Transactions Volume 24, Part 8

Transactions by Thomas Henry Huxley and E. Percival Wright. This paper, published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy (Volume XXIV, Science, Part VIII), describes fossil vertebrates from the Jarrow Colliery in County Kilkenny, Ireland, within the Leinster Coal District. The authors discuss the Coal Measures and their stratigraphic setting, noting that the coal seams and associated shales preserve plant and vertebrate remains, including numerous Labyrinthodont amphibians. The work reports a systematic collection of fossils discovered during renewed excavations begun after 1865, with emphasis on reptile-like amphibians from the Carboniferous coalfield. Seven new genera and species of labyrinthodont amphibians are described, illustrated in plates, and named: Keraterpeton, Urocordylus, Lepterpeton, Ophiderpeton, Dolichosoma, Ichthyopteron, and Erpetocephalus rugosus, along with detailed descriptions of skulls, vertebrae, ribs, and dermal armor. The paper also notes the preservation of fish remains, and situates these findings within broader paleontological and geological contexts of Ireland’s coal district. The work exemplifies careful osteological description, plate illustration, and taxonomic classification in carboniferous vertebrate paleontology.