Search the Community

Lit.: Cater, J., Briggs D. & Clarkson E. (1989): Shrimp-bearing sedimentary successions in the Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) Cementstone and Oil Shale Groups of northern Britain. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. Issue 1, 1989, p. 5-15 Schram, F. (1979): British Carboniferous Malacostraca. Fieldiana, 1979, Vol 40, p. 1-129 Volume 16: Fossil Fishes of Great Britain, Chapter 9: British Carboniferous fossil fishes sites Site: CHEESE BAY (GCR ID: 2916) Clark, N.D.L. (2013) Tealliocaris: a decapod crustacean from the Carboniferous of Scotland. Palaeodiversity 6:107-133 Jones, W. et al.(2016) The Proof is in the Pouch: Tealliocaris is a Peracarid. Palaeodiversity 9(1):75-88. 2016 https://doi.org/10.18476/pale.v9.a5

Life reconstruction of Lasanius problematicus, from Wikipedia Commons, own work of Nobu Tamura. References: Brugghen, van der G. (2010). New observations on the Silurian anaspid Lasanius problematicus Traquair. FossilQuarry Articles No.1. www.fossilquarry.org, May 2010. Lasanius problematicus.pdf Volume 16: Fossil Fishes of Great Britain Chapter 2: Silurian fossil fishes sites of Scotland Site: BIRKENHEAD BURN (GCR ID: 394) Fossils from Lesmahagow

Originally described as Thelodus scoticus Traquair, 1898. Taxonomy from Märss & Ritchie 1997. Revised diagnosis from Märss & Ritchie 1997, p. 150: "Scales medium-sized (up to 0-6 mm long), made up of crown, neck and base. Rostral scales not distinct. Crowns of cephalo-pectoral scales are rounded to rhomboidal with notches around the crown margin or only anteriorly; postpectoral and precaudal scales rhomboidal becoming more elongated posteriorly, median crown plate flat, smooth or with a notch anteriorly which becomes a furrow on the posteriorly situated scales. Beneath the median plate, the longitudinal ridges on the postero-lateral portions of the crown converge in the posterior crown apex. There are two types of pinnal scales. The scale crowns of the leading edges of all fins are flat, smooth and with two notches antero-laterally. The scales of the trailing edges of lateral and caudal fins are cuneiform. Neck of the scales is as a shallow groove, base rhomboidal with moderate spur anteriorly." Traquair's original reconstruction in dorsal view: Identified by oilshale. References: Traquair, R. H. (1898) Report on fossil fishes. Summary of Progress of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom for 1897, 72-6. Volume 16: Fossil Fishes of Great Britain. Chapter 2: Silurian fossil fishes sites of Scotland. Site: BIRK KNOWES (GCR ID: 359). Žigaite· Ž. & Goujet D. (2012) New observations on the squamation patterns of articulated specimens of Loganellia scotica (Traquair, 1898) (Vertebrata: Thelodonti) from the Lower Silurian of Scotland. Geodiversitas 34 (2): 253-270. Märss, T., & Ritchie, A. (1997) Articulated thelodonts (Agnatha) of Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 88(03), 143–195. doi:10.1017/s026359330000691x

Many important collections of Silurian arthropods and vertebrates have been made near Lesmahagow since the mid to late 1800's. The Lesmahagow Inlier is a block of Silurian sediments surrounded by sediments of Carboniferous age. The inlier consists of shales and sandstones with occasional pebble conglomerates of a lagoon or lake. This fish is from Slot Burn SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), now off-limits to all collecting due to overzealous collecting. Taxonomy from Blom et al. 2002. Diagnosis for Birkenia elegans from Blom et. al 2002, p. 277: "Small species of Birkenia, up to 10 cm long, with double-headed mid-dorsal spine; dorso-lateral scales inclined to the anterior anteriorly and to the posterior posteriorly; whole body covered with similar, regular granular to finely tuberculate sculpture; mid-part of lateral scales, double- headed dorsal spine and scales on anal fin, showing regular dorso-ventral arrangement of sculpture; lateral scales towards articulation sockets show similar regular but not linearly arranged sculpture as do all ventral and dorsal plates, and rostral and pineal plates of the head; sculpture in anterior- posterior arrangement on pineal plates and postbranchial spine." The Anaspida were small marine agnathans (Greek, "no jaws") that lacked paired fins and often scales. They first appeared in the early Silurian and flourished until the late Devonian. Birkenia was a derived form of anapsid that grew to a maximum length of about 10cm. The Anaspids were simple dorso-laterally compressed fish that probably led a bottom-dwelling existence. It was adapted for active swimming and had a sucking mouth that was terminal rather than ventral. Birkenia has a characteristic row of anterior and posterior pointing dorsal scales. The gills opened as a row of holes along the side of the animal, typically numbering from 6-15. The tail is hypocercal which means that the lower lob is the longest. Traquair reconstructed Birkenia upside down because he never met this condition in a fish before. Line drawing from Stetson 1928, p. 468: Identified by oilshale. References: D.L. Dineley: British fossil fish and amphibian sites, Chapter 1 GRC site account Slot Burn GRC site account Birk Knowes GRC site account Birkenhead Burn Stetson, Henry C. (1928) A Restoration of the Anaspid Birkenia elegans Traquair. The Journal of Geology, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 458-470. Blom, H., Märss, T. and Miller, C. G. (2002) Silurian and earliest Devonian birkeniid anaspids from the Northern Hemisphere. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 92, 263-323, (for 2001). Blom, Henning. "New birkeniid anaspid from the Lower Devonian of Scotland and its phylogenetic implications." Palaeontology 55.3 (2012): 641-652.

References: Volume 16: Fossil Fishes of Great Britain. Chapter 6: Mid-Devonian fossil fishes sites of Scotland. Site: JOHN O'GROATS, CAITHNESS (GCR ID: 353) Long, J.: Origins of copulation - ancient Scottish fishes did it sideways, square-dance style.