The preserved portions on one block include nearly the entire tail and the posterior region of the body, and on the other block the dorsal region of the body and the anterior portion of the tail, so that the two specimens supplement each other in an interesting manner. There are impressions of several vertebræ preserved. They are much the same in character as Huxley has described for the type species (I. bradleyæ). They are short and thick and were probably amphicœlous. There are likewise preserved the remains of rather slender recurved ribs mingled in with the remains of the ventral scutellation and distinguished from the elements of the abdominal shield by their size and curvature. They are, apparently, single-headed, but the character of their articulation can not be determined. The ventral scutellation consists of fine continuous rods arranged in the regular chevron pattern. They do not seem to be divided into oat-shaped scutes, as is the case with the form described by Huxley. The ventral rods are closely packed for a distance of more than 6 inches, but as they are scattered their exact arrangement can not be determined. They seem to have extended to the cloacal region, but there are no evidences of the specialized clasping organs such as Fritsch ([251]) has described in the ventral scutellæ of Ophiderpeton. The scales, which are well preserved on the tail, may have covered the entire body, since there are many scattered scales in the dorsal region of one of the specimens. They are slightly oval, tuberculate, and measure scarcely 1 mm. in their longest diameter. They show but slight evidences of having been imbricated, though it is likewise possible that they were simply inclosed within the integument, and somewhat separated from one another. The most posterior part of the tail preserved seems to indicate that the tip was attenuated. It was probably flattened from side to side. We may thus regard Ichthyerpeton squamosum as an elongate aquatic animal with a long, flattened tail, and since there were possibly no limbs or very small ones, it would be an animal highly adapted for life in the water. The present species is of interest because it represents an additional discovery of the scaled Amphibia in North America. The species previously known from the Linton, Ohio, deposits is Cercariomorphus parvisquamis Cope. Dermal scales have also been observed in specimens of Amphibamus grandiceps Cope and Micrerpeton caudatum Moodie ([462], [478]) from the Mazon Creek, Illinois, beds, and Sir William Dawson ([208]) described scales accompanying several forms from the Joggins deposits of western Nova Scotia.
MOODIE
1. Mandible of Micrerpeton deani Moodie, from the Linton. Ohio, Coal Measures. Original in American Museum of Natural History, No. 2934. × 0.6.
2. Portion of the skull of Micrerpeton deani Moodie, possibly of the same individual as the mandible. From the Linton, Ohio, Coal Measures. Original in American Museum of Natural History, No. 3535 G. × 0.4.
3. Type of Cercariomorphus parvisquamis Cope, from the Linton, Ohio, Coal Measures. Original in American Museum of Natural History. × 1.
4. An additional specimen of Cercariomorphus parvisquamis Cope, from the Linton, Ohio, Coal Measures. Original in American Museum of Natural History. × 1.
5. Skull of Sauropleura scutellata Newberry. From the Coal Measures of Ohio. × 1.
6. Tooth of Mastodonsaurus sp. indet. of the Carboniferous of Kansas. Original in University of Kansas Museum. × 1.