﻿OF 
  THE 
  MORAY 
  FIRTH 
  AREA. 
  243 
  

  

  68. 
  Gordon, 
  G. 
  The 
  Fauna 
  of 
  Moray 
  (from 
  the 
  Zoologist, 
  1884, 
  etc.). 
  

   Elgin, 
  1889. 
  

  

  FISHES 
  OF 
  THE 
  LOWER 
  OLD 
  RED 
  SANDSTONE 
  (ORCA- 
  

   DIAN 
  SERIES) 
  OF 
  THE 
  MORAY 
  FIRTH 
  BASIN. 
  

  

  The 
  fishes 
  of 
  the 
  Orcadian 
  series 
  occur 
  in 
  certain 
  shaly 
  'fish-beds, 
  

   which 
  crop 
  out 
  in 
  various 
  localities 
  along 
  the 
  borders 
  of 
  the 
  Moray 
  

   Firth. 
  Beginning 
  at 
  the 
  north, 
  the 
  following 
  localities 
  may 
  be 
  

   enumerated 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Geanies 
  ; 
  Edderton 
  ; 
  Cromarty 
  ; 
  Nairnside, 
  near 
  Inverness 
  ; 
  Hill- 
  

   head, 
  near 
  Dalcross 
  ; 
  Lethen 
  Bar 
  and 
  Clune, 
  near 
  Nairn 
  ; 
  Dipple, 
  

   Speyside 
  ; 
  Tynet 
  Burn, 
  near 
  Fochabers 
  ; 
  Gamrie, 
  near 
  Banff. 
  

  

  The 
  fishes 
  themselves 
  are 
  contained 
  in 
  limestone 
  nodules, 
  and 
  those 
  

   from 
  different 
  localities 
  display 
  considerable 
  difference 
  in 
  colour 
  and 
  

   mode 
  of 
  preservation, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  initiated 
  eye 
  can 
  generally 
  guess 
  

   pretty 
  safely 
  the 
  place 
  from 
  which 
  a 
  given 
  specimen 
  has 
  been 
  derived. 
  

   For 
  instance, 
  the 
  Cromarty 
  and 
  Gamrie 
  fishes 
  are 
  black 
  upon 
  a 
  greyish 
  

   stone 
  ; 
  those 
  from 
  Lethen 
  and 
  Clune 
  are 
  white, 
  stained 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   with 
  red 
  oxide 
  of 
  iron 
  upon 
  a 
  purplish 
  grey 
  stone 
  ; 
  while 
  the 
  most 
  

   beautiful 
  are 
  those 
  from 
  Tynet, 
  which 
  are 
  so 
  sharply 
  stained 
  as 
  to 
  

   appear 
  nearly 
  crimson 
  on 
  a 
  stone 
  of 
  a 
  pale 
  (sometimes 
  slightly 
  greenish) 
  

   cream 
  colour. 
  Again, 
  the 
  external 
  markings 
  of 
  the 
  scales 
  are 
  usually 
  

   well 
  seen 
  in 
  specimens 
  from 
  Cromarty 
  and 
  Gamrie, 
  but 
  not 
  so 
  in 
  

   those 
  from 
  Lethen, 
  Clune, 
  and 
  Tynet. 
  It 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  imagined 
  that 
  

   the 
  fishes 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  black 
  fissile 
  Orkney 
  flags 
  look 
  at 
  first 
  sight 
  

   somewhat 
  different 
  in 
  detail 
  from 
  those 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  Moray 
  Firth 
  

   nodules. 
  These 
  deceptive 
  differences 
  in 
  mode 
  of 
  preservation, 
  along 
  

   with 
  post-mortem 
  distortions 
  of 
  shape, 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  a 
  fruit- 
  

   ful 
  source 
  of 
  unnecessary 
  multiplication 
  of 
  species, 
  the 
  very 
  same 
  

   fishes 
  having, 
  in 
  many 
  cases, 
  received 
  different 
  names 
  according 
  to 
  

   the 
  localities 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  found. 
  However, 
  in 
  1888 
  (44) 
  

   I 
  showed 
  that 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  must 
  be 
  very 
  much 
  reduced, 
  and 
  

   that 
  one 
  fish-fauna 
  characterised 
  not 
  only 
  all 
  the 
  above 
  enumerated 
  

   localities 
  along 
  the 
  Moray 
  Firth 
  coast, 
  but 
  also 
  the 
  fish-bearing 
  schists 
  

   of 
  the 
  Orkney 
  Islands. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  occur 
  also 
  in 
  Caithness. 
  

  

  