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XXVIII.—On the Distribution of Fossil Fish-remains in the Carboniferous Rocks of the Edinburgh District
Ramsay H. Traquair
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh / Volume 40 / Issue 03 / January 1905, pp 687 - 707 DOI: 10.1017/S0080456800034761, Published online: 06 July 2012
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0080456800034761
How to cite this article: Ramsay H. Traquair (1905). XXVIII.—On the Distribution of Fossil Fish-remains in the Carboniferous Rocks of the Edinburgh District. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 40, pp 687-707 doi:10.1017/S0080456800034761
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XXVIII.—On tlic Distribution of Fossil Fish-ronaius in, iJic Corboiufrroifs Hocks of the EJinbimjh District. By RAMSAY H. TKAOUAIR, II.D., LL.D., F.R.S., Keeper of the Natural History Collection in the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh. (With Two Plates.)
(Read July 1. 1901. Given in for publication May 6. 1903. Issued separately, October 16, 1903.)
The district in which the city of Edinburgh is situated was one of the first in Britain from which fish-remains of Carboniferous age were collected, ft is now sixty-seven years ago since AGASSIZ described the fossil fishes which were discovered by Lord GREENOCK at Wardie. Dr HIBBERT at Burdiehouse, and Professor JAMESON at Burnt- island. The list given from this region in the " Tableau Geiiexale " at the beginning of the Poissons Fossiles comprises twenty-nine names, of which eight were nominee nudct and are not now verifiable, the original specimens being lost ; one, Diplod us minutus, was described, but insufficiently, and the original is also lost ; six are synonyms of others in the list ; leaving fourteen good species, of which one, Ptychacanthus sublsevis, is a synonym of a Selachian spine (Tristychivs arcuatus), described and figured from the Glasgow district. The list given by SALTER in the Appendix to the " Geology of the Neighbourhood of Edinburgh" (Mem. GeoL Survey, Scotland, Sheet 32, 1861) is in the main a reproduc- tion of that in the Poissons Fossiles, though it contains some additional species. Thirty- one names are given, of which four are of genera only ; but of the rest, only eleven can be said to represent species which will " stand " at the present time. The richness in fishes of the Carboniferous rocks of the Edinburgh district had yet to be realised. In 1890,# after many years' work, I published a List of the Fossil Dipnoi and Ganoidei of Fife and the Lothians, in which those of the Upper Old Eed Sandstone were also included. Fifty species were here enumerated, and of these forty will stand as " good " for the district included in Sheet 32, with which we have to do in the present paper. Adding the Selachian form then omitted, and bringing the whole list up to date, we find that the Carboniferous Fish-fauna of the district in question, accord- ing to present knowledge, numbers no less than eighty-seven named species. One feature of special interest in Scottish Carboniferous Palaeontology is the oppor- tunity afforded of comparing the plants and animals which lived under similar estuarine conditions during the deposition of the Lower and Upper divisions of the system respec- tively. This cannot be so readily done in England or Ireland, where the Upper Carboniferous rocks are mainly of " estuarine " or " lagoon " formation, and the Lower almost as exclusively marine in their origin, except in the extreme north. The case is,
i* » * Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xvii. 1890, pp. 385-400. TRANS. ROY SOC. EDIN., VOL. XL. PART III. (NO. 28). 5 i 688 DE RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS
however, different in Scotland, where the strata below the Millstone Grit, though con- taining intercalated beds of marine limestone, are largely similar to those of the over- lying Coal Measures in their lithological character, and in the facies of their imbedded organic remains. This is a matter of great importance in connection with the question of Life-Zones in the Carboniferous system which has for some time back been engaging # the attention of British geologists. Mr KIDSTON has pointed out the dissimilarities between the Upper and Lower Carboniferous land flora in Great Britain, and I have on more than one occasion t drawn attention to the fact that different assemblages of estuarine fishes characterise the two great divisions of the strata of this period in our island. Before proceeding with the enumeration of genera and species from the various horizons, it is, however, necessary to lay before the reader a general view of the relations of the strata of the Carboniferous area of the district in question, namely, that embraced 1 ,:• in Sheet 32 of the Ordnance and Geological Surveys of Scotland. For that purpose I I; 15 applied to the Director of the Geological Survey in Edinburgh, and received from him the general section of the Carboniferous rocks of the Lothians given in Plate I., and which was drawn up by Dr B. N. PEACH, F.E.S. One thing which strikes the eye at the first glance is the small comparative thick- ness of the Upper Carboniferous series in this section, the Coal Measures with the Mill- stone Grit occupying only about 1500 feet, while the subjacent Lower Carboniferous attains a thickness of at least 7000 feet, and is probably still thicker in its lower part than here represented. The Lower Carboniferous division commences above with the so-called u Carbonifer- ous Limestone Series," which, however, consists principally of sandstones, shales, fire- clays, ironstones, and coal-seams, some of the latter being of great economic value. Intercalated among these towards the top, and again towards the bottom of the series, are beds of marine limestone ; hence the threefold subdivision into Upper Limestone, Edge Coals, and Lower Limestones—the name of the middle group being derived from the circumstance that at Drum and Niddrie, in Midlothian, these strata are tilted up on " edge," so as in fact to be nearly vertical. Below the Carboniferous Limestone Series comes the thickest part of the Lower Carboniferous division in this region; namely, the " Calciferous Sandstones" of MACLAREN, the subordinate members of which are noted in the section, and will be dealt with in succession further on. This series is in the Edinburgh district character- ised by a rarity of " marine " beds, the principal limestone, that of Burdiehouse, being also of estuarine origin, like the sandstones, shales, and ironstones which constitute the mass of the rocks here included. Most geologists are agreed that