From the Eocene beds of Bournemouth, Gardner and Ettingshausen[867] have described under the name _Gleichenia hantonensis_ what is in all probability a true _Gleichenia_ (fig. 263). This species, originally recorded by Wanklyn[868], is characterised by a slender forked rachis showing what may be traces of arrested buds between the arms of the branches, by circular sori of six or eight sporangia and by the presence of peculiar tendril-like appendages on the pinnae. If the description of the tendrils is correct, this British species affords one of the few instances of ferns adapted for climbing and may be compared with the recent species _Davallia aculeata_ (fig. 232, p. 299). =Matonineae.= The genera _Laccopteris_ and _Matonidium_ may be described as examples of Mesozoic ferns exhibiting a very close agreement with _Matonia_. _Laccopteris_. This genus, founded by Presl[869], may be described as follows:— Frond pedate, in habit resembling _Matonia pectinata_, with pinnate or pinnatifid pinnae; ultimate segments linear, provided with a well-marked midrib giving off numerous dichotomously branched secondary veins which are in places connected by lateral anastomoses. Sori circular, forming a single row on each side of the midrib (fig. 278, B); sporangia 5–15 in each sorus, with an oblique annulus and tetrahedral spores. The presence of an indusium is not certainly established. [Illustration: FIG. 263. _Gleichenites hantonensis_ Wank. (Restoration, after Gardner and Ettingshausen.)] Schenk[870], who described several specimens of _Laccopteris_ from Rhaetic rocks of Germany, compared the genus with _Gleichenia_ but he also recognised the close resemblance to _Matonia pectinata_. Zeiller[871] first established the practical identity of the sori and sporangia of _Laccopteris_ and _Matonia_. The Rhaetic species, such as _L. Muensteri_, _L. elegans_, and _L. Goepperti_, agree very closely with _L. polypodioides_ and need not be described in detail. [Illustration: FIG. 264. _Laccopteris elegans_ (Presl). (From a specimen in the British Museum; from the Lower Keuper of Bayreuth, Germany. Nat. size; part of pinnule × 3.)] The Rhaetic species _Laccopteris elegans_, represented in fig. 264, illustrates the characteristic habit of the genus and shows a feature usually overlooked[872], namely the occurrence of anastomoses between the lateral veins. The form of the sorus of another Rhaetic species is shown in fig. 265, E. Schenk figures an interesting series of fronds of _L. Goepperti_ in different stages of growth[873]; one of the younger leaves is seen in fig. 265, D. An examination of Rhaetic specimens of _Laccopteris_ in the Bergakademie of Berlin convinced me of the correctness of the published descriptions of the sori. [Illustration: FIG. 265.