﻿OF 
  THE 
  MORAY 
  FIRTH 
  AREA. 
  

  

  273 
  

  

  Before 
  leaving 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  Old 
  Red 
  Sandstone, 
  I 
  

   must 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  supposed 
  footprints 
  of 
  land 
  animals, 
  presumably 
  

   reptiles, 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  stated 
  to 
  occur 
  on 
  slabs 
  of 
  sandstone 
  of 
  

   this 
  age, 
  from 
  Nairn, 
  Bishopmill, 
  and 
  Tarbet 
  Ness. 
  It 
  may 
  well 
  be 
  

   supposed 
  that 
  the 
  advocates 
  of 
  the 
  view 
  that 
  the 
  Reptiliferous 
  sand- 
  

   stones 
  of 
  Moray 
  are 
  also 
  of 
  Old 
  Eed 
  age 
  would 
  point 
  to 
  the 
  discovery 
  

   of 
  such 
  footprints 
  in 
  undoubted 
  Upper 
  Old 
  strata 
  as 
  corroborative 
  

   evidence 
  for 
  their 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  question. 
  

  

  Having 
  recently 
  examined 
  the 
  specimens 
  of 
  these 
  appearances 
  

   from 
  the 
  above-named 
  localities, 
  which 
  are 
  contained 
  in 
  the 
  Elgin 
  

   Museum, 
  I 
  must 
  confess 
  that 
  the 
  result 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  make 
  me 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  sceptical 
  as 
  to 
  their 
  being 
  footprints 
  at 
  all. 
  

  

  The 
  specimens 
  from 
  Nairn 
  and 
  Bishopmill 
  may, 
  in 
  my 
  opinion, 
  be 
  

   at 
  once 
  dismissed 
  from 
  the 
  category 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  referred. 
  

   The 
  impressions, 
  or 
  obverses 
  of 
  impressions, 
  are 
  quite 
  irregular, 
  pre- 
  

   sent 
  no 
  appearance 
  of 
  tracks, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt 
  as 
  to 
  their 
  being 
  

   concretionary 
  in 
  their 
  nature. 
  1 
  

  

  Those 
  from 
  Tarbet 
  Ness 
  are 
  somewhat 
  more 
  like 
  footprints, 
  but 
  

   they 
  show 
  no 
  toes, 
  and 
  my 
  examination 
  of 
  them 
  convinced 
  me 
  that 
  

   they 
  too 
  are 
  concretionary 
  structures. 
  

  

  The 
  appearances 
  resembling 
  footprints, 
  or 
  casts 
  of 
  footprints, 
  

   often 
  assumed 
  by 
  similar 
  concretionary 
  structures, 
  may 
  indeed 
  be 
  

   remarkably 
  deceptive, 
  — 
  even 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  toes 
  may 
  be 
  simulated. 
  

   Such 
  things 
  are 
  not 
  uncommon 
  in 
  the 
  Caithness 
  flagstones, 
  where 
  

   they 
  sometimes, 
  in 
  fact, 
  bear 
  considerable 
  resemblance 
  to 
  footprints 
  of 
  

   mammals, 
  even 
  of 
  man 
  ! 
  

  

  THE 
  VERTEBRATA 
  OF 
  THE 
  MORAYSHIRE 
  TRIAS. 
  

  

  A. 
  Reptiliferous 
  Sandstones 
  =? 
  Keuper. 
  

  

  The 
  yellowish 
  and 
  whitish 
  sandstones 
  which 
  come 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  

   northward 
  of 
  the 
  IToloptychius-bea.Ymg 
  beds 
  in 
  the 
  Elgin 
  district, 
  and 
  

  

  occurred, 
  are 
  characterised 
  by 
  their 
  small 
  sire. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  they 
  contain 
  

   Phyllolepis 
  concentrica 
  and 
  Glyptopomu* 
  minor, 
  Bpecies 
  also 
  occurring 
  in 
  the 
  upper- 
  

   most 
  Old 
  Red 
  at 
  Dura 
  Den, 
  but 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  in 
  the 
  Alves 
  and 
  Newton 
  beds. 
  

  

  1 
  Professor 
  Judd 
  states 
  (22, 
  p. 
  140) 
  that 
  Professors 
  Huxley 
  and 
  Rupert 
  Jones 
  had, 
  

   after 
  examining 
  a 
  cast 
  of 
  the 
  supposed 
  footprints 
  from 
  Nairn, 
  pronounced 
  these 
  

   markings 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  ' 
  exceedingly 
  doubtful 
  origin.' 
  

  

  VOL. 
  II. 
  S 
  

  

  