the Calciferous Sand- stones of Scotland represent the lower portion of the ''Carboniferous Limestone "of England and Ireland, though deposited under very different conditions. * Proc. Boy. Phijs. Soc. E The species noted in the following lists are all in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, or in my private collection, with the exception of a few from the marine beds K v;;;L ' of the Lower Limestone ijroup, which are. in the collection of the Geological Survey *viL^ ' ^ of Scotland. For leave to include the latter I have to record my thanks to the Director >..:- of the Survey, Mr J. ,1. H. TEALL, F.R.S. '^^(Q LISTS OF SPECIES. Li •"* -•'•si u.c TJB& CALCIFEROUS SANDSTONE SERIES. •.f.:Li;ein^; Beds below tJw Horizon of the Craigleith and Granton Sandstones, , / ••" No fish-remains whatever have been found in the Craiqmillar or Red Sandstone ,,~~^ Group, which seems to stand on the border-line between the Lower Carboniferous and "" u"AJ---t the Upper Old Eed. Nor have any occurred in the sandstones which in this district are reckoned by the Geological Survey to the last-named formation (Upper (Jld Red). : '!Lp^u«cii- Ballaqan Beds.—Scales referable to Rhizodus, alon^ with a few of undeterminable «*-> lik^L- palaeoniscid type, were found in 1K98 by Air D. TAIT, of the Geological Survey, in !/•• •-' fe.Ci* rocks exposed during excavations for the foundations of the new Scotsman Offices at i>r in RttX j the North Bridge, and are now in the collection of the Survey. ; Arthur Seat Group.—A bed of stratified ash underlying basalt at St Anthony's _ \i I,LTI3 Chapel has long been known to contain remains of fishes as well as of plants. In HUGH 'v.afc.^^^ MILLER'S Testimony of the Rocks mention is made of the finding there of a tooth of a v,* *--..frC-^ " carboniferous Holoptychius " (=Rkizod-us), by the late Dr MACBAIN ; and in the ->rw i^ Geological Survey Memoir, on Sheet S'2 (1861), reference is also made to the occurrence sca es °^ ' l of Rhizodus" in the same bed. The late Mr DAVID GRIEVE, of Edinburgh, had a considerable collection of these remains, but they were unfortunately lost sight of after his death; and as none have been collected since, it is not possible to give a critically determined list of them. ;;r.^ Abbey Hill Shales.—The Arthur Seat beds are overlaid by what are termed the ;•*-* -0" i^ '' Abbey Hill Shales, from which scales of Eurynotus and Rkadinichthys, found in j # :'V* "\^\ boring for water at Abbeyhill, were recorded by Mr JOHN HENDERSON in 1880. •I* •*•'&*'. v. Recently Mr J. G. DUNCAN has found in them, also at a cutting for a drain, a few .^.l '*••". \\*Wti& palaeoniscid scales (Elonichthys), and also a fragmentary plate of Megalichthys. ,^,.;B^ ;. Craiqleith and Granto)i Sandstones.—On a piece of dark indurated shale from ..trip*"""/ strata at Lochend, which are supposed to belong to this horizon, is a pretty well pre- . r'l?^^ 'jM'- served specimen of Rhadinichthys ornatissimus (Agass.), an easily recognised pakeon- :.>«^"'' iscid fish, which is very characteristic of the Oil-Shale Group, and even extends into !>#*• • * ^, . * Trans. Geol. Soc. tidin., vol. iv. p. 34. '690 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS the Edge Coal Series above. The specimen was found by the late Dr MACBAIN, and by him presented to the Edinburgh Museum. it: Wardie Shales.—Here we are first introduced to the richness in fish-remains of the Carboniferous rocks of the Edinburgh district. These shales directly overlie the Granton and Craigleith Sandstones, and are estuarine in character, though containing some marine bands with Mycdina, SeJ/izodus, Lingula, etc., but no hinged Brachiopods. They are extensively exposed on the shore between Granton Quarry and Wardie, the last-named locality being that from which Lord GREENOCK collected the fishes described and figured by AGASSIZ, and which has since that time afforded to other collectors, myself included, much fine additional material. Most of the fishes which have been collected at this locality (Wardie) are contained in hard clay-ironstone nodules, of which a great quantity may be seen on the beach, both in situ and detached from the shaly matrix. Coprolites form, however, the nuclei of the immense majority of these nodules, so that the expenditure of much time and patience is necessary towards obtaining specimens of fishes. The list from Wardie beach, brought up to date, is as follows :— PI cur acanthus, sp. Rhadinichthys ornatissimus (Ag.). Acaniliodes sulcatus, Ag. „ carinatus (Ag.). Mc Notes on Agassizs species.—Amhlypterus nemopterus, Ag., is included in Elonichthys Robisoni {Hibb.) ; Eurynotus fimbriatus, Ag., is a synonym of E. crenatus, Ag. In shales exposed in the banks of the Water of Leith at Woodhall, close above the marine band (Schizodus-hed) belonging to the Wardie Shale horizon, Tristychius arcuatus, Ag., Eloniehtlnjs Robisoni, and Eurynotus crenatus were collected by the late Mr JOHN HENDERSON. The last-named fish has also occurred in the shale immediately overlying the sandstone at Craigleith Quarry. Hailes and Redh.aU Sandstones and Shales.—The Wardie beds are succeeded in Midlothian by the Hailes and Redhall Sandstones with associated shales. At Hailes Quarry, shale overlying- the sandstone contains clay-ironstone nodules which have yielded Acanthodes sulcotus, Tristychiit.s arena tux, and JDiplodus, sp. Shales seen in the bed of the Water of Leith between Slateford and Colinton, and reckoned to this tjTOup, have also yielded Rhadinichthys carinatus, Rh. ornatissimus, and Eurynotus crenatus. Pumpherston Shales.—The next fish-bearing horizon in ascending order with which I am acquainted in the Edinburgh district is that of the Oil Shales, which in Linlithgow- Jits, IN THE CARBONIFEROUS RoCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. 691 shire occur at a depth of 800 feet below the Burdiehouse Limestone, and are worked for 18 »>>'••.„ . oil at Pumpherston and the Ilomnn Camp. In No. 3 seam, lt curly," there is a comparatively thin hand which contains the following fishes :— Aea nth odes, sp. El a ii ifh Ih i/s JiuhisunL. Cte nodus inter nqtt-us, Barkas. R/iadinie/tfhys atriitatus. Mesoponuc inacroccphalnin, Traq. En'ri/not us err tut t us. i The smaller fishes are usually entire and beautifully preserved. Of Ctenodus interruptus only one specimen has occurred, namely, a parasphenoid bone with attached palatoptervgoids and tooth-plates, for which the Museum is indebted to Major J. PACE CLEGHORNE of Broxburn. BurcliehoKsc Limestone.