Geological Society of London, 389 



same, and its volume above the level of the sea a constant quantity, 

 they are constantly increasing, while both the mean and extreme 

 depths of the sea are constantly diminishing, the cause being the 

 extreme affinity which water has for the constituent elements of 

 minerals. In illustration of his view, he quoted the so-called up- 

 heaval of coral-islands as being really caused by a diminution in the 

 volume of the sea, 



4. '' Has the Asiatic Elephant been found in a fossil state ? " 

 By A. Leith Adams, M.B., F.G.S. With a Note by G. Busk, Esq., 

 F.R.S., F.G.S. 



An elephant's tooth in the possession of Dr. Fischer, of St. John, 

 New Brunswick, which had been found in Japan at a distance of 

 forty miles from the sea-shore, between Kanagawa and Jeddo, and at 

 the base of a surface coal-bed, appeared to the author referable to the 

 Asiatic elephant; and he accompanied his description of it by a 

 drawing and plaster cast. In his note appended to the paper, Mr. 

 Busk gave some further details of the characters exhibited by the 

 cast, and agreed with Dr. Leith Adams in regarding it as probably 

 referable to Elephas indicus rather than E. Armeniacus, a fossil molar 

 of which had been found in China ; but he concluded that it was the 

 antepenuUimnte upper left molar, and not the penultimate, as inferred 

 by Dr. Leith Adams. 



5. " On the Characters of some new Fossil Fish from the Lias of 

 Lyme Regis." By Sir Philip de M. Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., 

 F.E.S., F.G.S. 



The species described in this paper were the following : — 



OsteoracJiis macrocephalus, gen. et spec. nov. — A Sauroid fish, 

 chiefly remarkable for the massive dimensions and complete ossifica- 

 tion of the bodies of the vertebree, and characterized by the large 

 size of the head and the multiplicity of the teeth. 



Isocolum granulatum, gen. et spec. nov. — For elegance of form 

 this fish can vie with the salmon of modern times, its contour being 

 very similar. It bears the greatest resemblance to the Sauroid genus 

 Caturus, but in the absence of the teeth it cannot be assigned with 

 certainty to any particular family. 



Holophagus gulo, spec. nov. — A Caelacanth fish, remarkable 

 for its resemblance, especially in the contour of the head, to the 

 Cretaceous genus Macropoma, and for substantiating Prof. Huxley's 

 demonstration of the persistence of type presented by this family, 

 which ranged from the Coal-measures to the Chalk. 



Eulepidotus sauroides, gen. et spec. nov. — This fish represents 

 a genus uniting the Lepidoid and Sauroid families of Agassiz's 

 Ganoid order; the teeth and the tail being Sauroid in character, 

 while the fins are Lepidoid, and the scales partake of the characters 

 of those structures in both families. 



6. "Note on the Geology of Port Santa Cruz, Patagonia." By 

 Capt. T. Baker, Lieut. Royal Naval Reserve. Commmiicated by the 

 Assistant- Secretary. 



This note accompanied some specimens of fossil shells obtained 

 by the author from the cliffs of the western arm of the River Santa 



