. A brief general account of fossil fishes : the Triassic fishes of New Jersey. Fishes, Fossil; Paleontology. 42 ANNUAL REPORT OF. Fig. 4. Coccosteus decipiens Ag. Lower Old Red Sandstone; Scotland. Lateral aspect, restored by Dr. R. H. Traquair. X JA- hugest of all Palaeozoic fishes, Dinichthys and Titanichthys, which occur in the uppermost Devonian of Ohio and neighboring States. The length of these creatures has been estimated at upwards of fifteen or twenty feet, and the solidity of their armor- plating has never been surpassed amongst fishes. Over the back and head the bones were in place
. A brief general account of fossil fishes : the Triassic fishes of New Jersey. Fishes, Fossil; Paleontology. 42 ANNUAL REPORT OF. Fig. 4. Coccosteus decipiens Ag. Lower Old Red Sandstone; Scotland. Lateral aspect, restored by Dr. R. H. Traquair. X JA- hugest of all Palaeozoic fishes, Dinichthys and Titanichthys, which occur in the uppermost Devonian of Ohio and neighboring States. The length of these creatures has been estimated at upwards of fifteen or twenty feet, and the solidity of their armor- plating has never been surpassed amongst fishes. Over the back and head the bones were in places fully three inches thick, and exceedingly dense, though in smaller forms, of course, the arm- oring was lighter. Equally effective was their dental armature, Dinichthys having in the upper jaw a pair of beak-like incisors, behind which were formidable shear-teeth; and in the lower jaw a large and exceedingly powerful dental plate, likewise provided with a beak-like projection in front. It is evident that these creatures could not have been very mobile, owing to their cum- bersome armor and lateral expanse of body, Titanichthys having a total width of about six feet; and it is further obvious from the character of sediments that they frequented the mouths of shallow estuaries, where they maintained probably a not very active existence. The characters already enumerated, such as the peculiar dermal plating, cartilaginous axis, and non-articulation of the lower jaw with the cranium, separate Arthrodires widely from modern bony fishes. Considerable numbers of these armored creatures nourished throughout the Devonian, but became extinct at the close of that period without leaving any descendants. It is worth while to take note, in passing, of these and similar instances of extinction, which have in times past affected not only species and genera, but entire groups of organisms, sometimes without any discernible cause! N01 doubt in the majority of cases large groups become crowded
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