NOTES AND QUERIES. 



145 



of our eminent geologists have of late been disposed to regard this rock at 

 Lossiemouth as not being part of the Old Red Sandstone series, but as being 

 of the Triassic period, I should much like to know whether the Dura Den 

 sandstone is to be considered of the like age, instead of what it was lately suj)- 

 posed to be, the upper old red ; and if it would be probable, or possible, to find 

 the several species of the black beautifully preserved fishes, or any of them, in 

 either the upper or lower part of the strata, containing the bones and scutes, at 

 Lossiemouth, or vice versa at Dura Den, the white bones with the black fishes ? 

 This has somewhat puzzled me : the sandstones appear to me to be precisely 

 the same, but the fossils at present known are totally diiferent. In the Elgin 

 Museum are some fine slabs, containing bones of Stagonolepis and Kyperoda- 

 pedon, from Lossiemouth, 



Tynet Burn fish-bed is about three miles east of Eochabers, which latter is 

 a few miles eastward of Elgin, on the east bank of the river Spey. The fish- 

 bed lies about thirty feet above the burn. The fishes found there are for the 

 most part in an excellent state of preservation, and are of several species. 

 They are found in flatter nodules than at the other localities, and are of a light 

 greenish grey coloui'. These nodules are imbedded in a greyish clayey marl, 

 from which they may be taken out in great numbers. They vary in size from 

 half an inch to a foot in diameter ; one half of them not containing more than 

 a mere scale or two, especially the large ones. Some, however, contain very 

 fine and perfect specimens ; and in the very small nodules are found that extremely 

 minute fish — the smallest of the Old lied fishes — the Acantliodes piisillus ; but 

 I have sometimes opened above twenty without finding any trace of a fish. 

 However, in some of the smallest, not larger than a shilling, I have found a 

 beautiful little fish, less than half an inch long, with its characteristic spines 

 beautifully preserved. The average Icngtli of this species is about one inch 

 and a half. On opening the nodule the fishes appear in beautiful contrast with 

 the matrix, being white, red, and blue in colour, similar to those of Lethenbar. 



One of the rarest fish here is the P(crich(Jii/s, at least I found it so, for I 

 obtained only one or two fragments. The same also with, the Coccosteus : this 

 fish-bed is now nearly worked out. His Grace the Duke of Richmond having 

 lately had a party of labourers engaged in laying open a large section of it, 

 and very few specimens are now to be obtained. There is a bed lower down 

 the stream, known as the " Coccosteus-bed but few specimens have been 

 obtained from it there. 



The nodules at Tynet have frequently bands of crystallized calcspar running 

 across in several directions, sometimes only in one, right across the nodule, 

 causing it often to break in many places (see lign. 1). Many of these nodules 



Lign, 1. — Nodiile from Tynet, with, seams of calcspar. 



are found in the bed broken in two or three places, lying from half an inch to 

 six inches from it counterparts (see lign. 2). This is another reason for open- 

 ing the nodules on the spot as they are dug out, otherwise, perhaps, you will 

 VOL. III. T 



