CANNEL COAL OF THE WEST BIDING OP YOEESHIRE. 67 



the occurrence of fishes of a somewhat similar type during the suc- 

 ceeding Carboniferous age is rendered at least plausible. To distin- 

 guish this specimen, I suggest the generic name Ostracacanthus* , 

 from the resemblance of the spine to those of the Ostracion, and 

 adding the nomen triviale dilatatus, in reference to its wide and di- 

 lated base. 



As already observed, the most abimdant fossil fish occurring in 

 this bed of Cannel Coal is the Coelacanthus. The specimens are 

 extremely well preserved, and, as might be expected, they are of 

 various sizes, up to 18 or 20 inches iu length. I hope, at some 

 future meeting, to treat at greater length on the characters of this 

 genus. For the present it may be mentioned that the teeth were 

 undoubtedly small and sharply pointed ; jaws with the teeth in situ 

 have not been found, but specimens are frequently met with in 

 which the alveolar spaces are well shown, extending in a single row 

 along the rami of the jaws. The teeth appear to have been loosely 

 held, and to have fallen away from the jaw when the fleshy parts 

 decayed. The air-bladder is well preserved and seems to possess 

 considerable resemblance to the bony air-bladders of some of the 

 Siluroid fishes of the fresh waters of Northern India. 



The most striking features elucidated in the foregoing observa- 

 tions are the decidedly Teleostean fades presented by some of the 

 fish. There is an immense assemblage of the remains, considering 

 the small area over which the coal-bed extends ; and for the most 

 part they consist of species whose nearest allies amongst living 

 fishes are found in the Teleostean Siluroids and Cyprinoids of the 

 rivers in the mountainous districts of Northern India and in South 

 America. There is a remarkable resemblance in the fossil Comp- 

 sacanthus to many of the. species of the Saccohranchi and Macrones, 

 Sufficient is not yet known of the fossil fish to warrant an opinion 

 as to its internal anatomy, or even to say whether the head had a 

 bony covering similar to that of the recent fish ; but if these parts 

 should not be found or identified, it may still be maintained that the 

 scaleless Siluroids and the cartilaginous dorsal fin of Macrones are 

 indications of an ancestry which may very well serve as the type of 

 the fish which inhabited the waters existing during the period when 

 the Carboniferous rocks were being accumulated. 



* 'OcrpaKov, a hard shell, and aKavOa, a thorn. 



p2 



