Notes on the Occurrence of Fossil Fish Remains in the Carboniferous Limestone Series of Yorkshire

Abstract

The fish remains of the Mountain Limestone of Yorkshire are not numerous, neither are they found in a great number of localities. If the great area of the western and northern portions of the county be taken into consideration, which are more or less occupied by the Mountain Limestone, extending from Clitheroe and Slaidburn, Thornton, Skipton, to Greenhow Hill in the south, to the limits of the county westwards and northwards, and that in all these localities, and very many others, the rock is exposed and excavated for commercial and agricultural purposes, in quarries of enormous extent, there can remain but one conclusion, that whilst these rocks are replete with fossil mollusca, corals and encrinites there appears to have been a most remarkable absence of fishes in the seas of that period. The non-discovery may be attributed to a want of interest in this branch of palaeontology, on the part of collectors, who may perhaps have been more deeply interested in the collection of the beautiful and perfectly preserved specimens of fossil brachiopods, corals and others which abound in many localities, largely quarried, whilst the less known and infinitely rarer remains of fishes have been neglected. Notwithstanding this disadvantage there seems to be little doubt that the absolute sterility of most localities must be attributed to the absence of fossil remains rather that than the need of collectors, and we are driven to the conclusion that, only in few localities and on special horizons have fishes been preserved in a ...