﻿252 
  

  

  THE 
  EXTINCT 
  VERTEBRATE 
  ANIMALS 
  

  

  iii 
  the 
  lower 
  beds, 
  so 
  here 
  also 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  — 
  the 
  prevailing 
  fossils 
  

   are 
  fish-remains, 
  and 
  the 
  general 
  fades 
  of 
  these 
  fish-remains 
  still 
  

   remains 
  Devonian, 
  and 
  has 
  not 
  become 
  Carboniferous. 
  Though 
  the 
  

   Upper 
  Old 
  Eed 
  does 
  graduate 
  conformably 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  Lower 
  Car- 
  

   boniferous 
  system, 
  palaeontology 
  still 
  demands 
  the 
  separation 
  of 
  the 
  

   two. 
  

  

  But 
  more 
  than 
  this 
  : 
  we 
  have 
  in 
  the 
  Moray 
  Firth 
  district 
  two 
  

   distinct 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Eed 
  fish-faunae, 
  — 
  that 
  of 
  Nairn 
  in 
  the 
  west, 
  and 
  

   that 
  of 
  Elgin 
  in 
  the 
  east. 
  This 
  curious 
  fact 
  I 
  discovered 
  seven 
  years 
  

   ago 
  when 
  first 
  engaged 
  in 
  collecting 
  fossils 
  from 
  the 
  quarries 
  near 
  

   Nairn. 
  The 
  large 
  fish-plates 
  which 
  occur 
  in 
  these 
  quarries 
  had 
  

   indeed 
  been 
  known 
  for 
  fifty 
  years, 
  but, 
  like 
  all 
  the 
  large 
  fish-plates 
  

   from 
  the 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Sandstone, 
  had 
  been, 
  without 
  further 
  inquiry, 
  

   ascribed 
  by 
  collectors 
  and 
  geologists 
  to 
  'Pterichthys 
  major. 
  1 
  My 
  

   interest 
  was 
  of 
  course 
  aroused 
  when 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  Pterichthys 
  

   major 
  of 
  Nairn 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  different 
  creature 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  Alves, 
  and 
  

   that 
  indeed 
  not 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  fish 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  sandstones 
  of 
  

   the 
  one 
  district 
  reappeared 
  in 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  other. 
  No 
  doubt 
  this 
  

   difference 
  of 
  fauna 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  a 
  difference 
  in 
  relative 
  age 
  and 
  position, 
  

   but 
  the 
  stratigraphical 
  relationship 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  in 
  question 
  have 
  not 
  

   yet 
  been 
  elucidated, 
  though 
  we 
  may 
  hope 
  that 
  the 
  forthcoming 
  

   memoirs 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  on 
  this 
  region 
  may 
  throw 
  some 
  

   light 
  on 
  the 
  matter. 
  1 
  

  

  FISHES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NAIKN 
  SANDSTONE. 
  

  

  The 
  quarries 
  in 
  which 
  this 
  sandstone 
  is 
  or 
  has 
  been 
  worked 
  are 
  

   those 
  at 
  Seabank, 
  on 
  the 
  shore 
  immediately 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  town 
  

   of 
  Nairn 
  ; 
  Kingsteps, 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  shore, 
  about 
  a 
  mile 
  to 
  the 
  eastward 
  ; 
  

   and 
  Boghole, 
  about 
  five 
  miles 
  from 
  the 
  town 
  in 
  a 
  south-easterly 
  direc- 
  

   tion. 
  Only 
  at 
  Kingsteps 
  are 
  operations 
  being 
  carried 
  on 
  at 
  present, 
  

   Seabank 
  and 
  Boghole 
  not 
  having 
  been 
  worked 
  for 
  many 
  years. 
  

  

  The 
  Kingsteps 
  stone 
  is 
  mostly 
  of 
  a 
  pale 
  pink 
  colour, 
  but 
  varies 
  

   in 
  tone 
  from 
  a 
  greyish 
  white 
  to 
  a 
  pretty 
  dark 
  red 
  ; 
  sometimes 
  it 
  

   shows 
  dark 
  red 
  specks 
  scattered 
  over 
  a 
  paler 
  ground-colour. 
  It 
  is 
  

  

  1 
  Meanwhile 
  Dr. 
  Mackie 
  of 
  Elgin 
  (27) 
  has 
  from 
  a 
  comparative 
  microscopic 
  in- 
  

   vestigation 
  of 
  the 
  sand 
  grains 
  constituting 
  their 
  rocks, 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  

   the 
  Nairn 
  sandstones 
  are 
  probably 
  older 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  Alves 
  and 
  Elgin. 
  

  

  