( 103 ) 



IV. — Report on Fossil Fishes collected by the Geological Survey of Scotland 

 from Shales exposed on the Shore near Gullane, East Lothian. By Ramsay 

 H. Traquair, M.D., LL.D., F.K.S. (With Two Plates.) 



(Read May 6, 1907. MS. received May 25, 1907. Issued separately December 21, 1907.) 



In the year 1903 Mr Macconochie made an interesting collection of fossil fish- 

 remains from beds of Lower Carboniferous age exposed on the seashore near Gullane, in 

 East Lothian, which were submitted to me for determination by the Director of the 

 Geological Survey. Accordingly, I prepared a preliminary account of these remains, 

 which was published in the Summary of Progress for the year above mentioned. 



Since that time Mr Macconochie has collected additional specimens from the same 

 locality, which has also been visited by several private collectors, to whom I am 

 indebted for kindly permitting me to examine and record the specimens which they 

 obtained. So, with the sanction of the Director, I propose to devote this paper to a 

 detailed, as well as illustrated, account of the results obtained by the searching of the 

 beds in this new Scottish locality for Carboniferous Fossil Fishes. 



The locality in question is situated on the shore about two miles north-east of 

 Gullane, and three and a half miles straight west from the centre of the town of North 

 Berwick. I am informed that locally the spot is known as " Cheese Bay," on account of 

 a ship laden with cheese having been wrecked there. Here three beds lying pretty 

 close together have yielded fossil fishes, and these, commencing with the lowest, may be 

 noted as under. 



Bed a. A soft shale of about 2 feet in thickness, showing on cross fracture a fine 

 banded coloration ; layers of a dark purplish grey about \ inch in thickness alternating 

 with others of lesser depth and paler appearance ; but the proportions of these bands 

 are not always the same, and frequently they are considerably thinner than the size 

 given above. This is the bed which has yielded the greatest number of species of 

 fishes, although to obtain any at all much patient labour is necessary. 



Bed b. Above this fish-bed lie several feet of shale, partly partaking of the nature 

 of an oil-shale, and on the top of this is a band, the presence of fish-remains in which 

 was first detected by Mr John Muir. The shale constituting this band is very fissile, 

 weathering with ochreous stains, and containing many coprolites ; but the fishes which 

 it contains are few in point of species and badly preserved. 



Bed c. Besting on this last-mentioned fish-bearing shale is a hard, ferruginous 

 cement-stone band, about six inches in thickness, containing numerous specimens of 

 small Crustacea such as Tealliocaris Loudonensis, Peach. A few fishes occur in this 

 band, which is, however, much more productive in the Arthropoda referred to, and which 

 are mostly in a very fine state of preservation. 



TRANS. ROY. SOC. EDIN., VOL. XLVI. PART I. (NO. 4). 15 