—This well-known limestone, with which the name of HIBBERT will ever be associated, attracted notice in the course of the fourth decade of last century on account of its fossil vertebrate remains. Such fossils were at the time not much known from British Carboniferous rocks, and the Burdiehouse Limestone is in consequence referred to in nearly every text-book of geology. It is still extensively wrought at Burdiehouse village, but seems now to yield very little in the way of fishes. Limestones of approximately the same horizon and containing similar fossils are or have been worked at Raw Camps near Midealder, South Queensferry, and Burntisland and Starley Burn in Fife. At Burdiehouse itself the list is as follows :— Pleuraeanlhiis, sp. Uronemus lobaius, Ag. Callopristodus jwctinatiis, (Ag.). Ctenvdus, sp. scales. Gyracanthus rectus, Traq. (Jonatodus, sp. Sphenacanthus semdatus (Ag.). Elvniehtliys Bobisoni. Tristychius arcuatus. „ striatus. „ minor, Portl. JRhadinichthys orna tisswius. .iU" •>•*- Cynopodius crenulatus, Traq. ,, eannat'KS. MegaMchthys laticeps, Traq. Nematoptyeli ins Grcenochi. PJiizodus Hibherti. Eurynotus crenatus. „ ornatus, Traq. Remarks on ArjassirSs species.—ACASSIZ'S Pcdcroniseus striolatus and Pygo-pterus B-ucJclandi are synonyms of Ulonichthys Rohlsnn-i. His Cteno-ptyclilas dentienlatus is the same as his Ct. pecthiatus (= Callopristodus, Traq.) Phyllolepis tenuissimus is, I believe, founded partly on scales of Rhizodus :v,^ Hibberti, partly on those of a large Ctenvdus, probably Ct. interruptus. Ptycliacanthus sublecvis is clearly founded on a worn specimen of Tristyehius arcuatus, and the specimens referred by AGASSIZ to Gyracanthus formosus have been erected by the present writer into a separate species, G. rectus, «• ^- Traq. Cladudus Hibberti, Cl. parvus, IHploptcrus Robertson i, Ctenodus Robertsoni, and Pygopterus Jamesoni are named from Burdiehouse in the "Tableau Genemle," but not described ; and as the originals seem to have been lost, the names must simply drop. The same fate must, I fear, also befall Diplodus minutus, for the description and figures are not sufficient for accurate identification, and the originals seem also to have been lost. Mr SALTER observes in his "Description and List of Fossils" from the district 692 DR RAMSAY F. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS (Mem. Geol. Survey, Sheet 32, Appendix) that " the fossils found in the Burdiehouse Limestones are for the greater part distinct from those of other parts of the Lower Carboniferous series. This may be partly due to greater attention having been paid to this celebrated limestone by collectors." This explanation of a supposed fact has indeed proved to be true even in a more emphatic sense than is implied by the word " partly." As regards the fishes, at least, with which we are alone dealing in this paper, if we leave out of consideration the names cancelled above, all the species contained in the Burdie- house list except Megalichthys laticeps and Uronemus lobatus occur in the Dunnet shale above, and many of them also in the Wardie shales below. I have seen no fish-remains from the hard limestone representing the Burdiehouse deposit at Burntisland, but in the associated calcareous shales Elonichthys Robisoni, Rhadinichthys ornatissimus, Rh, carinatus, and Eurynotus crenatus are of frequent occurrence. Dunnet Shale,—This is one of the most important seams of oil shale in this district, and at Straiton and Pentland, where it was until a few years ago extensively wrought by the Clippens Oil Company, it has yielded an extensive set of fish-remains. Few are found in the productive shale itself; they principally occur in the "roof" and in the "floor" of the seam, and are for the most part enclosed in nodules of clay ironstone. The list is as follows :— Pleuracanthus, sp. RhizodiAS ornat-i -luYina * CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE SERIES. Ja : * .' '" ^i^; The lower limit of the Carboniferous Limestone Series is placed by Sir A. GEIKIE at % i{v>y the Hurlet or Gilmerton Limestone, though purely marine beds also occurf below this horizon, as at Kinghorn in Fife, where the first and second " Abden " Limestones are 1 # ''^^ieL ;, reckoned as still belonging to the Calciferous Sandstone series. The late Mr JOHN '' ^ in :;c JW... HENDERSON t also noted two such limestones, containing hinged brachiopods and crinoidal remains, at Stenhouse Mills in the Edinburgh district. : - Vtrjf;, To Mr CADELL of Grange I am indebted for the section (PL II.) of the strata of the : £..... ,;, lWp.;- Carboniferous Limestone Series as developed at Gilmerton, Loanhead, and Niddrie, near •'*,,-• 4 qr ..-. Edinburgh. This section shows the relative position to each other of the various lime- stones, coals, and ironstones, and is specially useful for the purposes of this paper as the pits of this neighbourhood have yielded the greater number of the fish-remains collected from rocks of this series in the Edinburgh district. r'- '--^ Lower Limestone Group. Marine Limestones.—Most of the fish-remains, all teeth and spines of marine Elasmobranchs, which have occurred in these limestones are from the quarries on the ,,..,i(iTa_ east side of the coal-field. The Museum collection is poor in these, but I have, as •' already said, to thank the Director of the Geological Survey for permission to include 1 tTh'~ in my list a number of species which I have not seen except in the Scottish Survey f(..,,k collection. No exact information is, however, available as to the precise beds in the '"•'^ section from which they were derived—whether from the lowest limestone (No. 1, or ' uiU "Hurlet"), or from those above (Nos. 2 and 3, or "Hosies"); the appended localities ' ,,^,,1 will, however, be so far useful. The list is meanwhile small, but may doubtless be , >if1^ much increased by future collecting. i ' -k , ..rT>- Cladodus mirabilis, Ag., Mayfield. Copodusplanus (Davis), Brunstane. ^LT*^- "^ „ striatus, Ag., Charlestown, Mayfield. Psammodus rugosus, Ag.3 Charlestown, Esperston. V VY:-! ^-"" Petalodas acuminatus, Ag., Charlestown. Cochliodus contortus, Ag., Mayfield, Esperston. ~c" .>.;• Ctenoptychius hiatus (K. Eth.), Charlestown. Xystrodus striatvs (M'Coy). Mayfield. (-'.ok v® "'"[^ „ serratus (Ag.), Cousland. Pcecilodt/s Jonesii (M'Coy), Mayfield. ." .r»i^8 ' Pdalurhynchi's psittacinus (M'Coy), Mayfield. Pse-plwcbi.s magnus (M'Coy), Middleton. "£<** u Polyrhizodus magnus, M'Coy, Mayfield. Acondylacanthus Jenkinsoni (M'Coy), Mayfield. Pristodus falcatus, Davis, Charlestown. Havpacanthus fimbrlatus (Stock), Gilmerton. ^r>,^ .r/:'-1 It will be seen at a glance that not one of the above-quoted species occurs in any of >&•'• " \ ;/ the lists which I have given from the Calciferous Sandstone Series of the district, while ^ 'iflrf^R a^ °f them except Harpacanthus Jimbriatus are well known from the Mountain Lime- 4:'"v ' ,y'' ' stone of England, and, except Pristodus falcatus, of Ireland likewise. And that this * ^ ; •®'*f^ * " The Geol°gy of Central and Western Fife," Mem. ticol. Stirr. Scotland, 1900, pp. 73, 74. •Je."