KONGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND. 21. N:0 9. 13 



plates of the succeeding segments of the abdomen, whereas most of its dorsal plates 

 are clearly exposed. The speciraen, as has been already stated, is severed into two 

 parts, between the fourth and the lifth abdominal segments; and in the detached por- 

 tion, the integument of the posterior half of the sixth segment, of the entire seventh 

 segment, and of the two first segments of the tail, has been löst, and only the impression 

 of their ventral side reraains. Owing to the fact that the front portion of the body (fig. 

 1) has been compressed obliqnely towards the right side; the right lateral ends of the 

 two anterior abdominal dorsal plates, and to a greater extent the right end of the third 

 dorsal plate, have become shrivelled and contracted, and the abdomen appears to be nar- 

 rowing backwards by the gradual diminution in width ofeachofthe three anterior pla- 

 tes. But such a form of the abdomen is unknown in any other recent or fossil scor- 

 pion; and that it did not exist in the living Pala3ophonus, is proved by the fact that 

 the entire abdominal segments as well as their dorsal plates in the hinder, detached 

 portion of our specimen (fig. 2) — where they are seen raore directly from above — 

 are much broader than the next preceding ones now appear to be: the lifth dorsal 

 plate, for example, is at least half as broad again as the third. We therefore think that 

 in Palaeophonus, as in most other scorpions, the abdomen gradually becomes a little 

 broader (or at least not narrower) from the cephalothorax to the fifth segment, and 

 then again contracts towards the tail, at first very slightly, at last strongiy. 



The anterior dorsal plates are long, compared with those of recent scorpions. 

 Of the dorsal plates (figs. 1 and 2, D^ — Z)^) the first is the shortest, being about three and 

 one half times as wide as long. The following plates become gradually longer; the fifth, 

 however, is scarcely longer than the fourth; whilst the seventh appears to have been more 

 than double the length of the first. The first plate is someAvhat narrower than the 

 cephalothorax, and was probably slightly so, even in the living animal. The anterior 

 and posterior margins of the plates are nearly straight (the anterior margin of the 

 first plate is very slightly and broadly rounded in the middle), Avith the anterior an- 

 gles somewhat produced forward and acuminate; the lateral margins are almost straight 

 anteriorly, whilst posteriorly, they are broadly rounded. The sides or lateral ends of 

 the plates appear to have been slightly and finely granulated, but no other sculpture 

 is visible on them, except an impressed line along their anterior margins. 



The fourth segment is much shrivelled, and its hind margin is incomplete; the 

 portion visible probably belongs partly to its dorsal and partly (the smaller portion, 

 to the left) to its ventral plate. 



Of the ventral plates of the third and fourth abdominal segments (fig. 1, F3, V^) 

 but little is preserved. The most important part visible is a triangulär piece, to the 



From this desoription it would seem that the operculum (genital jilate) in the Scotch specimen lias 

 been removed backwards, from its original position in front of the combs. Between the bases of these 

 organs, and thus flanked by them, there is, however, at least in recent scorpions, another small, sometimes 

 bifid sternite, which raay, perhaps, in a fossil scorpion be easily taken for the operculum. — As the ex- 

 posed ventral surface of the Scotch specimen is stated to show almost every external organ that can be 

 seen in that position, we hope Mr Peach or Dr Munter will soon be able to give a description of the 

 coxse of the first twö pairs of legs in this animal, and of their so-called maxiUartj lobes (if such lobes 

 exist in Palseophonus), as well as of the structure of the combs; all these organs being of the greatest 

 importance in the classification of the Order of the Scorpions. 



