ng ichthyologists, however,
misled by a series of specimens much less complete than mine, differed
from me in my conclusions; and what I had represented as the creature's
under or abdominal side, he represented as its upper or dorsal side;
while its actual upper side he regarded as belonging to another, though
closely allied, genus. I had no opportunity, as he resided on the
Continent at the time, of submitting to him the specimens on which I had
founded; though, at once certain of his thorough candor and love of
truth, and of the solidity of my data, I felt confident that, in order
to alter his decision, it was but necessary that I should submit to him
my evidence. Meanwhile, however, the case was regarded as settled
against me; and I found at least one popular and very ingenious writer
on geology, after referring to my description of the Pterichthys, going
on to say that, though graphic, it was not correct, and that he himself
could describe it at least more truthfully, if not more vividly, than I
had done. And then there followed a description identical with that by
which mine had been supplanted. Five years had passed, when one day our
greatest British authority on fossil fishes, Sir Philip Egerton, was
struck, when passing an hour among the ichthyic organisms of his
princely collection, by the appearance presented by a central plate in
the cuirass of the Pterichthys. It is of a lozenge form, and, occupying
exactly such a place in the nether armature of the creature as that
occupied by the lozenge shaped spot on the ace of diamonds, it comes in
contact with four other plates that lie around it, and represent, so to
speak, the white portions of the card. And Sir Philip now found, that
instead of lying over, it lay under, the four contiguous plates: they
overlapped it, instead of being overlapped by it. This, he at once said,
on ascertaining the fact, cannot be the _upper_ side of the Pterichthys.
A plate so arranged would have formed no proper protection to the
exposed dorsal surface of the creature's body, as a slight blow would
have at once sent it in upon the interior framework; but a proper enough
one to the under side of a heavy swimmer, that, like the flat fishes,
kept close to the bottom;--a character which, as shown by the massive
bulk of its body, and its small spread of fin, must have belonged to the
Pterichthys. Sir Philip followed up his observations on the central
plate by a minute examination of the other