ROOM I.

FOSSIL PLANTS.-The upper part of Case 1 contains Vegetable impressions called "Fucoids," from their resemblance to Sea-weeds (Fuci). They are found in rocks of all ages, and are almost the only Fossils met with in the very oldest strata. The lower part of the same case contains plants with small whirls of leaves (Asterophyllites), from the Coal-shale.

Case 2. The upper part contains Coal-plants, called Calamites, with jointed stems and leaves in whirls, resembling the recent "Mare'stail" (Equisetum), in appearance; the plants called Vertebraria, from the Indian Coal-field of Burdwan, and those termed Glossopteris, from the Coal-beds of New South Wales. This Case also contains some fern-like plants (Sphenopteris), from the English Coal.

Case 3 contains principally British Coal-plants. Those of the upper part, called Lepidodendrons, from their scaly bark, resembling the recent Club-mosses (Lycopodiacea); but they attained the size of forest-trees. Examples of the foliage and fruit of these plants, contained in nodules of clay-ironstone, are placed in the next Case. The lower part of Case 3 is filled with Fossil Ferns, obtained from the shales overlying beds of Coal.

Case 4. In the upper part are arranged portions of the trunks of Fossil-trees, with regular furrows and impressions, called Sigillariæ. They are found in great numbers in most coal-fields, frequently retaining the erect position in which they grew.

The ex

The Fossils named Stigmaria, in Case 5, are the roots of the Sigillaria. They occur in the fire-clay, beneath seams of coal. ample over the Gallery Door originally measured 26 feet in length.

The lower part of Case 4 contains, 1. Fossil Plants of the KentishRag and Wealden strata, including a plant related to the Dragon-tree of Teneriffe; Dracana Benstedi, from the Iguanodon Quarry at Maidstone. 2. Silicified stems of Palms from the West Indies. 3. Palmleaves and palm-like Fruits (Nipadites), from Brabant, the wood of which was bored by a species of ship-worm (Teredina) now extinct.

Over Case 5 are placed the silicified stems of Mantellia, plants related to the recent Cycas, and called "petrified crows' nests" by the Portland quarrymen. Leaves of similar plants may be seen in the Case below. Some of the Fir-cones in this case are from the cliffs on the coast of Norfolk, and belonged to the Spruce Fir, a species which had become extinct in Britain, and has been reintroduced in modern times.

The small Table Case under the window contains leaves of Dicotyledonous Plants, from the Tertiary Limestone of Eningen.

The slabs of Sandstone on the North Wall of this Room, with the tracks of an unknown animal, called Chirotherium, are, that on the left, from the quarries of Hildburghausen, in Saxony; and that in the centre, from Stouton Hill quarry, near Liverpool (the latter presented by J. Tomkinson, Esq.). On the right hand are placed slabs

also supposed to be of the New Red Sandstone formation, with equally remarkable impressions of various dimensions, called Ornithichnites, being regarded as the foot-marks of birds. They occur in the Sandstone beds near Greenfield, Massachusetts, at Turner's Falls, in the Connecticut River.

ROOM II.

The classification of the Fossil Fishes, arranged in this room, is chiefly in accordance with that proposed by M. Agassiz, in his great work, entitled “ Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles," with some modifications founded upon the later systems proposed by Professors Müller and Owen. The series commences with the Placoid Fishes, or those of the Shark and Ray tribes, in which the skin is protected by rounded (often star-shaped) and very hard scales, having frequently a raised point, and sometimes a thorn-like prickle in the centre, as may be seen in the scales of the Thornback and some other fishes of the Skate tribe. The upper division of the tail is prolonged beyond the lower lobe, and is supported by a continuation of the vertebral column-a form of tail which is termed Heterocercal, and which is most commonly found in all the orders of fishes of the middle and older Geological formations; but which (if we except the Sharks and Rays) is rarely met with in the existing species of fishes, in which the homocercal" tail, or that with the two lobes equal, prevails.

The skeleton of the Placoids being more or less gristly, and in the same degree perishable and incapable of fossilization, the remains of those fishes consist chiefly of the defensive spines, scales, and teeth; these objects, being mostly of small size, will be found in the Cases under the windows, and in Case 7 at the end of the room.

The Fishes called Ganoids have derived their name, and the character of their order, from the lustre of their very hard, enamelled scales; and it is by these parts that they are chiefly represented in the fossil state. The most common form of scale in this order is the rhomboidal, but the pattern of the external markings varies in almost every species.

