﻿OF 
  THE 
  MORAY 
  FIRTH 
  AREA. 
  

  

  271 
  

  

  Family 
  OSTEOLEPIDjE. 
  

  

  Genus 
  GLYPTOPOMUS, 
  Agassiz. 
  

   Glyptopomus 
  minor, 
  Agassiz. 
  

  

  Two 
  specimens, 
  nearly 
  entire 
  fishes, 
  are 
  known 
  from 
  this 
  district, 
  

   and 
  are 
  both 
  in 
  the 
  Elgin 
  Museum. 
  One 
  of 
  these, 
  the 
  splendid 
  

   example 
  figured 
  by 
  Huxley 
  (38, 
  Plate 
  i. 
  fig. 
  1) 
  is 
  from 
  Laverock- 
  

   loch 
  j 
  the 
  other, 
  somewhat 
  smaller 
  in 
  size, 
  is 
  from 
  Rosebrae. 
  

  

  We 
  may 
  now 
  put 
  together 
  the 
  fish-remains 
  of 
  the 
  Elgin 
  series 
  of 
  

   the 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Ked 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  list 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Psammosteus 
  Taylori, 
  Traquair. 
  Phyllolepis 
  concentrica, 
  Agassiz. 
  

  

  Psammosteus, 
  sp. 
  undetermined. 
  Conchodus 
  ostreiformis, 
  M'Coy. 
  

  

  Cosmacanthus 
  Malcolmsoni, 
  Agassiz. 
  Holoptychius 
  nobilissimus, 
  Agassiz. 
  

   Spine, 
  undetermined. 
  Holoptychius 
  giganteus, 
  Agassiz. 
  

  

  Bothriolepis 
  majoi' 
  (Agassiz). 
  Polyplocodus, 
  sp. 
  

  

  Bothriolepis 
  cristata, 
  Traquair. 
  Glyptopomus 
  minoi', 
  Agassiz. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Moray 
  Firth 
  the 
  Eoss-shire 
  Upper 
  Old 
  

   Red 
  seems 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  series, 
  as 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  occurrence 
  

   of 
  Psammosteus 
  Taylori 
  at 
  Balnagown, 
  and 
  of 
  scales 
  of 
  Holoptychius 
  

   nobilissimus 
  and 
  giganteus 
  in 
  the 
  Dornoch 
  region. 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  species 
  can 
  be 
  determined, 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  total 
  discre- 
  

   pancy 
  between 
  this 
  list 
  and 
  that 
  from 
  the 
  Nairn 
  Sandstone, 
  and 
  we 
  

   are 
  also 
  struck 
  with 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  former 
  is, 
  if 
  we 
  may 
  use 
  the 
  

   term, 
  more 
  1 
  orthodox 
  ' 
  for 
  the 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Red 
  Sandstone 
  of 
  Scotland. 
  

   The 
  widely 
  distributed 
  Holoptychius 
  nobilissimus 
  occurs 
  here, 
  but 
  not 
  

   at 
  Nairn. 
  The 
  genus 
  Bothriolepis 
  — 
  represented, 
  it 
  is 
  true, 
  by 
  other 
  

   species 
  — 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Red 
  of 
  Fifeshire, 
  Ayrshire, 
  Ber- 
  

   wickshire, 
  Roxburghshire, 
  but 
  not 
  at 
  Nairn, 
  where 
  the 
  common 
  

   Asterolepid 
  (Asterolepis 
  maxima) 
  belongs 
  to 
  a 
  genus 
  nowhere 
  else 
  

   found 
  in 
  Scotland. 
  Phyllolepis 
  concentrica 
  and 
  Glyptopomus 
  minor 
  

   occur 
  in 
  Fifeshire, 
  the 
  former 
  also 
  in 
  Perthshire, 
  but 
  have 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  

   been 
  found 
  at 
  Nairn, 
  though, 
  as 
  these 
  are 
  rare 
  fossils, 
  their 
  non- 
  

   occurrence 
  in 
  any 
  particular 
  bed 
  or 
  beds 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  of 
  

   prime 
  importance. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  no 
  desire 
  to 
  trespass 
  on 
  the 
  special 
  functions 
  of 
  the 
  field- 
  

   geologist, 
  yet 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  I 
  cannot 
  avoid 
  expressing 
  the 
  conclu- 
  

   sion 
  that 
  these 
  two 
  faume 
  represent 
  different 
  geological 
  horizons, 
  of 
  

   which 
  that 
  of 
  Nairn 
  is 
  probably 
  the 
  older. 
  

  

  