218 ME. A. C. SEWARD ON THE [May I903, 



of a fern, an opinion shared by Zigno, to whom specimens were sent 

 for examination. The view usually held that Neuropteris is a genus 

 of Perns has not as yet been demonstrated by the evidence of 

 satisfactory fertile fronds, and we should probably better express 

 the botanical position of this provisional genus by including it as a 

 member of that important Palaeozoic class the Cycadofilices, than by 

 retaining it among the Ferns. Oldham, on the other hand, was of 

 opinion that the plants referred to Bictyopteris were probably 

 Cycads, and to give expression to this view he proposed the name 

 Bictyozamites for the fragments of Indian leaves which bore the 

 closest resemblance, except in the venation of the leaflets, to the 

 genus Otozamites, adding the following diagnosis : — * Pinnis multi- 

 nervis ; basi subauriculatis ; nervis dichotomis reticulatis.' x 



In an earlier paper, Oldham 2 mentioned the occurrence of 

 Bictyopteris, but without any discussion as to the probable nature 

 of the leaves referred to this ' peculiar genus.' 



In 1877 Feistmantel 3 described additional specimens from 

 Amrapara and Golapili 4 and substituted the name Bictyozamites 

 indicus for Morris's Bictyopteris falcata, including the forms 

 originally separated as the variety obtusifolia. While Feistmantel 

 was no doubt well advised in including the various forms under one 

 designation, there was no need to discard Morris's specific name 

 falcata. In justification of this change Feistmantel pointed out 

 that the specific name indicus was appropriate as denoting that 

 Bictyozamites is an Indian type, — a reason, in any case inadequate, 

 which subsequent discoveries have rendered misleading. Another 

 argument was that Morris's term implied that the falcate form of 

 the pinnae was a specific character, whereas for some specimens the 

 descriptive epithet fa Icata was inaccurate. 5 



In 1876 Feistmantel published a paper in the ' Palaeonto- 

 graphica' — ' Ueber die Indischen Cycadeengattungen Ptilophyllum, 

 Morr., & Bictyozamites, Oldh.,' 6 in which Bictyozamites indicus is 

 thus defined : — 



1 Fronde simplici, elongata ; foliolis alternantibus ; aut brevioribus et obtu- 

 sioribus, aut longioribus apicemque versus incurvatis vel falcatis ; solum media 

 parte basis insertis aut sessilibus — aut paulo pedunculatis — angulis basalibus 

 distincte auriculatis; uno foliolo terminante. Nervis crebris, media basi 

 eggredientibus, marginem versus irradiantibus — areolas formantibus. Areolis 

 mediis elongatis subparallelis — areolis apicem marginemque versus brevioribus 

 — polygonalibus.' 



The pinnae shown in figs. 5-8 (PI. XV) are identical with the 

 smaller forms of Bictyozamites as figured by Feistmantel from the 

 Sripermatur Series 7 in the neighbourhood of Madras, which may 

 be included stratigraphically in the Rajmahal Group. s The longest 



1 Oldham & Morris (63) p. 40. 2 Oldham (60) p. 320. 



3 Feistmantel (77) pp. 69, 70 & pi. xlvi, figs. 7-8. 



4 Feistmantel (77'-) p. 18 & pi. ii, figs. 5-6. 



5 Feistmantel (76) pp. 19 & 20. 6 Ibid. p. 18. 



7 Feistmantel (76) pi. vi, figs. 4 & 5. 



8 E. D. Oldham's edition of Medlicott & Blanford (93) p. 182. 



. 