*- ^' . i - ^ W;' + Trans. Geol. tioc. Edin., vol. iv. 1882, pp. 217, 218. 694 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS striking difference on the one hand and similarity on the other is due to the conditions of deposit, is clearly shown in the next and following lists of species. Grilmerton Ironstone.—Between the two lowest marine limestones (see PL II.) is a well-known coal-seam, the " North Greens," and not far above that is the " Gilmerton vil Ironstone,'' which yielded in times gone by a multitude of large bones and jaws of Rhizodus Hibberti and Rh. ornatus, as well as the originals of the labyrinthodonts Pholidogaster pisciformis, Huxley, Loxomma Allmani, Huxley, and Macromerium Scoticwn, Lydekker. On my return to Edinburgh in 1874 I found that this ironstone was again being worked at Venturefair Pit, Gilmerton, and, with the aid of some of the miners, enlarged the list of fishes to the following :— AcantJiodes, sp. Eurynotas crenatus. Gonatodus macrolepis. Megalichthyx, sp. Elonichthys Eobisoni. Rhizodus Hibberti. „ muUistriatus, Traq. „ ornatus. Nematopty chins Greenocki. Sagenodus quinquecostatus, Traq. Here it will be seen that the Elasmobranch fauna of the marine limestones is utterly wanting, and the estuarine fishes have returned. Of the eight specifically determined fishes of the above list, no less than six are found in the oil shales, including the Wardie beds, below, and consequently must have been living elsewhere in waters adapted to their organisation during the time when the Hurlet Limestone was deposited under true marine conditions on the same spot. Edge Coal Group. The next bed to be noticed is a " blackband " ironstone near the horizon of the North Coal which has been worked at Niddrie. It is accompanied by a hard grey micaceous shale with Lingula squamiformis, and consequently of marine or brackish water origin. This shale contains, moreover, an interesting set of fish-remains, as follows :— Pleuroplax falcatus, Traq. Mcgalichthys, sp. Orarantliihs armiijerus, Traq. Rhizodopsis, sp. Tristychius a retm11is. Ccdacantlius Abdenensis, Traq. „ minor. Eurynotus crenatus. Euphyacanthus semistria tus. Bhadinichthys, sp. Here we have a fish-fauna which, especially in the presence of Pleuroplax falcatus, Oracanthus armigerns, and Coelacanthus Abdenensis, reminds us at once of that of the Abden " Bone Bed" at Kinghorn, in Fife, though at a considerably higher horizon, for the Fifeshire bed is placed by Sir A. GEIKIE near the top of the Calciferous Sandstones, so that we have consequently the whole of the Lower Limestone Group between. It is clear that we have here another instance of the recurrence of similar forms under similar IN THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. G95 conditions, for the Abden bed is still more obviously of marine origin, and lies close below limestone containing hinged braehiopods, corals, etc. Loanhead Ironstone, No. 1.—This ironstone (see PI. II.) lies between " Brown's " coal and the " Glass " eoal, nearly in thu middle of the. Kdo-e Coal Group. Above it is also a shale with Limjitht squamijbrm.is, and, including the species found both in that and in the ironstone and accompanying u parrot," the list is as follows :— Pi'cii ropi\'tx fal cutiis. Illi hot Ins Hibberti. Plcii.roplux, sp. C'<' laranth us Abdenmsis. OruciuitJms urmigents. Of ("iIndus interrupt a x. Tristych ivs arciiatus. Ehm idt tli 7/.s Hob Isold. ,, minor. New at opt I/chin s Greenoeki. Acanthades, sp. Euryiiotus crenatus. All the species in the above list we have already noted from beds below, but it is of interest to find that along with the Lingula we have again the Pleuroplax, Oracanthus, and Ccelacanthus of the ironstone shale last mentioned. Borough Lee Ironstone, or Loanhead Ironstone, No. lJ.—This ironstone is situated above the " Great " Seam near the top of the Edge Coal Group. It is the most produc- tive in species of fishes and fish-remains of the beds which has turned up in the Lothians, and has yielded no fewer than thirty-five species, some of which have not been found elsewhere. They are as follows :—• Diplodus jxtrvulus, Traq. Rhizodus Hibberti. Pleumcanthus elegans, Traq. Strepsodus striatulus. „ gracillimus, Traq. Uronemus splendens, Traq. „ horrididus, Traq. Ctenodus interruptus. „ fastigiatits, Davis. „ augustlV.IKS, Traq. Dicentrodus bicuspidatus, Traq. Sagenodus qidnquecostatus. Callopristodus pectinatus ( Ag.). Eurylepis Scoticus, Traq. Gyr acanthi is nobilis, Traq. Gonatodus parvidens, Traq. „ Yonngi, Traq. Drydenius insignis, Traq. Aganacanthus striatulus, Traq. Elonielitliys Robisoni. Tristychius arcuatus. „ pectinatus. ; marine „ minor. Rhadinicht h ys on la t iss imus. Sphenacanthus semdectus. „ carinatvs. Cynopodius crenxdatus. Nemati>pti/cldus GrccnoclcI. Euctenius elegans, Traq. Crypldoleph striatu.s, Traq. Megalichthys, sp. Eurynotus mierolepidotus, Traq. Pihhodopsis, sp. Cochliodont spine, undet. Leaving Diplodus parvulus and Euctenius eler/ans out of consideration, as they may have belonged to one or other of the Pleuraccmthi here noted, we find in this list thirty named species, of which fifteen have already occurred in the strata below. Some—namely,' Tristychius arcuatus, Rldzodus Hibberti, Elonichthys Robisoni, Rhadinichthys carinatus, Nematoptychius Greenochi—extend down even into the Wardie shales, in which all, except the first, are common species. On the other hand, however, fifteen species make their first appearance here, and of these six have not yet been found elsewhere. TRANS. ROY. SOC. EDIN., VOL. XL. PART III. (NO. 28). 5 K 696 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS Upper Limestone Group. South Parrot Coal Shale.—Passing upwards, we reach the Upper Limestone Group at the " Index " Limestone (No. 4 in the section, PL II.). Lying between this lime- stone and No. 5, the " Calmy " or " Arden," but nearer to the former, is the South Parrot Coal-seam, at present extensively wrought at Niddrie. The roof-shale is of a glossy black colour, and contains here and there fragments of Lepidodendron, and on one piece I detected a Lingula. In general appearance, colour, and texture it closely resembles some Upper Carboniferous fish-bearing shales, both Scotch and English; but how different are the species of fishes contained in it! The following have been obtained up till now :— Diplodus parvulus. Cynopodius crenulatus. 