Description of a new Species of Clupea ( C. vectensis ) from Oligocene Strata in the Isle of Wight

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Abstract
Mr. G. W. Colenutt, of Ryde, has recently been investigating the Oligocene strata of the northern parts of the Isle of Wight, and an account of his researches appeared in the August number of the ‘Geological Magazine’. Among the numerous fossils he has obtained from these deposits, none are more interesting than the small fishes which occur, apparently in some numbers, in a grey shaly clay belonging to the “Osborne Series,” at King's Quay and other localities. The best examples, which Mr. Colenutt kindly sent me for examination, vary in length from 20 to 60 millimetres. Most of them have the back concave and the mouth wide open, seeming to indicate that they died in a state of tetanus, probably due to asphyxiation, as their condition is very similar to that of fishes which have died from being kept in too small a quantity of water. Many of these fossil fishes are beautifully preserved, with the vertebral column, ribs, fins, and tail in their natural positions. The heads also are present, but unfortunately they are all more or less mutilated, so that the forms of the bones cannot be well deciphered. The large examples, of which there are tour well preserved (Pl. IV, figs. 1, 2, 3), measure from 43 to 58 millimetres in length. These vary somewhat in form, as will be seen from the examples figured; but this is probably due to pressure, as they seem to be precisely alike in other particulars. The single dorsal fin has

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