128 GANOID FISHES OV THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 



(' Atlas,' .vol. ii) seems to be only a peculiarly crushed specimen of Elonichiliijs llobisoni. 

 The other, represented in fig. 6, is of larger dimensions, and though the tins are 

 imperfectly shown, yet, from the general form of the body and from the sculpture of the 

 scales and cranial bones, I have no hesitation in identifying with it a fish which has 

 turned out to be very common in the Lower Carboniferous rocks around Edinburgh. 

 The specimen represented in fig. 7 of the same j)late of Agassiz's work does not seem to 

 belong to the same species, and unfortunately, there seems now to be no hope of tracing 

 the original to its present possessor, as it belonged to the late Mr. Jameson Torrie, whose 

 collection was, after his death many years ago, sold by ])ublic auction and dispersed. 

 As type of " vrnatissimns" we are therefore justified in taking the original of tig. 6 of 

 the plate referred to, and that we have in this " or/zalissiM/fs" the ty[)e of a very well- 

 marked genus will, I think, not be disj)uted. 



Descfip/ioM. — The length of the type specimen, wdiich is so bent round that the tip 

 of the tail nearly touches the snout, is five inches ; doubtless its original length was 

 greater ])revious to the strange contortion, which has thus aflfected its form. It is, 

 nevertheless, small, as the most perfect exam[)le in the Hugh Miller Collection (PI. 

 XXVI II, fig. 2) attains an estin)ated length of eight inches, while another, unfortu- 

 nately wanting the head, would probably have measured no less tliiui ten inches had it 

 been entire. The best view of the external form and proportions is afforded by the 

 sfjecimen from Straiton, represented in fig. 1 of the same plate, which would be five 

 inches in length if we allow for the little bit of the extremity of the upper lobe of the 

 caudal fin which is wanting. The length of the head is contained about one-fifth in the 

 total and is slightly greater than the greatest depth of the body. The suspensorium is 

 very oblique, the gape extensive; the lower jaw (fig. 4) is stout, bui tapering. Traces of 

 sharj) conical teeth are seen in many specimens, and are, as usual, arranged in two sets, 

 internal larger and external smaller. The operculum {op., Text-fig. 6) is large and 

 oblong, with acute antero-superior and postero-inferior angles ; the suboperculum 

 (s.o/j.) is of the usual quadrate shape. A specimen from Wardie, obliquely compressed 

 upon its back, and of which the head is represented in PI. XXVIII, fig. 3, shows on 

 the right side a beautiful series of fifteen branchiostegal rays or plates, along with the 

 anterior seven of those of the other side, besides which there is a small median lozenge- 

 shaped plate {6r.") behind the symphysis of the jaw, the anterior plate {dr.') of each 

 lateral series being also much broader than the others. All the bones of the head are 

 finely and closely striated. 



The scales are rather large on the front of the flank. In a Burdiehousc specimen, 

 which probably measured originally about ten inches in length, one of these scales 

 measures two-fifths of an inch in height by three-tenths of an inch in breadth ; they get 

 much smaller jmsteriorly, and those situated on tiie belly are rather low ami narrow^ 

 Their external ornament (fig. 5, taken from a Straiton specimen) consists of numerous 

 sharp, yet delicate, slightly sigmoidally curved ridges and furrows, which are mostly 



