172 MISCELLA^' E A . 



beds may be seen here and there in the present cliff-section bro- 

 ken up and confused in the most fantastic manner. In a fall of 

 this kind of rock from the cliff, the fish, whose discovery I wish 

 to record, was found by Miss Green, and conveyed with much 

 care and inconvenience to Shields, for the specimen bears evident 

 marks of ha\'ing been cut out of a large block of limestone. 



The fish belongs to a genus not hitherto noticed as occurring 

 at Marsdeu, but the same species, along with others, were found 

 at Fulwell Quarries, near Sunderland, and a long and interesting 

 account of them has been given by my friend Mr. Kirkby, in a for- 

 mer volume of your Transactions. Mr. Kirkby at first identified 

 this fossil with Acrolepis Scdgwichii, Ag., but afterwards found 

 that it differed in many particulars from that species. As no 

 specific name has been attached to it as yet, we shall to-night 

 give it the name of the gentleman who first drew up an account 

 of the occuiTcnce of these fishes in the Upper-Division of the 

 Magnesian limestoue. 



Since this discoveiy of Miss Green's, traces of fishes have been 

 occasionally found in Marsden Bay, by Mr. Fryer of Wliitley, 

 many years ago, and by Mr. Kirkby in more recent years, but 

 the impossibility of excavating the cliff section where they occur 

 will for a long time at least prevent any successful search for 

 them being made. 



The fish found at Marsden by Miss Green is about nine or ten 

 inches in length and very imperfectly preserved, but sufficient 

 "evidence is afforded by the specimen to refer it to one already 

 mentioned by Mr. Kirkby, and it was found in exactly the same 

 geological horizon, though at Marsden these beds are much more 

 disturbed than the corresponding beds at Fulwell. 



At Fulwell these ichthyolites arc associated with fi-agments of 

 land plants, remains of a Coniferous plant, and a Cidamite. It may 

 be asked, are these fishes of marine origin ? and it may be stated 

 in answer that the genera rala?oni8cus and Acrolepis are gene- 

 rally considered freshwater types, and we think it most probable 

 tliat these small fishes, wliich are associated with remains of laud 

 plants, were swept out to sea by periodical fioods and deposited 



