Yol. 69. J CRANIAL ELEMENTS OF DAPEDIUS GRANULATUS. 



219 



12. The Internal Cranial Elements and Foramina of Dapedius 

 granulatus, from a Specimen recently found in tKe Lias at 

 Charmouth. By George Allan Frost, F.G.S. (Read March 

 19th, 1913.) 



The exterior of the skull of Dapedius has been described by 

 Dr. A. S. Woodward in his paper entitled, < The Cranial Osteology 

 of the Mesozoic Ganoid Fishes, Lepidotus & Dapedius,'' read before 

 the Zoological Society in June 1893 ; but, owing to the scarcity of 

 material available, the interior bones of the orbit and their foramina, 

 and some other points regarding the exterior, have not yet been 

 touched upon. 



Fig. 1. — Cranial foramina of Dapedius granulatus. 

 Natural size. 



[i=Foramen for olfactory nerve ; i« = Anterior foramen for olfactory nerve ; 

 ii= Optic foramen; iii = Exit of fifth, seventh, third, and fourth nerves ; 

 A=Forainen giving entrance to the anterior veins of the head ; B = Fora- 

 men for hyoidean artery; C = Foramen magnum; D = Excavation for 

 notochord ; E=Basicranial canal; F = Section of parasphenoid and 

 basicranial canal.] 



In consequence of my discovery of a very complete skull in the 

 Lias at Charmouth, I have attempted to describe some of the points 

 until now undetermined. 



The skull was embedded in an ovoid nodule of light-coloured 

 indurated Liassic marl, and has not been subjected to distortion by 

 pressure, as is often the case in this formation. The nodule was 

 lying on the foreshore between Charmouth and Lyme Regis, and had 

 probably been washed out of the ledge known as the ' fish-bed ' in 



