| Ref No | LDGSL/614/1/52 |
| Title | Watercolour of two teeth of Holoptychius rugosus Agassiz |
| Date | [1834-1835] |
| Date Note | Date of drawing of another of Hibbert's specimen; date of Hibbert's known dealings with Agassiz (see Andrews 1982) |
| Level | Item |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Format | Photograph/drawing/painting/print |
| Description | Two watercolour studies of teeth from the fossil fish Holoptychius rugosus Agassiz, by Joseph Dinkel, [1834-1835]. Although not indicated on drawing, the specimens were found in Burdie House, Scotland, from the collection of Samuel Hibbert. |
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| Administrative History | Collected/drawn as part of the research for Louis Agassiz's 'Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles' (1833-1843/1844).
The teeth found in the limestone quarry of Burdie House, outside of Edinburgh, were initially thought by Samuel Hibbert to belong to a new species of saurian reptile. As the limestone was of freshwater origin, the first such strata to be discovered in the Carboniferous, Hibbert feared that the other fossils in the quarry would be pillaged by various fossil collectors (and hence scattered throughout the country). He therefore convinced the Royal Society of Edinburgh to collect them systematically. The RSE's Museum collection was broken up and many of the specimens are now lost. The teeth and other remains such as large rhomboidal and circular scales were later identified by Agassiz as being from fish - having previously agreed with Hibbert that they were saurian in nature. His change of opinion may have been influenced by Robert Jameson who did not agree with Hibbert. |
| Access Conditions | Access is by appointment only. Please contact the Archivist for further information. |
| Language | n/a |
| Publication Note | Rougher sketches of the teeth appear in: Hibbert, S, "On the fresh-water limestone of Burdiehouse in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, belonging to the Carboniferous group or rocks...", 'Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh', vol 13 (1836), pp169-282, plate 9.
For the circumstances surrounding the fossils at Burdie House, and their initial misidentification as saurian remains, see also: Hibbert, S, "Communication relative to the freshwater limestone of Burdiehouse, near Edinburgh, belonging to the Carboniferous Group of rocks", 'Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh', vol 1 (1833), pp33-35; Hibbert, S, "Additional particulars relative to the Saurian Remains found in the Burdiehouse Limestone", 'Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal', vol 16 (1834), pp192-194; Hibbert, S, "Summary of the discoveries hitherto made in the ossiferous beds of the basin of the Forth and Clyde", 'Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh', vol 1 (1834), pp61-63 |
| ArchNote | Based on a listing made by Mahala Andrews (1977-1981), expanded by Caroline Lam |
| CreatorName | DINKEL | Joseph Wenceslas Anton | [1806-1891] | natural history artist |
| AGASSIZ | Jean Louis Rudolphe | 1807-1873 | palaeontologist, zoologist, and geomorphologist |
| Subject | Palaeoichthyology |
| Palaeontology |
| Carboniferous |
| Lower Carboniferous |