1 Pleuracanthus elegans. Euctenius elegans. •vi „ horriclulus. EMzodus Hibberti. „ fastigiatus, Davis. „ ornatus. sp. ^ Strepsodus striatulus. Dicentrodus bicuspidatus, Traq. sp. Callopristodus pectinatus (Ag.). Ctenodus interruptus. i • Gyracanthus, sp. Sagenodus quinquecostatus. Aganacanthus striatulus. Gonatodus parvidens. Sphenacanthus serrulatus. Elonichthys pectinatus. Tristychilis arcnatus. Ehadinichthys, sp. „ minor. Nematoptychius Greenocki. Euphyacanthus semistriatus. Eurynotus crenatus. Now, though a considerable thickness of strata, including one truly marine limestone, intervenes between this South Parrot Coal Shale and the Borough Lee Ironstone below, we are at once struck by the similarity of the two lists of fishes. Of the twenty-three named species occurring in the list given above, twenty-one are also found in the Borough Lee bed, the two not so accounted for being Euphyacanthus semistriatus and Rhizodus ornatus, both of which occur, however, in the Calciferous Sandstone Series below. The three undetermined species are: a Gyracanthus, represented by species too imperfect and eroded for correct identification; a Strepsodus, indicated by teeth which resemble in shape and markings those of the Upper Carboniferous S. sauroides, Binney, but probably new ; and a small Rhadinichthys. MILLSTONE GRIT. No fish-remains have been found in the strata belonging to this group in the Edinburgh district, nor in Scotland in general, so far as I am aware. COAL MEASURES. The productive Coal-bearing strata of the Edinburgh district above the Millstone IN THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. 697 Grit are, like those of other parts of Scotland, referred by Mr KIDSTON, on account of their fossil flora, to the Lower Coal Measures of England. Unfortunately few fish- bearing shales arc or have been available to the collector in the rocks in question ; in fact, the only one which has of late yielded such remains is that to which we shall now refer. The " Four Foot " Coal at present worked at Niddrie is the lowest but one of the workable seams of the Upper Carboniferous in this neighbourhood, and it so happened that a few years ago an inclined shaft was being driven down along the dip of the seam, and a considerable amount of the roof-shale was brought to the surface. From it were obtained the following fish-remains :— Diplochts gibbosus, Ag. Megaliclitliys pi/grnreus, Traq. Junassa lingucvforinis. Rhizodnpsis sanruidcs, Williamson. Ctenojjtyclviiis apicalis, Ag. Stnpsodas sauroides (Binney). Lepracanthus Colei. ,, stdcidfiiH. Pleicroplax Eankinei. Ccelacanthus elegans, Newb. Sphenacanthus, tooth. Elonichtliys Aitkeni, Traq. Acanthodes Wardi, Egert. Platysomus parv/d/'s, Young. Acanthodopsis Wardi. „ Forsteri. Megalichthys Hibberti, Ag. Cheirodii-s, sp. The difference between this list and those previously given is startling, as not one species found in the Calciferous Sandstone or the Carboniferous Limestone Series is here represented ; but this is a matter to which we shall presently return. rwrtu. Smeaton Colliery.—In former times many fish-remains were procured at Smeaton, near Dalkeith. from the roof-shale of a seam which, I understand, was the " Jewell." Unfortunately this colliery has been shut up for more than twenty years, so that no fresh material can be obtained, and the list which I am able to give is rather short. It only comprises the following :— Pleuracanthus hrvissim/'s, Ag. Rhizodopsis sauroides. Gyracanthus formosits, Ag. Strepsodus sulcidcns. A cfinthodo'psis 1 Vardi. Ccelacanthus clegans. Megalichthys Hiblcrti. If the fish-remains marked " Dalkeith Coal Field," and collected many years ago, which one finds in various museums, including the British Museum and the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, came, as is very possible, also from this colliery, then we must add Sphenacanthus hybodoides (Egert.) and Strepsodus sauroides to the list. Sir PHILIP EGERTON indeed gave "the neighbourhood of Dalkeith" as the source of his " Ctenacanthus " hybodoides and nodosus. RESULTS. The palseontological record is of necessity imperfect, and our opportunities of collecting even the fossils which have been preserved are also limited by circumstances 698 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS which are hardly within our control; indeed, they come largely under the operation of what we are pleased to designate as " chance." The foregoing lists cannot in any way be considered as containing a complete record of the fishes contained in the Carboniferous rocks of the district around Edinburgh. Nevertheless, it will be well, after having worked at these remains for nearly thirty years now, to put together the general results as to their distribution to which we are in the meantime conducted. These results are, in the main, already known to those who are specially interested in palaeozoic ichthyology, but a more concise account as to how the matter stands at present may not be unwelcome to geologists in general. Lower Carboniferous. We have seen that the fish-remains found in the limestones of open sea origin at May field, Charlestown, and other places are different from those occurring in the estuarine beds, and that they belong, in fact, to the marine fish-fauna characteristic of the Mountain Limestone of England and Ireland. This fauna consists mainly of Elasmobranch forms, Dipnoi and " Ganoids" being rare; while, on the other hand, the estuarine strata throughout the whole Carboniferous formation are characterised not only by fishes coming under the two latter designations, but also by a set of Elasmo- branchs which differ specifically and for the most part also generically from those of the marine limestones. Barely do we find any commingling of these two faunae ; one notable exception being at East Kilbride, in Lanarkshire, where the shale overlying the Calderwood Cement Limestone contains such estuarine forms as Rhizodus Hibberti, Strepsodvs striatulus, Elonichthys Robisoni, and Rhadinichthys ornatissimus, along with such typically marine species as Petalodus acuminatusy Psephodus magnus, Pcedlodus Jonesii, Psammodus porosus, etc. As to the zonal question, I am not aware that any definite succession of forms can be established, either in Great Britain or in Ireland, on the fish-fauna of the marine limestones. What, then, of the estuarine fishes in which the Lower Carboniferous rocks of the Edinburgh district arc so rich ? Our observations must commence with the Craigleith and Wardie beds, as no specifically determinable fish-remains are available from the underlying strata; but from that horizon upwards this estuarine fish-fauna persists in its main features into the Upper Limestone Group, the South Parrot Coal shale being the highest bed in the Lower Carboniferous division from which fossil fishes have been in this region obtained. And an examination of the accompanying table of vertical distribution shows that it is scarcely possible to mark out satisfactory zones by means of the fishes, so far as the Lower Carboniferous rocks are concerned ;—of the Upper we shall presently speak. >* .