86 Canadian Record of Science. 



Note on a Fossil Fish and Marine "Worm found 



in the Pleistocene nodules of G-reen's 



Creek on the Ottawa, 



By Sie William Dawson, LL.D., F.E.S. 



I. Cottus fasciatus. Bernhardt. 



The Pleistocene clays of G-reen's Creek on the Ottawa, are 

 celebrated for the nodules holding fossil fishes which they 

 contain. The most common of these is the Capelin (Mallo- 

 tus villosus, Cuvier) but the Lump-sucker (Cyclopterus lum- 

 pus, Lin.) also occurs, and I have also found a species of 

 Gasterosteus, possibly the two-spined stickleback of the St. 

 Lawrence, (G. aculeatus, Lin.,) and a skeleton which seems 

 to be that of the smelt {Osmerus mordax, Gill.) 1 



There have been in my collections for some time two spe- 

 cimens of these nodules, which appear to contain the skele- 

 tons of some species of Cottus or Sculpin. They are, however, 

 imperfectly preserved, so that I have been unable to identify 

 the species. Recently, Mr. J. Stewart of Ottawa has kind- 

 ly placed in my hands a better preserved specimen, show- 

 ing more especially the pre-opercular spines and pectoral 

 fins in comparatively good preservation, and with the help 

 of this I think I can identify the species, notwithstanding 

 the confusion which at present seems to reign as to our 

 North American cottoids. 



The characters of the hooked spines and of the pectoral 

 fin seem to identify this specimen with Cottus (Centroder- 

 michthys) uncinatus of Guntber's British Museum catalogue. 

 This is C. uncinatus of Reinhardt, and Icelus uncinatus of 

 Kroyer and Gill. I feel convinced, also, that it must be the 

 Cottus gobio of Fabricius, though this is usually identified 

 with C. (Gymnacanthus) tricuspis of Eeinhardt, a very dis- 

 tinct species. Cottus uncinatus, occurs in Greenland, and in 



1 Notes on Pleistocene of Canada, Canadian Naturalist N. S. Vol. 

 V, 1871. 



