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Proceedings of the Royal Society 
very high in front, acutely pointed, and with the posterior border 
gently concave. Their rays appear coarse, compared with those of 
Elonichthys nemopterus , and especially with those of Gonatodus 
punctatus , so that had Agassiz only seen the fins of the latter he 
could not have confounded it with the present species. Each con- 
sists of about 30 rays, finely striated externally in the direction of 
their length; their transverse joints are conspicuously longer than 
broad in the principal rays, but become shorter in the posterior 
part of the fin, and also in the longer rays towards their extremities. 
The longer rays begin also to bifurcate towards their terminations, 
the process gradually creeping up on the posterior part of the fin 
till in the delicate hindermost rays it takes place about their 
middle, — a very general characteristic of the fins in the species of 
this genus. The caudal is very powerful ; the rays of its lower lobe 
are divided by rather distant articulations, and dichotomise towards 
their extremities ; those of the upper lobe divide about their middle, 
and are characterised by the extreme closeness of their articulations, 
the joints being rather shorter than the rays are broad. The 
fulcra of all the fins are minute and closely set. 
Remarks. — The close resemblance which this species bears to E. 
striolatus is quite apparent}; their specific distinction is also suffi- 
ciently pronounced. In E. striolatus the articulations of the prin- 
cipal rays of the dorsal and anal fins are much closer; the dorsal and 
anal fins do not seem to be quite so sharply acuminate in form ; the 
laniary teeth are larger; the scale ornament, though belonging to 
the same general type, is more delicate in character. To E. nemop- 
terus its resemblances are also very strong ; it differs, however, from 
it in the greater coarseness of the fin rays, with closer articulations, 
this being especially marked in the case of the pectoral, as well as 
in the nature of the scale ornament. The aspect of the fin rays is 
somewhat intermediate between their condition in the two other 
species named, hence the specific term which I have adopted 
for the present fish. 
Geological Position and Locality. — In ironstone nodules from 
the Lower Carboniferous shales of Wardie, near Edinburgh. In 
the collection of James Linn, Esq., there is also a specimen from 
Dechmont in Linlithgowshire, in very indifferent preservation, but 
which I am inclined to refer to the same species. 