-*, V." © f •'•• V ^- \ '-• * \ * • ;*- l •4~ ^ d- # r-' ir • r /i- ^ &• -^ Z % # -f # # : ;i L 1 v? f-i rv- ,-*, ~_ /> 1^ ^ O Ci I ^ v> ^ £ s I * s ^ ?; -• §--«. ,^ K S 8 •^ 2 -^ -NJ&J <» ce ^-,' s: ->; r> cT s. (< ^ %. • ^Q 2 ^ O5 v?5 "* ^.^^T^ " . ^ . . > O 02 ^^Ls M 3* ao. S r o-3 I 2- ?° Q o •3 d O2 O + \' AVardie Shales. Pumpherston Shales. Burdirhouse Limestone. Dunnet Shale. •w d Q Lower Limestone Group. + + ; + W +::+:++ Edge Coals. to + : • + Upper Limestone Group. + + Coal Measures. to 700 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS 1 Group . Shales . Limestone . Shales . Shale . Limeston e Limeston e Group . Coals . Measures . Uppe r Lowe r Burdiehous e Wardi e Edg e Pumphersto n Dunne t Coa l CROSSOPTERYGII—continued. Megalichthys Ixvis, Traq. . + SErfe J» pygmaeus, Traq. + „ sp. undet. . . + + ... Rhizodop.sis sauroides (Williamson) + RMzodus Hibberti (Ag.) + + + + . ,, ornatus, Traq. + + + Strepsodus sauroides (Binney) + „ sulcatus.... + ,, striatulus ...... + + + Ccelacanthus elegans + Coslacanthus Abdenensis + DIPNOI. Uronemus lobatus, Ag. ... + „ splendens, Traq. . + Gienodus interruptus, Barkas ... + ? + + + „ cristatus, Ag. + „ angustulus + Sagenodus quinquecostatus, Traq. ... + + + ACIPENSEROIDEI. Eurylepis Scoticus, Traq. . + Gonatodus punctatus (Ag.) . + ... 1 „ macrolepis, Traq. + + ,, parvidens, Traq. + + Drydenius insignis, Traq. . + Elonichthys Robisoni (Hibbert) + + + + + + „ striatus (Ag.) . + + „ pectinatus, Traq. + + + ,, multistriatus, Traq. + „ Aitkeni, Traq. . + Mesopoma macrocephalum, Traq. + Acrolepis semigranulosa, Traq. Rhadinichthys ornatissimus (Ag.) . + + + ... + ... „ carinatus (Ag.) + + + 7 „ brevis, Traq. + + „ /eras, Traq.. + Nematoptychius Gh^eenocki (Ag.) + + + + + + Cryphiolepis striatus, Traq.. + Eurynotus crenatus, Ag. + + + + + + + ,, microlepidotus, Traq. + Wardichthys cyclosoma, Traq. + Cheirodus granulosus (Young) + „ crassus, Traq. + ... JNOTE.—NOTE.- A few of the genera range lower down than is indicated in the above list, which only included specifically determined remains, and many specimens are not so determinable. Rhizodus ranges down to the Ballagan beds, Megahchthys, Rhadinichthys, and Eurynotus to the Abbeyhill shales, and Pleuracanthus (incl. Diplodus) to the Wardie shal.'s. The remains of Acanthodes, Megalichthys, and Rhizodo2)sis occurring in the ironstones of the Carbonilerous Limestone Series are also too fragmentary for secure specific identification. IN THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT 701 Some amount of difference there is between the lists from the top and from the bottom of the fish-bearing series. For instance Gyracanthus recfus gives way to G. nobilis and Yountji; <'fonatodus punctat\us of Wardie is succeeded by G. macrolepis in the Dunnet shale and Gilmerton Ironstone, and by G. parvideus in the Borough LeeSIronstone and South Parrot shale. Some species have as yet only been found in certain beds, as Warrfwhiliys cyclosoma and Rhadinichthys ferox at Wardie, Uronemus lobatus at Burdiehousc, Elonichihys multistriatus in the Gilmerton ironstone, Uro- nemus splendens, Drydemits insignis, Cryphiolepis striatus and others in the Borough Lee Ironstone. On the other hand, some of the commonest species appearing in the Wardie shales below pass up into the Upper Limestone Group, while others have a not much less extended range. This will be best understood by reference to the following table, in which the vertical ranges of twenty common species may be compared. Le e Parro t Shale . Coal . Shale . Shale . Wardi e Dunue t Pumpher - Limestone . sto n Limestone . Boroug h Burdiehous e Sout h Acanthodes sulcatus 4- ] + Elonichthys striatus 4- + 4- ... Rhadinichthys ornatissimus. 4- 4- 4- 4- „ carinatus 4- 4- 4- 4- + Elonichthys Robisoni 4- 4 + 4- 4- Y Tristychius arcuatus 4- 4- 4- 4- 4- Rhizodus Hibberti 4- -i- 4- + Nematoptychius Greenocki . 4- 4- 4- + Eurynotus crenatus 4- 4- 4- 4- 4- + Ctenod.us interruptus 4- r>- 4" ... 4- Sphenacanthus serndatus 4- 4- + Rhizodus ornatf/s .... -f 4- Gynopodius crenulatus -1- 4- 4- 4- Tristychius minor .... + 4- 4- 4- Oallopristodus pectinatus 4 4- Euphyacanthus semistriatus 4- 4- Elonichthys pectinatus 4- 4- 4- Aganacanthus striatulus 4- 4- + Strepsodus striatulus ... 4- 4- 4- If a separate zone could be distinguished it would be one comprising the Borough Lee Ironstone and the South Parrot Coal shale, as these contain at least seven species which are not found in the strata below. But the fish-fauna of the Borough Lee stone is so closely linked with that of the Dunnet shale, and the latter again with those of Burdiehouse and Wardie, that the best plan seems to be for the present to look upon the Lower Carboniferous of the Central Valley of Scotland as forming one great life-zone so far as the fishes are concerned. For the Lower Carboniferous fishes of Fifeshire, Lanarkshire, and Ayrshire belong essentially to the same great assemblage of forms as those of the Lothians, though in the West the number of marine species is greater and of estuarine less. But now a word must be said about the strange fact that a different Lower Carboni- 702 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS ferous estuarine fish-fauna crops up when we get to the border country on the south side of the Southern Uplands. This is at all events the case in Eskdale, and I rather think that the fishes of the Calciferous Sandstone Series in Berwickshire will be found to vary considerably from those of the north side of the hills. But Berwickshire is not yet sufficiently searched, and I shall therefore confine the present remarks to the former locality, where, more than twenty years ago, a novel assemblage of fossil fishes was discovered by Mr MACCONOCHIE, collector to the Scottish Geological Survey, and entrusted to me by Sir A. GEIKIE for description. The material was also afterwards increased by collections made by Mr JEX, collector to Mr DAMON of Weymouth, and by Mr T. STOCK, the best part of these subsequent collections being now in the British Museum and in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. Subjoined is the list from Glencartholm on the Esk, near Langholm, with the inclusion of one interesting speeies from Tarras Foot, marked with an asterisk. Chondrenchdys 'problematicalTraq . Acrolepis ortholepis, Traq. Cladodus, sp. Cycloptychius