Miscellaneous. 



159 



the teeth of four species of fishes hitherto discovered only in the mus- 

 chelkalk or gres bigarre, and never in the lias, viz. Gyrolepis Al- 

 bert, G. tenuistriaius, Saurichthys apicalis, and Hybodus plicatilis. 

 It remains to examine the bones of the larger animals in this stratum 

 to ascertain how far they agree with the Saurians of the Triassic 

 system or of the Lias. The teeth of Ceratodus, figured by Agassiz, 

 and many other teeth in the bone-bed not yet described, are un- 

 known in the lias. 



During the past year great additions have been made to our stores 

 of knowledge, and specimens in fossil Ichthyology, by the presenta- 

 tion to our Museum of a very large and rich collection of fishes 

 from the lower beds of the old red sandstone near Forres, which we 

 owe to the zeal and liberality of Lady Gordon Cumming of Altyre. 



Her Ladyship and her eldest daughter have further contributed 

 most accurate and exquisitely finished drawings of many fossil fishes 

 from the same locality, in illustration of Dr. Malcolmson's paper 

 on the old red sandstone. These ladies have also supplied many 

 other drawings to the forthcoming volumes of Professor Agassiz. 

 Further information on the fishes of the old red sandstone has been 

 acquired by the diligent researches and extensive collections made 

 in the same department of Palaeontology by many scientific gentle- 

 men in the counties of Caithness, Elgin, Nairn, Aberdeen, Forfar 

 and Fife; following up the researches that were begun in this al- 

 most new and most curious subject by Dr. Fleming, Professor 

 Sedgwick, Mr. Murchison, Dr. Traill, Dr. Malcolmson and Mr. H. 

 Miller. 



The three great subdivisions of the old red sandstone in these 

 counties, with their characteristic genera of fishes, have, by these 

 extensive researches, been fully corroborated, whilst a vast increase 

 has accrued to the known number of species of fishes which appear 

 to be peculiar to the upper, middle, and lower regions of this great 

 formation. 



The visit of Professor Agassiz to Scotland in September last, and 

 the grant to him by the British Association of 100/. to aid in col- 

 lecting materials for the publication of a memoir on the fossil fishes 

 of the old red sandstone, have opportunely afforded a concurrence 

 of circumstances most favourable to the diffusion of a new and 

 brilliant light on our future researches in this very ancient depart- 

 ment of Palaeontology. 



Before he left Scotland, Professor Agassiz had recognised, in va- 

 rious collections he visited in that country, undescribed Ichthyolites 

 sufficient to enable him to establish fifteen genera, and more than 

 forty species, the greater part of them not yet named, in the old red 

 sandstone formation*. We have in these details a palseontologicai 

 confirmation of the fact that the old red sandstone is a system di- 

 stinct from any other formations; all its numerous Ichthyolites being 

 different from those of the carboniferous system above it, and also 



* The names of these genera are Acanthodes, Cephalaspis, Cheiracan- 

 thus, Cheirolcpis, Coccostens, Ctenacanthus, Ctenoptychius, Diplacanthus, 

 Diplopterus, Glyptolepis, Hnloptychius, Onchus, Osteolepis, Platygnathus, 

 Pterichthys. 



