Bd. III: 14) 
THE MESOZOIC FLORA. 
29 
but in regard to the scantiness and the somewhat unsatisfactory state of preservation 
of the material it seems preferable to follow the course adopted by Sewakd. 
None of the specimens quite agree with Seward’s (1894; pi. 6, fig. 2) type-speci- 
men, which undoubtedly belongs to the same species as the one figured by FiTTON. 
The nearest approach to it is shown by the specimen seen in pi. 3, fig. 16, which re- 
presents a portion of a bipinnate frond. The rachis is slender, the pinnæ long and 
linear, little or not at all decurrent. The pinnules are lanceolate or linear, pointed 
at their apices. In the lower pinnæ the pinnules are more or less deeply lobed, 
sometimes dissected nearly to their midribs, the 
lobes being always directed forward (text-fig. 7 c). 
The upper pinnæ have slightly dentate or entire 
pinnules, the latter resembling in shape those of 
Fitton’s and Seward’s type-specimens. The 
venation is not distinct, only traces of a midrib 
are seen in most pinnules. Text-fig. 7 r, however, 
shows pinnules with a typical sphenopteroid ve- 
nation. In the specimen in pi. 3, fig. 18, the 
pinnæ are, on the whole, like those at the base 
of the frond just described. Only the lower parts 
of the pinnæ are preserved, however, and the 
pinnules are shorter and less pointed. In the spe- 
cimens represented in pi. 3, fig. 17, and in text-fig. 
7 a — b the pinnules are less dissected. The den- 
tation of the distal margin is usually more pro- 
nounced than that of the proximal one. These 
last mentioned specimens agree very closely with 
the specimens figured by Seward (1903; pi. 2, 
figs. 7, 8) from Cape Colony and with the spe- 
cimen of Saporta’s mentioned above (1893; pi. 4, fig. 5); and their specific identity 
with those seems beyond doubt. The venation is fairly clearly seen in the specimen 
shown in text-fig. 7 a and b; the pinnules have a distinct midrib, from which simple 
secondary veins are given off to the teeth of the margins. 
The specimens figured in pi. 3, figs. 22 and 25, agree more or less with the 
specimen in fig. 16 of the same plate; the pinnules, however, are longer and more 
deeply dissected. In the specimen shown in fig. 25 the secondary veins given off to 
the lobes bifurcate at their tips. The fragment shown in pi. 3, fig. 15, appears to 
be closely comparable with the specimen in fig. 17. 
Of the specimens figured by FONTAINE in his Potomac-flora, Pecopteris pachy- 
phylla Font. (pi. 26, figs. 4, 5) may be compared with some of the specimens de- 
Fig. 7. n — c. Sphenopteris Fittoni Sew- 
ard; b — portion of a, Vi; f — pin- 
nules of the frond in pi. 3, fig. 16, 3 /,. 
d — Spbcnopieris auiarctica n. sp., Vi- 
