. The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine . object. Sph&rodus gigas is a fossil fish,1 first described by Agassis, in1833, as belonging to the family of Pycnodontes (hump-toothedfishes), which are distinguished by the thick rounded form of theirteeth. These teeth were attached to the palate and lower jaw inparallel rows, and formed an apparatus well adapted for crushingthe small shell-fish on which Sphserodus lived. The teeth have been found in situ only in the Kimmeridge Clay,for though they occur in the Lower Green Sand at Seend, Wilts, (andin no other locality in the count
. The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine . object. Sph&rodus gigas is a fossil fish,1 first described by Agassis, in1833, as belonging to the family of Pycnodontes (hump-toothedfishes), which are distinguished by the thick rounded form of theirteeth. These teeth were attached to the palate and lower jaw inparallel rows, and formed an apparatus well adapted for crushingthe small shell-fish on which Sphserodus lived. The teeth have been found in situ only in the Kimmeridge Clay,for though they occur in the Lower Green Sand at Seend, Wilts, (andin no other locality in the county,) yet in this instance they haveevidently been washed out of the Kimmeridge Clay, during theformation of the Lower Green Sand. I have specimens from 1 It may possibly be of S. annularis, as the teeth of that species do not differmuch from the other. M. Agassis says, Comme ni le squelette ni les ecaillesde ce genre sont connu, il est souyent tres difficile de distinguer les Fossiles, p. 240. found in St. Johns Churchyard, Devizes. 251. the same stratum at Faringdon, where they have been depositedunder similar circumstances. Coated as they are with a brilliant natural enamel, these teethare really beautiful objects, and well suited for ornamental purposes. Their form is shownin the woodcut. Butbesides their natural beauty,a superstitious value was for-merly attached to them: in thedark ages, designing or ignorantpersons represented them to bejewels from the head of the Teeth of Sphacelus natural size. F°r many ageS it Was popularly believed that this animal was pos-sessed of a jewel which was engendered in its head, and hence arosethe name Crapaudine or Toadstone. It is hardly necessaryto say that no such stones ever existed in the toad. There is an allusion to this belief in the following passage fromAs you like it, Sweet are the uses of adversity,Which, like the toad, ngly and venomous,Wears yet a precious jewel in his head : it is however scarcely pr
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booki, booksubjectnaturalhistory
