FISHES OF THE CHALK. 
curious ichthyolite, the original appears to have 
borne some resemblance to the Mugil ; but its den- 
tated maxillae, not to mention other obvious differ- 
ences, distinguish it from the recent individuals of 
that genus. 
The structure and situation of the anterior dorsal 
fin, and the reticulated scabrous surface of tlie body, 
is similar to what is observed in some species of 
Batistes ; but the fossil before us does not present 
the slightest analogy, in any other respect, to that 
tribe of fishes. 
The specimen figured by Cuvier, and described 
by Blainville, under the name of Amia ignota*, 
possesses many characters in common witli the fos- 
sil before us. It consists of the skeleton of a fish, 
attached to a block of gypsum. It is twelve inches 
long, and four inches high ; the head being equal 
to one third of the length. It has two dorsal fins 
occupying the same relative situation with those of 
the Sussex fossil ; the ventral fins also correspond ; 
the lower jaw is furnished with many small pointed 
teetli, and the tail is rounded. But the angular 
form of the head in A. ? Lewesiensis : the spinous 
rays of the anterior dorsal fin, and the scabrous 
structure of the scales, separate it most decidedly 
from the A. ignota of the French naturalists. 
It would be uninteresting to particularize tlie 
detached portions of fishes which have been found 
in the Sussex chalk, unless the descriptions were 
accompanied by numerous figures. We shall there- 
fore only notice those substances which, under the 
name of “ supposed juli of the Larch,” were de- 
* Nouveau Diet. cl’IIist. Nat. tom. xxviii. :u't. Ic/il/ii/olUcs, p. G9. 
