James William Davis (1846, Leeds-1893) was a British naturalist who specialised in fossil fish. He lived at Chevinedge, Halifax in Yorkshire. James William Davis was a leading member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
Works partial list
Davis, J.W. (1879) Description of a new species of fossil fish spine, Ctenacanthus minor, from the Lower Coal-Measures of Yorkshire. Geological Magazine, decade 2, 6: 531–532 Davis, J.W. (1880) On the fish fauna of the Yorkshire Coal Field. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 6 (8): 359–370 Davis, J. W. (1880) On a new species of Gyracanthus, a fossil fish from the Coal-Measures. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6:372-373. Online here Davis, J.W. (1880) On the genus Pleuracanthus, Agass., including Orthacanthus, Agass., and Gold., Diplodus, Agass., and Xenacanthus, Beyr. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 36: 321–336 Online here Davis, J.W. (1880) On the fish-remains found in the Cannel Coal in the Middle Coal-Measures of the West Riding of Yorkshire, with the description of some new species. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 36: 56–67 online here Davis, J.W. (1880) On the fish fauna of the Yorkshire Coal Field. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 6 (8): 359–370 Davis, J.W. (1881) On the genera Ctenoptychius, Agassiz; Ctenopetalus, Agassiz; and Harpacodus, Agassiz. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (Series 5), 8: 424–427 Davis, J.W. (1881) Notes on the fish-remains of the bone-bed at Aust, near Bristol; with the description of some new genera and species. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 37: 414–426 online here Davis, J.W. (1882) On Diodontopsodus, Davis, a new genus of fossil fishes from the Mountain Limestone, at Richmond, in Yorkshire. Abstract. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 51: 646 Davis, J.W. (1883) On the fossil fishes of the Carboniferous Limestone Series of Great Britain. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, Series 2, 1: 327–548 Davis, J.W. (1884) On some remains of fossil fishes from the Yoredale Series at Leyburn in Wensleydale. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 40: 614–635 online here Davis, J.W. (1887) The fossil fishes of the chalk of Mount Lebanon, in Syria. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 2 (3): 457–636, pl. 14–38. Online here Communicated by William Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen. Davis, J.W. (1887) Note on a fossil species of Chlamydoselachus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1887: 542–544 Davis, J.W. (1888) Note on a species of Scymnus from the upper Tertiary formation of New Zealand. Geological Magazine, decade 3, 5: 315–316 Davis, J.W. (1888) On fossil fish-remains from the Tertiary and Cretaceo-Tertiary formations of New-Zealand. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 4 (2): 1–48, 7 pl. Davis, J.W. (1890) On the fossil fish of the Cretaceous formations of Scandinavia. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 2 (4): 363–434, pl. 38 Online here Davis, J.W. (1892) On the fossil fish-remains of the coal measures of the British Islands. Part I. Pleuracanthidae Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 2 (4): 703–748 Online here Davis, J.W.(1899) Fossil Fish-remains from Carboniferous Shales at Cultra, Co. Down, Ireland Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society, 11, 332-334
Taxa described by Davis Taxa described by Davis include Cheirothrix lewisii Rhinobatos intermedius Davis 1887 Rhinobatos latus Davis 1887 Rhinobatos tenuirostris Davis 1887 Anodontacanthus, Davis, 1881 Ctenacanthus minor Davis, 1879 Gyracanthus denticulatus Davis, 1880 Strepsodus brockbanki Davis, 1891. Diodontopsodus Davis, 1882 Exocoetoides Davis, 1887
References Anon 1904 The History of the Collections Contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum, Volume 1 Trustees of the British Museum Obituary in The Naturalist