly in 

 undulating transverse ridges or becoming laterally confluent ; 

 apices of the tubercules obtusely pointed. On one of the larger 

 or lateral faces the rows are almost horizontal, or only slightly 

 oblique; but on the other they are much more so, the obliquity 

 being considerably increased on the smaller ends. The tubercules 

 increase slightly in size down the spine from the apex towards 

 the base, and their apices are, if anything, inclined a little upwards 

 towards the former ; on the flattened posterior (?) end they are 

 decidedly larger than on any other part of the spine. The confluent 

 portions of the ridges are of less height than the tubercules thein- 

 selves. Flattened, or a little concave, striate, or striato-punctate 

 spaces separate the transverse ridges. 



Ohs. — The protean character of surface ornamentation, proportions, 

 and distortion often found in this spine are ascribed by Prof. M'Coy' 

 to the thin character of its substance, and in consequence no two 

 descriptions will be found alike. M'Coy united Agassiz's described 

 form O. Milleri with the imdescribed 0. confluens,"^ and doubtless 

 with justice. The above description is that of the very handsome 

 specimen (Figs. 4-6) from the Cabinet of Mr. A. Patton, E. Kilbride, 

 and which appears to be O. Milleri (+ 0. confluens), as described by 

 Prof. M'Coy. Dr. Traquair was kind enough to examine a specimen 

 bearing the name 0. confluens, in the Cabinet of the Earl of 

 Enniskillen, and informs me, that, so far as he can recollect, 

 without actual comparison, Mr. Patton's fine specimen bears a great 

 resemblance to it. The spine a23pears to be quite in its normal 

 form, there are no signs of crushing or distortion. The free, or con- 

 fluent form of the tubercules, is not specially confined to any one 

 part of the spine. 



Loc. and Horizon. — Obtained by Mr. A. Patton from shale two feet 

 and a half above the Calderwood Cement Stone, Lower Carboniferous 

 Limestone Group, in a quarry at the Upper Gliebe, East Kilbride, 

 Lanarkshire. 



1 Loc. eit. supra., '^ Loe cit. supra, p. 177. 



