4 



BRITISH FOSSILS. 



ance in the plate of a series of carpal bones is deceptive, and is due 

 to a fracture of the base of the fin and the removal of the outer sur- 

 face of the rays. The ventral fins are abdominal, and situated very 

 near the pectorals. They are comparatively small, containing four 

 rays of similar appearance to the pectoral rays, but of slighter form. 

 They are supported upon two pubic bones, of which the distal 

 extremities only are preserved (Plate x., fig. 63.) The scales con- 

 stitute a peculiar and valuable feature in considering the affinities of 

 this fish, a subject which will be treated in the sequel. The dorsal 

 and lateral series are for the most part absent, and the few that re- 

 main are inverted ; the ventral scales, however, are in perfect state 

 of preservation. They are quadrilateral, and more or less acutely 

 rhomboidal, as in Lepidosteus and most of the fossil Ganoids. They 

 have a thick superficial layer of dense, lustrous ganoine, deeply and 

 irregularly pitted and grooved on the surface, and terminate pos- 

 teriorly in an uneven and coarsely serrated margin. The upper 

 anterior corner of the root of the scale is produced to an acute angle, 

 while the lower corner is rounded off" to fit the corresponding angle 

 of the succeeding scale. This compact adaptation of the adjoining 

 scales to each other is still further secured by an articulating process 

 on the upper margin of each scale lodging in a corresponding de- 

 pression in the lower margin of the next in the series. This arrange- 

 ment is identical with that in many of the genera of the fossil 

 Ganoids, and obtains also in the recent LeiJidosteus. It is much to 

 be regretted that no other portions of this fish have been preserved, 

 since the position, form, and structure of the dorsal and caudal fins, 

 and the character of the vertebral column are most important ele- 

 ments in determining its true character in relation to the other 

 members of the class to which it belongs. 



Affinities. — The generic title I have adopted for this fish has no 

 reference to any real or supposed affinities with Lophius ; it has 

 been suggested solely by the disproportionate size of the mouth, so 

 remarkable in both. In general features Lophiostomus is so unlike 

 any fish, either fossil or recent, with which I have been able to 

 compare it, that it must for the present be considered an isolated 

 form. It possesses, nevertheless, some resemblances in structural 

 details, both to fossil and recent forms, which point to an approxi- 

 mation of its true position in the scale of nature. With respect to 

 the order to which this singular fish should be referred, there is 

 fortunately no doubt. Thanks to the labours of the talented author 

 of the Agassizian system, a single scale is decisive of its being a 

 true Ganoid. Again, the association of the rhomboidal scale, with 



