Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 288 of a liquid fire ; the waves being crusted with luminousness, and the appearance altogether grand and imposing. THE EVENING MEETING. Earl FiTzwiLLiAM having resumed the Chair, The Rev. Dr. SCORESBY described at some length one or two interesting communications which he had made at the recent meeting of the British Association at Cambridge, embracing that by Mr. Hunt " On the Changes produced by the Solar Rays ;" and another by Mons. Couloier Gravier, " Observations on Falling or Shooting Stars at Rheiras and Paris," who had ascertained that in the Northern quarter there were, on an average, 74 per day; in the Eastern quarter, 114; in the Southern quarter, 63; and in the Western quarter, 33. He found that the time for the greatest number was six in the morning, and the fewest at six in the evening. The greatest number was on the 9th of November, and the next greatest number was on the 8th and 9th of August. The number of 5,202 shooting stars had been perceived in 1,054 hours, an average of five in an hour. The result of his calculation was, that about six millions of these shooting stars were occurring annually within sight of the observer. The Doctor lastly described a large magnetic machine of his own construction, with some results of its action. Mr. DENNY then read the following paper :— ON THE FOSSIL ANIMAL EXUVI^ OF THE YORKSHIRE COAL FIELD. BY HENRY DENNY, A.L.S., ETC., OF LEEDS. As every attempt, however slight, to illustrate or investigate the Geology or Zoology of any particular district cannot fail to be of some service to science, I venture to submit to the Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 289 Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West-Riding, a brief sketch of the Fossil Animal ExuvicB of the Yorkshire Coal Field. That the list which will be submitted to you is imperfect I feel fully persuaded, from my not having had the opportunity of ascertaining what the different collections in the neighbourhood contain. But it occurred to me, that if some individual prepared the skeleton of a catalogue, it might be amplified and rendered more complete by those whose information was more extensive, and thus form a synopsis worthy of the attention of a Society whose particular province it is to collect, collate, and register facts especially connected with the local Geology and History of the West Riding of Yorkshire, that being the kind of information which practical Geologists will naturally expect them as a body to supply; for it is by recording observations though in themselves apparently unimportant, that materials are furnished for more extended and valuable investigations. The Coal Field, whose relics we have to consider, extends in length, as is pretty generally known, from Moor AUerton, North of Leeds, to Sheffield, and is there further extended into the adjoining counties of Derbyshire and Nottingham­ shire ; its greatest breadth, I believe, is between Halifax and Pontefract, about 20 miles. Throughout this extent of country, there are several distinct Coal seams or beds, which are designated by the name of the locality in which they are principally worked. Thus, the lowest is that worked at Halifax and neighbourhood, at the depth of above 200 yards, which extends to Idle, Rawden, Kirkstall, and Moor Allerton, where it crops out at only a few inches in thickness, and is of no use as Coal, or worth working. This seam, above all the others, is peculiarly characterised by some organic remains, which we shall have shortly to allude to. The next in importance above it is the Low Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 290 Moor coal, or that worked at Low Moor, Bowling, and Bradford; above this bed is another worked also at Low Moor and Royds, called the black bed. The next in order is the Beeston Coal; next follows the very valuable Coal seams worked at Middleton, Rothwell Haigh, Waterloo, and Wakefield Outwood Collieries, which are succeeded by those of Lofthouse, &c. With the identity or not of some of these seams, I have nothing to do; I only allude to the most generally recognized Coal beds, as the source from whence fossils have been received. This part of the Carboniferous system is distinguished from all the other formations by the much greater abundance and elegance of its fossil plants, which is only what we should, cL prioriy expect, knowing as we do that this valuable deposit owes its existence to vast accumulations of vegetable matter. The plants, therefore, have been long known and acknow­ ledged, though not until very lately accurately identified and classed. But the remains of the higher divisions of the animal kingdom were not even supposed to occur at all. Mr. Conybeare, indeed, in his valuable " Geology of England and Wales" says, " The remains derived from the animal kingdom are very rare, and entirely confined to a few species of Testacea, excepting that in one instance a fragment supposed to have been part of the radius of a Ballistes has been found." That this opinion was un­ founded, I need scarcely say, when our own district furnishes such abundant evidence to the contrary. Nay, I believe I may assert, without fear of contradiction, that the West Riding produced the Jirst well authenticated specimens of Icbthyological Exuvise, from the Coal forma­ tion, in the justly celebrated Heads of Megalichthys, from the Low Moor and Waterloo Collieries, drawings of which were sent to Cuvier, in 1823, for his opinion as to their Reptilian or Fish nature. Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 291 That the enumeration of Animal Exuviae, which will be submitted to you, is meagre, I cannot deny; but from what has just been stated, I presume every one will be prepared to expect this:—that is, as compared with the earlier and subsequent formations. This is more especially the case, however, with the Invertebrate tribes. No Zoophytes, no Crustacea, (with a solitary exception), no Echinodermata, and only a few Molluscous Animals and Conchifera. This paucity, however, is easily accounted for, if we consider Coal as a fresh-water deposit in the first instance, in which we must all be well aware the number of Molluscous Animals and Crustaceans, whether in rivers, lakes, or ponds, is very small, when compared with the countless myriads and variety of forms which people the ocean; and add to which, the total exclusion of Zoophytes, Echinoderms, Acalephae, and Tunicata, &c. Reasoning, then, upon such premises, only a very limited proportion of the former inhabitants of such localities can be expected to occur in the Coal strata. For instance, of the Brachiopodous Conchifera, six hundred fossil species are known in the older rocks. In the Coal strata, we have only one or two at most. How is this to be accounted for ? They are all marine. As we find the quality of Coal varies in different parts of the kingdom, so also do we find varieties in the fossil remains, which is a point of great interest. I am not aware that examples of the fossil Flora have ever been found associated with the exuviaj of Vertebrate animals; with Invertebrate, they are occasionally. These facts, if duly investigated, may probably throw some important light upon the Afferent circumstances under which the various Coal seams were deposited. Were any Vegetable relics ever found in the cannel or stone Coal ? I believe not. While, on the other hand, the remains of our largest fishes are there the most abundant The Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 292 Ichthyolites are generally in a highly bituminous shale, sometimes forming the roof, and at other times the floor, of the Coal seam; while the fossil plants occur in the argillaceous shales and sandstones, which occupy the same situation, but appear destitute of the. former substance. Can the presence of bituminous matter in the one instance, and its absence in the other, be owing in any degree to the decomposition of animal substances ? which has been conjectured by some writers as affording a probable ex­ planation of the difference which they present in miner- alogical analysis. The different seams of Coal, even in the same pit, will not always yield the same remains. At Middleton, there are three seams, known as the Fish Coal, Yard Coal, and Main Coal. In the roofing shale of each of these seams fish remains occur, but in the first more especially; hence the colliers have designated it the Fish Coal, and Mr. Teale the Ichthyophorous shale. In the Main Coal shale, we find a much smaller number of fish exuvise, but they are of a peculiar character and of greater magnitude, such as large vertebrae and dorsal rays or spines, &c., of shark­ like fishes; while the Yard Coal is still more deficient, and contains only a few small teeth of Holoptychius and Ctenop- tychius. " The manner," observes Mr, Williamson, " in which Ichthyolites are associated with other remains in different localities is well worthy of attention. At Burdiehouse, they occur in the midst of Unios, Cyprides, and Micro- conchus Carbonarius; at Colebrook Dale, with species of Orbicula, Trochus, Nautilus, Orthoceras, and Conuiaria; in the Lower Measures of Lancashire, in beds nearly associated with those, containing Goniatites Listeri, and Pecten Papyraceus; in the Higher Measures of Lanca­ shire and in Yorkshire, with Unionidge and Entomostraca; Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 29, 2021 29S at Middleton, with Lingulae; at the top of the series in Lancashire and Derbyshire, with Mytili." The highest class of vertebrate animals whose remains are found in the Coal Measures, is that of Fishes.