On a Fossil imbedded in a mass of Pictou Coal, from Nova Scotia

Abstract

T he fossil imbedded in the mass of Pictou Coal, from Nova Scotia, submitted to my inspection by the President of the Geological Society, consists of the anterior extremity of the cranium and upper jaw, with the exterior of the bone imbedded in the matrix, and its substance, for the most part, reduced to a thin layer by abrasion of the exposed inner surface (see Plate IX.). It displays accurately the contour of the fore-part of the upper jaw, which was broad, obtuse, and rounded : and some portions of the bone, with the inner surface entire, prove this part of the cranium to have been broad, flat, and of very little depth or vertical diameter. The parts preserved include the premaxillaries, 22, nasals, 15, and portions of the frontal, 11, prefrontal, 14, and maxillary, 21, bones, the proportions and connexions of which best agree with those in the skull of the Capitosaurus ,—a Labyrinthodont Batrachian, from the Bunter sandstone of Bernburg. The premaxillaries, which show some obscure traces of a symphysial suture at the median line, anterior to the nasal or naso-palatine vacuities, extend outwards, on each side, for an extent of 2½ inches, and there join the maxillaries. Traces of round alveoli for teeth, some of which are 2 lines in diameter, are visible on the alveolar border of the premaxillaries. The alveolar border is continued, by the maxillary bone, for an extent of 4½ inches beyond the premaxillaries ; and this border shows still more distinct traces of aveoli