282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [April 14, 



posite and partly alternate, closely placed, so as to touch and partly 

 overlap one another, almost circular in outline, slightly cordate, entire 

 at the margin, a little convex, scarcely ^ inch in length. They have 

 no distinct midrib ; the veins, which are pretty strongly marked, and 

 not very numerous, radiate from the base of each pinnule, are wavy 

 and repeatedly forked, not unlike what we see in the smallest lateral 

 leaflets oi Nenropteris heterophylla. The surface of the leaflets is 

 everywhere granulated, or covered with minute protuberances, be- 

 tween the veins : this appearance may be supposed to be produced 

 either by capsules thickly spread over the surface, or by peltate scales, 

 such as cover the fronds of Niphobolus and of many other Polypo- 

 dese. The former is perhaps more probable, for in all recent Ferns 

 (that I have seen) in which such scales occur in abundance, they 

 cover and conceal the veins. Supposing these granulations to be the 

 remains of capsules, they will not necessarily prove that our plant 

 belongs to the Acrostichum group ; for in many Aspidese and Asple- 

 nese, the fructification, when old, becomes spread over the whole lower 

 surface of the frond, though originally disposed in spots or lines. 



The terminations of the primary pinnse are everywhere wanting in 

 this specimen ; but the small, round, neat, uniform and symmetrical 

 leaflets, and the arrangement of their veins, together with the large 

 size of the whole plant, distinguish it so well, that there is no need to 

 compare it specially with any Neuropteris that I can find described. 

 The leaflets taken separately have a considerable similarity to those 

 of the recent Jamesonia pulchra, a native of South America ; but the 

 frond of that plant is simply pinnated. 



I have named this Fern from a certain general resemblance in the 

 appearance of its leaflets to the leaves of LinncBa borealis. In its 

 venation it does not quite accord with the normal forms of Neuropte- 

 ris, but may be considered as intermediate between that genus and 

 Odontopteris ; in habit however it agrees rather better with the for- 

 mer, though not closely allied to any of the species hitherto known. 



3. Pecopteris? 



Fragments of what appears to have been a very fine and large Fern, 

 with long ribbon-like leaflets and pinnated lateral veins, but unfor- 

 tunately too imperfect to be determined. They occur in the same 

 slab with the Neuropteris linncecefolia. 



4. Pecopteris Whitbiensis. 

 (P. tenuis, Ad. Brongn. Veg. Foss. 322. t. 110. f. 4.) 



Specimen very imperfect, yet suflicient to leave little doubt as to 

 the identity of the plant with Brongniart's Peco^^. tenuis. This is 

 united by Goppert with P. Whitbiensis, and indeed Brongniart ad- 

 mits that the difPerences are very slight. The midrib of the pinnules 

 is so faintly marked, that the plant seems scarcely to deserve a place 

 in the genus Pecopteris. 



This, as far as is hitherto known, seems to be a species character- 

 istic of the oolitic system of rocks. 



