| Popis: |
Fragments of the fossil above described were found last summer in the roof of the Black-Bed or Royd9s Coal, at Toftshaw, near Bradford. Much difficulty was experienced in extricating the remains uninjured, for the coal beneath had yet to be worked. The greater portion was ultimately removed in a fair state of preservation, owing to the persevering attention of William Firth, a miner whose zeal was stimulated by some knowledge of geology and in particular of coal fossils. The shale which forms the roof of the Black-Bed Coal has long been known to collectors as a repository of interesting and well-preserved fish-remains. The Black-Bed Coal is in the middle division of the Yorkshire Coal-field, lying about 40 yards above the Better-Bed Coal, and separated by about 220 yards from the Halifax Coals, which are the lowest workable seams. The exact horizon of important fossils is, perhaps, worth noting, though within the Coal-measures no true vertical limits of species are known to exist. Judging from a cursory survey of several public and private collections, I am inclined to think that the remains of various interesting Carboniferous Batrachians are still unrecognized as such, and taken by their possessors for parts of fishes. When we are in a position to make a correct estimate, it will probably be found that the Batrachia of the Coal-measures are not only specifically numerous but individually abundant. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI. Fig. 1. Part of the upper jaw with teeth of Pholiderpeton scutigerum . Fig. 2, 3, 4 |
