﻿114 
  

  

  MH. 
  E. 
  T. 
  NEWTON 
  OX 
  A 
  NEW 
  SPECIES 
  OE 
  

  

  haemal 
  arch 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  vertebra 
  is 
  strong, 
  and, 
  extending 
  downwards 
  

   and 
  backwards, 
  forms 
  the 
  lowest 
  hypnral 
  bone 
  ; 
  above 
  this 
  may 
  be 
  

   seen, 
  in 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  specimens, 
  two 
  broad 
  triangular 
  plates 
  with 
  a 
  

   space 
  between 
  them, 
  seemingly 
  occupied 
  by 
  another 
  and 
  narrower 
  

   plate 
  ; 
  thns 
  the 
  positions 
  of 
  four 
  hypnral 
  bones 
  are 
  indicated. 
  In 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  specimens, 
  above 
  the 
  uppermost 
  triangular 
  plate, 
  may 
  be 
  

   seen 
  the 
  positions 
  of 
  two, 
  or 
  perhaps 
  three, 
  narrow 
  ones 
  ; 
  so 
  that 
  

   one 
  may 
  trace 
  the 
  position 
  and, 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  six, 
  if 
  

   not 
  seven, 
  plates 
  corresponding 
  with 
  those 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  in 
  the 
  tail 
  of 
  the 
  Sprat 
  and 
  arranged 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  manner. 
  

  

  The 
  smaller 
  examples 
  of 
  these 
  fossil 
  fishes 
  (figs. 
  5, 
  6) 
  are 
  from 
  20 
  to 
  

   25 
  millimetres 
  in 
  length, 
  and, 
  at 
  first, 
  I 
  thought 
  might 
  belong 
  to 
  a 
  

   second 
  species, 
  as 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin, 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  them, 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  placed 
  

   more 
  forward, 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  vertebrae 
  which 
  could 
  be 
  counted 
  

   was 
  never 
  more 
  than 
  thirty-seven 
  or 
  thirty-eight 
  (fourteen 
  or 
  fifteen 
  

   being 
  caudal) 
  ; 
  but 
  upon 
  carefully 
  measuring 
  the 
  specimens, 
  and 
  

   making 
  some 
  allowance 
  for 
  crushing 
  in 
  fossilization, 
  I 
  felt 
  that 
  these 
  

   differences 
  were 
  insufficient 
  for 
  specific 
  distinction. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  

   rays 
  in 
  each 
  fin 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  abdominal 
  spines 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  

   the 
  same 
  in 
  both. 
  The 
  smaller 
  specimens 
  are 
  therefore 
  provisionally 
  

   referred 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  species 
  as 
  the 
  larger. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  characters 
  given 
  in 
  the 
  above 
  description 
  be 
  compared 
  with 
  

   the 
  diagnoses 
  of 
  the 
  Clupeidae 
  given 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Giinther 
  *, 
  there 
  will, 
  I 
  

   think, 
  be 
  no 
  question 
  as 
  to 
  these 
  Oligocene 
  fishes 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  

   genus 
  Clupea 
  ; 
  and, 
  indeed, 
  they 
  agree 
  so 
  closely 
  with 
  the 
  recent 
  

   British 
  species 
  that 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  well, 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  to 
  notice 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  points 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  differ 
  from 
  them. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Oligocene 
  fishes 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  has 
  its 
  anterior 
  rays 
  mid- 
  

   way 
  between 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  snout 
  and 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  tail, 
  while 
  the 
  

   ventral 
  fin 
  is 
  placed 
  below 
  its 
  anterior 
  part. 
  Clupea 
  harengus 
  also 
  

   has 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  in 
  this 
  position 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  ventral 
  fin 
  is 
  below 
  its 
  

   middle 
  part. 
  C. 
  pilchardus 
  has 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  placed 
  more 
  forward 
  

   than 
  in 
  the 
  fossils, 
  and 
  the 
  ventral 
  is 
  again 
  below 
  its 
  middle 
  part. 
  

   G. 
  sprattus 
  has 
  the 
  ventral 
  fin 
  below 
  the 
  anterior 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  

   dorsal 
  fin, 
  as 
  in 
  these 
  fossils 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  itself 
  is 
  further 
  back. 
  

   Dr. 
  Giinther 
  gives 
  sixty-one 
  species 
  of 
  Clupea 
  in 
  his 
  British 
  

   Museum 
  Catalogue 
  ; 
  but 
  of 
  these, 
  only 
  seven 
  have 
  the 
  ventral 
  fins 
  

   opposite 
  the 
  anterior 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin, 
  namely, 
  C. 
  sprattus, 
  

   G. 
  argyrotcenia, 
  C. 
  aurea, 
  C. 
  arcuata, 
  C. 
  palasah, 
  G. 
  melanura, 
  and 
  

   C. 
  life. 
  All 
  of 
  these 
  differ 
  from 
  the 
  fossils 
  under 
  consideration 
  in 
  

   having 
  the 
  anterior 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  either 
  nearer 
  the 
  head 
  or 
  

   nearer 
  the 
  tail. 
  The 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  two 
  of 
  

   the 
  above 
  species 
  is 
  given 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Day 
  in 
  his 
  ' 
  Pishes 
  of 
  India,' 
  1878. 
  

   It 
  is 
  evident, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  although 
  the 
  Isle-of- 
  Wight 
  fossil 
  

   fishes 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  genus 
  Clupea 
  f, 
  and 
  are 
  closely 
  allied 
  to 
  some 
  

  

  * 
  Catalogue 
  of 
  Fishes 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  Museum, 
  vol. 
  vii. 
  p. 
  381 
  (1868). 
  

  

  t 
  [Note. 
  10th 
  Jan., 
  1889.]— 
  The 
  remarks 
  made 
  by 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  Smith 
  Woodward, 
  

   when 
  this 
  paper 
  was 
  read, 
  have 
  led 
  me 
  to 
  re-examine 
  the 
  fossils 
  with 
  special 
  

   reference 
  to 
  the 
  anterior 
  dorsal 
  region, 
  and 
  the 
  appearances 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  

   in 
  favour 
  of 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  scutes 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  the 
  dorsal 
  fin 
  than 
  I 
  had 
  thought. 
  

  

  