Having brought his examination of the mineral kingdom to a conclusion,
the visitor should notice the fossil zoophytes and shells from various
deposits, arranged upon the other tables of the room. He will now
leave the mineral kingdom, and advancing once more westward, will
reach the fifth room of the gallery, which is entirely given up to
various fossil remains.

FOSSIL FISHES

The first object that will arrest the visitor's attention on entering
this fine apartment is the gigantic skeleton of the extinct elk of
Ireland, which towers above every other object, from its pedestal,
placed in the centre of the room. It is seven feet in height, and
eight feet in length.

The southern wall cases and the southern table cases of this room are
covered with the fossil remains of various fishes. These are important
to the student as exhibiting high forms of animal life that existed at
the time of the formation of the most ancient strata in which organic
remains have been discovered. The visitor will notice the perfect
forms imprinted upon the various strata here exhibited.

In case 7 he will be struck with the fossil remains of some of the
sauroids or lizard-like fishes, only two species of which survive to
the present day, but which, in remote ages, abounded in the seas, and
were particularly voracious. On the middle shelf of the wall case
marked B the visitor should notice the fossil remains of the enormous
and powerful carnivorous fish called the rhizodus; also the macropoma,
like a carp in shape, in wall cases 13, 14; the fossil bremus in case
19; the extinct species of fossil carps, in cases 24, 25; the fossil