conccntricus, Traq. Sphenacanthus costellatus, Traq. Rhadinichthys fusiformis, Traq. Tristychius minor, „ . J&acconochii, Traq. Acanthodes nitidus, A. S. Woodw. „ delicatulus, Traq. Tarrasius problematicus, Traq. „ tuberxulatus, Traq. Meyalichthys, sp. „ angustulus, Traq. Strepsodus, 2 species. *Styracopterus fulcratus, Traq. Ccdacanthus Hu.rieyi, Traq. Phanerosteon mirabile, Traq. Canobius Ramsayi, Traq. Eurynotus, 2 sp. „ elegantulus, Traq. Platysomus superbus, Traq. Mesopoma pulckellum^ Traq. Mesolepis rhombus, Traq. „ politum, Traq. „ tuberculatus, Traq. Elonichthys serratus, Traq. Cheirodopsis Geikiei, Traq. „ pulcherrimus, Traq. The list is not yet complete for the entire region, as the few Liddesdale fishes are not yet completely worked up ; but this assemblage from Glencartholm is sufficiently striking, seeing that only one named species in it, namely, Tristychius minor, is found in the Lower Carboniferous beds of Central Scotland. A land barrier may have been the cause of this striking difference in the fishes, as Mr KIDSTON finds that of the terrestrial plants of the deposit some are peculiar to the locality, but more are common to the Calciferous Sandstones. At all events we have not to do with strata deposited in a land-locked lake, seeing that marine shells (Orthoceras, Conularia, Bellerophon, Aviculopecten, etc.) occur close to the band which is most productive in fishes. Several years ago Mr B. N. PEACH suggested to me that the Eskdale beds might belong to a lower horizon than those from which the Edinburgh list is derived, and it must be remembered that in the great thickness of strata below the Craigleith and Granton Sandstones fish-remains are extremely scanty, consisting only of a few isolated scales (teeth also at Arthur's Seat), which as yet are not specifically determinable. Should this prove to be the correct explanation of the case, then we should have a zonal distinction, and a very marked one too. But more work has yet to be done ere the problem can be said to be placed on a satisfactory basis. IN THE CAKBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. 703 Upper Carbonifi(Tons. The list of fishes from the Upper Carboniferous strata of the Edinburgh district is as yet short, seeing that it contains only nineteen species, but as not one of these can safely be identified as oeeiurino- in the rocks below, we have evidently Euctenius unilatevalis. Monichthys semistriatus, Traq. Acanthodes IVardi. „ Egertoni. Acanthodopsis TI rardi. Acrolepis Hopkinsi. Rhizodopsis sauroides. Eurylepis Angliea, Traq. Strepsudiis sauroides. Rhadinichthys Wardi, Young. „ sulcidens. „ Hancocki, Atthey. Megalichthys Hibberti. Platysomus parvulus. ,, coeeolepis. „ Forsteri. Ccelacanthus elcgans. „ rotundus, H. and Atthey. Ctenodus cristatus. Cheirodus striatus, H. and Atthey. Sagenodus inequalis. In no part of England has the fish-fauna of the Coal Measures been more sedulously collected and accurately determined than in North Staffordshire. The splendid collec- tion made there by Mr JOHN WARD, F.G.S., of Longton, and now in the British Museum, is an historical one, with which I have been for nearly thirty years familiar, and to the working out of which I have myself contributed. To Mr WARD personally, and to his work On the Geological Features of the North Staffordshire Coal Fields, I am indebted for the following lists :— Loiver Coal Measures (Cockshead Ironstone). Hrfodus simple:. Megalichthys coccolepis. Pleuroplax Rankinei. Ccelacanthus eleyans. Gyracanthus formosus. Ctenodus cristatus. Spheiia canthi i. s hybodaides. Elonichthys, sp. Acanthodes Wa i •di. Mtsolepis scalar is, Young. Megalichthys Hibberti. Cheirodus granulosus (Young). Middle Coal Measures (Ash or Rowhurst Ironstone and Coal up to below the Bassy Mine Ironstone). Pieiiracanthus Icevissimus. Rhizodopsis sauroides. „ robustus. Strepsodus sauroides. „ alatus, Davis. Coelacanthus elegans. „ Wardi, Davis. Ctenodus cristatus. „ cylindricus. Sagenodus inequalis. Diplodus gibbosus. Elonichthys Aitkeni. „ eqifilato'fflis, Ward. cauchdis, Traq. Janassa liufpurfomiis. Egertoni. Ctenoptychius apicalis. microlepidotus. Callopristodus pectiaatu.s. scmistriatus. HelodiLs simpler,. oblongits, Traq. Pleuroplax Itankine i. Cycloptyehius earbonarius, Young. Bphenacanthus hybodo ides. Acrolepis Hopkinsi. Gyr acanthus formosus. Rhadinichthys Wardi. Euctenius itnilateraUs. „ macrodon, Traq. List?•acanthus, sp. Plant i Acanthodes Wardi. „ Monensis. „ major, Davis. Eurylepis Angliea. Aca)ithodopsis Waixli. Gonatodus Molyneuxi, Traq. „ microdon. Platysomus parvulus. Me;ia lichtht/s Hibberti. „ rotundas. „ coccolepis. Mesolepis Wardi. Young. ,, intermedius. „ scalaris, Young. „ pygmcevs. Cheirod,us granulosus. IN THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. 705 Transition Measures.—Mr WARD lias given me the following list from those North Staffordshire measures, now generally known as "Transition Series":— Acanthoih's, sp. Mcgativhth //s Jlibbrrti. Ctenodus cristatvs. ('(ld(H' It will be seen that in this, the " Potteries," Coal Field, the great repository of fossil fishes is the Middle Coal Measures, in which forty-eight species occur. But as of the forty-eight no less than thirty-three are found also in the Lower Coal Measures of Scot- : iendid efe. land and Northumberland, including most of the common and characteristic forms, we can hardly be said to have got into a new life-zone, so far as estuarine fishes are concerned. In a paper " On the Fish-Fauna of the Yorkshire Coal Measures," published in # lV:,fl;i! 1901, Mr E. D. WELLBURN gives a list of seventy-eight species, a few of which are queried, while some are given as new, but not described. As they stand, however, the seventy-eight species may be tabulated as follows :— Occurring in the Lower Coal Measures, Middle, . 44 „ Lower, but not in the Middle, 34 Middle, but not in the Lower, 6 Common to both Middle and Lower, 38 And the thirty-eight species common to the two divisions comprise nearly all the characteristic fishes known from the Lower and Middle Coal Measures in other parts of the island. They are :— Pleuracinith us lecvissimv.s. Mega I ich th ys Hibbert i. „ cylindricus. pyg Diplodus gibbosus. „ coccolepis. ,, ten a. is. „ inter medius. Pet a lo dus Ha st ing si. Ccriacanthus Thxyleyensis, Davis. Ctmoptychius ajneatis. „ elegans. Ccdlopristodus pectinatus. „ corrugatus, Wellb. Helodus s i mjplex. Elonichthys A itlr?i i. „ sp. „ Egertoni. Pleuroptax Ranhinei. „ scmistriotus. „ Attheyi. Acrolepis Hophinsi. Sphenacanthus hybodoides. Rhadinichtkys Monensis. Acanthodes I Vard i. Gonatodus Molyuruxi. Gyra ca n t hi / s form osus. Cycloptychins carbonarius. Euctcnius unilateralis. Mcsolrp is Wa rd i. Ctenodus cristatus. „ scalar is. Rhizodopsis sa two ides. Cheirodus granulosus. S& sauroides. PI a. tysum us parvuh is. ?