GANOID FISHES range from the newest Silurian strata upwards; are most abundant in the lower Oolitic formations, diminish in the cretaceous beds, and are reduced to very few genera existing at the present time.

The order is commenced in Wall Case No. 1, by the Cephalaspides, a family peculiar to the Devonian period. The species of which it is composed were fishes in which the body was protected by large bony plates, was convex above, and flat beneath; the pectoral fins were represented by large bony appendages, situated close behind the head; and the tail was tolerably long, tapering, and furnished with small scales. The second family of the order, the Calacanthi, so called from the spines of their fins being hollow, occupy the compartments 3 to 5 of the same Wall Case. In the 6th compartment are arranged the Dipterines, the third family, including fishes of the Old Red Sand

stone and Coal formations, having the body protected by rhomboidal scales, and provided with two back fins, as well as two anal fins. The specimens exhibited are chiefly from Scotland.

The fourth family, the Sauroids (see compartments 7 to 11), contains fishes which exhibit both the uneven-lobed and the even-lobed structure of tail, and is divided accordingly into two minor groups: the Sauroids have conical teeth mixed with minute prickly teeth. The scales vary considerably in form. This family presents living examples in the Bony Pikes (Lepidosteus) of the rivers and lakes of North America, and in the Bichirs (Polypterus) of the Nile. The Sauroid family is represented by numerous extinct species ranging through nearly all geological strata down to the Devonian.

The Ganoid family called "Lepidoids" (see compartments 12 to 19) have the same rhomboidal scales as the Bony Pikes, but in general form they are shorter and have a greater vertical diameter; the teeth are of one kind only, and of a more or less conical form.

The last family of the fishes with ganoid scales is the Pycnodonts, of which all the principal genera will be found in compartments 20 and 21. Like the members of the preceding group, these fishes have a short, high, and compressed form. Their teeth are usually large, rounded, and with low crowns admirably fitted for crushing shell-fish. Many of the species are from the Jurassic (or Oolitic) rocks; some are from the Chalk, and a few extend into the Tertiary formations, but there are no known living species.

In the preceding two great divisions of Fishes many of the families of which they are composed are extinct, and a very large proportion of the species is confined to the geological strata beneath the Chalk, whilst those which now come under consideration belong entirely to the Chalk and Tertiary formations, and the families have living representatives. They form two important sections-the Ctenoids and the Cycloids. The Ctenoids, which are distinguished by their scales being serrated, or finely notched at the free edge, are arranged in compartments 22 to 26: the common Perch is a good example of this group. The Cycloids occupy the compartments 27 to 36. scales have the edges smooth. The Fishes of the Mackerel tribe (Scomberida), of the Carp tribe (Cyprinide), of the Pikes (Esocida), and the Herrings (Clupeide), may be noticed as forming the more important families of this division.

ROOM III.

Their

Excepting the two Cases 7 and 11, the whole of the Wall Cases in this room are devoted to Reptilian remains; and amongst them may be first noticed the Dinosauria, which group contains the largest terrestrial species, such as the Iguanodon and Megalosaurus. In the Middle Case (No. 9), on the north side of the room, are arranged the remains of the gigantic Iguanodon: firstly, and in the centre, the large slab of Kentish rag from Mr. Bensted's quarry near Maidstone, containing a great portion of the skeleton of a young individual; to

the right of this will be found portions of the skull and lower jaw, and the teeth of different specimens of the same species; and to the left, extending to Case 8, are nearly all the more characteristic parts of the skeletons of various Iguanodons, chiefly from the Wealden formation at Tilgate, and in the Isle of Wight. These specimens are mostly from the collection of the late Dr. Mantell. The remainder of the Case to the left (No. 8) is occupied by the remains of other gigantic reptiles from the Wealden and upper Oolitic formations, including the Megalosaurus and Cetiosaurus. On the right of the centre (Case No. 10) are the Crocodilian remains; among the specimens may be noticed the slender-snouted Crocodilians, in which the vertebræ are bi-concave, including the Teleosaurus Chapmanni, from the Lias of Whitby, and other Teleosauri from the Lias and Oolites of Germany and France. On the lower shelves will be found the remains of the Hylæosaurus, including the large block from Tilgate Forest, discovered by Dr. Mantell, which contains a considerable series of vertebræ, dermal spines, and other parts of this singular reptile. Among the Crocodilians with the ordinary form of vertebræ, the body, or central part, being concave in front and convex behind, attention may be directed to the skull of the Crocodilus Toliapicus, mentioned by Cuvier as the "Crocodile de Sheppey," and a smaller Crocodile skull, which, like the last, is from the London Clay of Sheppey, and received the name of Crocodilus Spenceri from Dr. Buckland. The most gigantic Crocodilian remains hitherto found are those from the Siwalik Hills, which are here arranged in the three divisions at the right hand of the Case; they include both examples of the true Crocodiles, and of the long and slender-snouted Gavials.

