The morning call., 1892-08-14
PREHISTORIC FISHES.
Creatures Clad In Amor Dug Out OF
Rocks I'm Colorado.


Washington star.
A collection of the oldest fishes OF the
world is now being prepared for exhibition
at the National Museum, Washington. They
were dug out of the rocks recently at Can
yon City, Colo. Great scientific interest has
been aroused By the discovery, because they
are at least 100000 years more ancient than
any creatures with baekbones ever found
before. They come from the sedimentary
deposits laid down by water in the distant
epoch called the siluriaD. No vertebrate
animals had been obtained previously be-
low the upper silurian. These are from the
lower silurian, aud some notion of the diff
ference of time may be got from the fact
that the two "horiZons" are separated in
the Appalachian region by 10000 feet of
sediment. Where these fishes we're found
was once sand beach on the western shore
of a vast interior sea, which extended east
ward from the Rocky Mountains and COW
cred large part of the continent.
Biologists wandering through that region,
so prolf fc OF treasures In the shape OF fos-
sils, came upon the deposits accidentally.
The line of the ancient beach is still WIS.,
ible, although IL is OverIaid by sedimentary
rocks of subsequent formation. They made
excavations with pickax. end blast. getting
out a great quantity of material, which was
brought to Washington. Thirty millions Of
years have perhaps elapsed since the crea-
lures thus dug out were living. 1t must
have been strange world In which they
had their being so far back To the night of
time. Even the reptiles which fi0uris bed
and attained such gigantic dimensions at a
later period did not yet exist. The only
yertebla as were fishes.
These fishes of the lower silurian were nll
small-the diminutive types of the great
fishes which swarmed in the waters during
a later period, which has been called the
age of fishes. They were clad in armor,
being covered with plates OF bone instead
of scales. Their skeletons were composed
wholly of cartilage. like those Of the sharks
of to-day, which themselves represent an
enormously ancient fnny pattern. Under
the microscope it is possible 60 see the struc-
ture of the bone which composed the plates
In similar armor was the huge and feroclous
dinichthys, as well as other marine monsters
of q subsequent epoch, dressed.
B-sides the fishes many invertebrate ami
mails were found in the same deposits.
There were nnumerable boring worms, and
Ii is very interesting to see the actual holes
which they made so long ago In fragments
of the rocK. There were trllobites also
queer crustaceans which were the ancestors
OF modern Holsters and crabs. Mollusks
were there in plenty, too, of species known
as the "lingula." somewhat resembling
clans. Millions upon millions Of years ago
they were good to eat. At the present time
the linguas are very plentiful In Chesa-
peake Bay. OF these ancient creatures they
alone have survived; the others are still ex-
tinet. Together with the fossils above de-
scrlbed were discovered ever so many speci-
mems Of the orthoceras, a mol.usk resembling
TIE chamDered nautilus, but having a
raight shell instead of spiral one. Above
the deposits which formed the grave Of the
| animals mentioned a coral reef subsequently
! was pullt by industrious polyps.