•••*- suicide/is. Forstcri. Two of these, however, Ccelacanthus Ti}igleyensi$, Davis, and C corrugatus, Well- burn (undescribed), are as yet known only from Yorkshire, while Petalodus Hastingsi is a marine form characteristic of the Carboniferous Limestone of Armagh. * Proc. Yorks. Geol. and Polytechn. Soc, vol. xiv. pp. 159-174. 706 DR RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FISH-REMAINS It is also interesting to note that nine species given by WELLBURN as occurring in the Lower but not in the Middle Coal Measures of Yorkshire are found in the list from the Middle Division in North Staffordshire. They are :— PI mr acanthus Wardi. Elonichthys caudalis. Janassa ling uccfor mis. „ oblongus. Acanthodes major. Rhadinichthys Planti. Wardi macrodon. Sagenodns iiicquaUs. We see, then, that Yorkshire corroborates the evidence of North Staffordshire, Northumberland, and Scotland in this, that nearly all the common Upper Carboniferous estuarine fishes being found in both the Lower and Middle Coal Measures, it is not possible to divide these strata into ichthyological life-zones at least. For the establish- ment of such zones must chiefly depend on the common and characteristic species, not on those which are rare, or, it may be, met with only in one locality or bed. The fishes from the other English coal fields do not seem to have been so exhaustively collected, but I have seen nothing from any of them contrary to the above conclusions, namely, that in the Estuarine Fish-life of the Carboniferous System in Great Britain there are only two great chronological divisions, Upper and Lower. That is to say, keeping the true Upper Coal Measures out of view, for as yet, strange to say, we have no fish-remains from that series. Those from the "Transition" series of KIDSTON are ordinary Lower and Middle Coal Measure species; but it is, of course, very probable that, if we knew the fishes of the Upper Coal Measures, they might form a very different assemblage. A word as to the Millstone Grit. According to Mr KIDSTON, the plants of this division are entirely Upper Carboniferous in aspect.—What of the fishes ? I have already stated that I have seen no determinable fish-remains from the Millstone Grit series in Scotland, but Mr WELLBURN has recorded a number from this series in Yorkshire and Lancashire, wrhich, according to his determinations, are partly Lower Carboniferous marine species, partly Upper Carboniferous estuarine forms.# Judging from the latter, the evidence of the plants is corroborated, but the question also occurs to our minds, namely—Did the marine fish-fauna of the Carboniferous epoch change less rapidly than that of the estuaries and lagoons—or what was its condition after the latter had undergone so extensive a change as came in at least with the commencement of the Coal Measure period. We have as yet no answer to that question so far as Great Britain is concerned, though the marine Upper Carboniferous fish-remains of Miatschkowa, in Russia, are certainly different from those of the Carboniferous Limestone of other parts of Europe. * Geological Magazine (4), vol. viii., 1901, pp. 216-222. In this paper Mr WELLBURN enumerates nineteen forms, of which four—CLadodus mirabilis, Pristodus falcatus, Pcecilodus Jontsii, Urodus elongatus—ocoxw in the Lower Carbon- iferous marine beds; three—Acavtltod.es Wardi, Strapsodus sulcatus, Elonichthys Aitkeni—&Te Upper Carboniferous Estuarine species; one—Acrolepis Hophinsi—is common to both divisions of the system. Psephodus minutus and Euctenodopsis tennis are described as new, but the remaining nine are not determined specifically. • FlsH-c IN THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE EDINBURGH DISTRICT. 707 Eeverting to the Estuarine fishes of the Carboniferous strata of Britain, we have seen in the preceding pages how great is the difference between the species which occur below and above the Millstone Grit. Only two species e.'in with certainty be named as common to the two divisions, namely, C „ EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. PLATE I. General Section of the Carboniferous Strata of the Edinburgh District, drawn up by Dr Peach, F.R.S., of the Geological Survey of Scotland. PLATE II. General Section of the Carboniferous Limestone Series in the Midlothian Coalfield, by Messrs Geddes, Mining Engineers. Communicated to the Author by Mr H. M. Cadell of Grange. TRANS. ROY. SOC. EDIN., VOL. XL. PART III. (NO. 2*\ ft M Trans. Roy Soctdin* Vol. XL D* R. H. TRAQUAIR ON CARBONIFEROUS FISHES OF EDINBURGH DISTRICT.— PLATE I. Depth inTt. Red Sands /ones *f? Shales. Sands ton f.s, Shales, FirecLajys, Coals A'- Irorusto aes. 1180 it/ Sands ton e s, Fireclays &c. 3 1538 N?6 LIMESTONE, " LEVENSEAT" 1686 IM9 5 LIMESTONE, "CALMY'/ ARDEN"OR ' lUPPER LIMESTONE Sandstones, Shales, & thin Coeds. GROUP 2210 N?4 LIMESTONE, "iNDEX" cno. QC Sandstones, Shales, Fireclays, §« "EDGE" COALS Ul Cools Si Ironstones. N?3 UMES0NE\ 2932 N?2 LIMESTONE/ „ LOWER LIMESTONE COAL u ,ii T, GROUP 3084-1 N? I LIMESTONE, GILMERTON OR HURLET Sandstones & Shales Oil Shales COAL MCOAL "HOUSTON7 Sandstones, Shales & Oilshales Oil Shale "Fells11 U. Broocourn JMarZ. LJ- O Oil Shale ^Brox ozirn." UJ Binney Sandstone T77T.-.- ••,-• .——. 7 < § Oil Shale jDzinnet. •:••••:•••• N Sandstone & Fine Conalomjerate, CO Shales &c ^ OIL SHALE GROUP • : ;".;>•.•.•" 1 5120 .11 UP t. '' II 'II II U' B|. ' LIMESTONE, BURDIEHOUSE OR CAMPS. Sandstones & Shales. • •'•"• -". • " • •. -•••• 5820 Oil Shales IhimpherstonV Sandstone Sadies" Bar die' Shales. Sandstone CrajLoleith! Ji (ZrantonV Andesites Basalts ARTHURS SEAT Tuffs VOLCANIC GROUP Sandstones, Shales Jc ^Limestone JBascCLt Variegated Clays,2farIs, Shales & Sandstones frith hands CEMENTSTONE RED SANDSTONE CalcareozLS Sandstones CrawTnillar GROUP M GENERAL SECTION OF THE CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE SERIES IN THE MIDLOTHIAN COALFIELD. BASE OF MILLSTONE GRIT SERIES -LIMESTONE N? 6 LIMESTONE N?5 .WOOD COAL ..SOUTH PARROT COAL -LIMESTONE N? 4- .FLEX COAL /LOANHEAD & BURGHLEE IRONSTONE N° 2 \OR ROSL.IN PARROT COAL AT ROSLIN -GREAT SEAM .STAIRHEAD COAL .CHARLIES COAL & IRONSTONE N?3 .MOFFAT COAL -CILLESPIE COAL BLACK CHAPEL SEAM KITTLE PURSE COAL STINKIE COAL .ROUGH COAL -GLASS COAL .LOANHEAD IRONSTONE N? I BROWN'S COAL .STONY COAL HOPE'S COAL -BEATTIE'S COAL .CORBIE CRAIG COAL ..LITTLE SPLINT COAL .SOUTH COAL ..NORTH COAL .LIMESTONE N?3 -VEXHIM COAL ...COAL ...COAL LIMESTONE N? 2 ::GILMERTON IRONSTONE ---NORTH GREENS COAL LIMESTONE N? I TOPOFTHE CALCIFEROUS SANDST. SERIES.