The Reptilian series is here interrupted by a collection of Bird remains, which occupy the Wall Case No. 11 at the end of the room. They are from New Zealand, and were found in a deposit which there are good grounds for regarding as of very recent origin. Part of the series was collected by Mr. Percy Earl, in the Middle Island, and the remainder by Mr. Walter Mantell in the North Island. These Bird remains are referred by Professor Owen to several species, and, indeed, to distinct genera of Birds, some of which are still living in New Zealand, whilst others are, most probably, extinct. Amongst the living species may be noticed the Notornis Mantelli, a very large species of the Rail family. The first indication of this bird was given by some fragments of the skull found with remains of other birds, in superficial deposits of New Zealand, by Mr. W. Mantell. The living bird was subsequently discovered by Mr. Mantell in the middle island of New Zealand, and the specimen which he obtained is deposited in the Museum.* The greater portion of the bones, as determined by Professor Owen, belongs to a genus of birds to which the Professor has applied the name Dinornis: the birds of this genus were wingless, of large size, and some of gigantic proportions. The Dinornis giganteus (of which there are numerous parts of the skeleton in the collection)

* It will be found in the Bird Gallery.-See Case No. 133.

must have been from ten to eleven feet in height. In the D. elephantopus the bones of the legs are as thick as those of the D. giganteus; but they are much shorter. Two legs of this last-mentioned bird, and an entire skeleton of the D. elephantopus, will be found, set up, in Room No. VI.

To return to the Reptilian remains. The series is continued in the Wall Case 1, where, in a large slab of Purbeck stone, from Swanage, is imbedded a considerable portion of the skeleton of the Swanage Crocodile," Goniopholis crassidens. In the corner Case are portions of the skull, lower jaw, &c., of a gigantic Reptile, allied to the Lizards; it is from the upper chalk formation at Maestricht. The most instructive illustration of this Reptile is the cast of a nearly entire skull, presented by Baron Cuvier, who published a detailed account of the animal in his great work on Fossil Remains, adopting for it the name Mosasaurus (Crocodile of the Meuse), proposed by Conybeare.

In Case 2 will be found the remains of the large and very remarkable Reptile, called Dicynodon, discovered in South Africa by Mr. A. G. Bain. The animal is especially remarkable, inasmuch as, although it belongs to the Lizard tribe, it possessed but two teeth, and these in the form of large tusks, descending nearly vertically from the upper jaw. Here also are deposited the Pterodactyles, or Flying Lizards; and, at the end of the Case, various bones of the skeleton and parts of the shell of the enormous Tortoise from India, of which a restored model will be found in the Lobby to Room No. I.

In Case 3 are the remainder of the Fossil Tortoises and Turtles; and in Cases 4, 5, and 6, commences the series of the large Sea-reptiles (ENALIOSAURIA). They present two well-marked modifications of structure-the Plesiosauri, in which the neck is long and the head small, and which are arranged in this room; and the Ichthyosauri, in which the head is large, and joined to the body by a very short neck; they will be found in the next room.

The Wall Case No. 7, at the end of the room, contains Mammalian remains of the Ruminant tribe-animals allied to the Ox, Sheep, &c.

ROOM IV.

Here the series of Reptilian remains is continued, by the Sea-reptiles already alluded to in the account of the preceding room, the Ichthyosauri occupying the Wall Cases 1-5; and in the Wall Cases at the end of the room is continued the suite of Mammalian remains belonging to the order Ruminantia.

ROOM V.

Here the Wall Cases are occupied by Mammalian remains. Those to the left of the Entrance Doorway chiefly contain the Quadruped remains found in the caverns of England, Germany, and France, including a series of the Fossil species of Bears, Hyænas, &c. To the right of the Doorway are arranged the Mammalian remains of the lower tertiary period-they are chiefly from France. The Wall Cases