On a new species of Amblypterus and other fossil fish remains from Pitcorthie, Fife

Abstract

Since the commencement of the paraffine works at East Pitcorthie, near Crail, a considerable number of fragments, chiefly of fossil fishes and plants, have been met with in the shale and ironstone beds, the former, unfortunately, seldom in a good state of preservation. Some of these remains, however, are of considerable palaeontological interest and value, both as illustrative of the structure of the ancient fauna and perhaps flora of the carboniferous world, and of the wide distribution of some of the then leading forms which held sway in it. Some of these may be noticed on a future occasion. As I propose in this paper to confine my remarks more particularly to one genus, it will perhaps suffice at present to give a list of the more prominent examples obtained, and leave the fuller consideration of their structure and affinity to another opportunity, when I trust to be able to describe a few of them at least more fully than I can afford to do at this time. Of the remains of fishes procured, those of Eurynotus are the most common, there are also scales and teeth of Rhizodus, pieces of Gyrolepis, specimens of Acrodus, Ctenacanthus, Centrodus, Helodus, Diplodus, Tristychius, Palaeoniscus, Amblypterus, and some other forms not yet determined, some of which may eventually prove to be Reptilian. Impressions of plants belonging to different genera are plentiful in some of the beds, of these Lepidodendron is the most numerous, more especially the small stems or branches of that genus, and