72 GANOID FISHES OY THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 



of the opercular bones cannot be seen, but what is visible of the branchiostegal rays 

 presents nothing specially noteworthy. 



The paired fins are not shown in the specimen here figured. The base of the 

 pectoral is seen in a fragmentary specimen in the collection of the Geological Survey of 

 Scotland, from which it is clear that its principal rays were articulated up to their 

 origins, and that their joints were shorter than they are broad. Another specimen in 

 the Edinburgh Museum Collection shows the left ventral, but not well ; from what is 

 seen of it, it appears rather small, and with the joints of its rays rather short. The 

 dorsal, however, is rather large (tig. 1), and is placed right on the middle of the back ; 

 in sha[)e it is triangular-acuminate, with the anterior margin gently convex, the posterior 

 excavated. Not less than thirty rays are contained in it; they are of medium 

 coarseness, dichotomising towards t'leir extremities, and having their joints longer than 

 broad, and striated externally (fig. 4). The anal commences just opposite the 

 termination of the base of the dorsal, the foi'm of which it repeats; the caudal is 

 ])owerfnl, deeply cleft, and ineqiiilol)ate. The fin-fulcra, where visible, are minute. 



The scales are rather small, and over the whole body highly ornate. Their exposed 

 area is covered with closely placed, delicate, sharply defined ridges, which mostly proceed 

 across the scale from before backwards, and end on tine denticulations of the hinder 

 margin. On the flank scales (tig. 2), which are slightly higher than broad, the ridges of 

 the upper and posterior part of tlie surface ])ass somewhat obliquely downwards and 

 backwards, while those of the anterior and inferior part run parallel with the lower 

 margin in a manner unconformable to the striae above. As we pass backwards (fig. 3) 

 all the striae become nearly parallel with the upper and lower margins of the scale, and a 

 marked tendency to reticulation is exhibited. The denticulations of the hind margin are 

 observable as far back as the tail pedicle, when they disappear; but the ornament of the 

 surface is continued on the narrow lozenge-shaped scales of the side of the caudal body- 

 prolongation in the form of short grooves and punctures. The large median scales in 

 front of the median fins are sculptured with ridges, furrows, and ))unctures, which mostlv 

 run in a concentric manner and parallel with their free edges ; the V-scales on the top 

 of the caudal body-prolongatioji are ornamented with furrows passing obliquely over 

 their narrow exposed surfaces. 



Observations. — This beautiful species, distinguished by its short, deep form and 

 elaborate scale ornamentation, was originally described by me in 1877 from a single 

 specimen in the collection of the Geological Survey of Scotland, in which, unfortunatelv, 

 all the fins save the dorsal were wanting. These deficiencies being now supplied by 

 other specimens subsequently obtained, I find that I was mistaken in attributing to 

 Ji\ pulcherrmus any special atfinity to F. Egerioni^ in which the ])rincipal rays of the 

 pectoral fin, as also in E. Aitlwni and E. pectinatns, are unarticulated for about one third 

 of their length. It is more allied to E. German^ Giebel, and E. ccmdalis, Traq., from 

 the Upper Carboniferous of Wet tin and North Staffordshire respectively, but differs front 



