Notice of a Fossil Fish. 



87 



searches for which it was intended, before the latter 

 appear." The great rarity of the fossil remains of Ba- 

 trachians, as well as the gigantic dimensions of the fossil, 

 as compared with the corresponding part of recent frogs, 

 certainly required an unusual degree of evidence to satisfy the 

 mind for the first time, to the existence of an animal of this 

 nature in a fossil state, but particularly of the gigantic dimen- 

 sions ascribed to it by Dr. T. Cantor, who describes this 

 supposed frog to have been, exclusive of its limbs, at least 

 three feet four inches long. Very extraordinary fossil mon- 

 sters have, it is true been discovered, but then they pre- 

 sent, as far as we can judge from their remains, no relation 

 to the present order of things, but formed of themselves 

 distinct orders peculiar to the times and circumstances in 

 which they lived. The idea of fossil giants, in the ordi- 

 nary acceptation of the term as applied to this supposed fos- 

 sil frog, though often suggested by writers of romance, has 

 never been established on scientific evidence. Nor were 

 Dr. Cantor's doubts as to whether the monster was a tree, 

 or a land frog, by any means calculated to conciliate our 

 confidence in the general conclusions at which he arrived 

 on this subject, since we could not conceive how frogs of 

 three feet four inches long, exclusive of limbs, could conceal 

 themselves on the branches and leaves of trees. 



Desirous of reconciling his mind, if possible, to what other- 

 wise certainly did appear very doubtful on this subject. Dr. 

 Falconer on his arrival in Calcutta, begged of me to accom- 

 pany him to the Museum of the Asiatic Society, to inspect 

 the fossil, as already stated ; when, after a careful examination, 

 it appeared on comparing the specimen with Dr. Cantor's 

 description, that he had fallen into all the numerous errors 

 on the subject above noted. 



