The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1880-07-02


il had forked tongue II proved by
the lack Of room in the mouth for d
larger one. a turtle was found with a
shell ~ feet IN width and 80 feet Ia
length. Prof. Cope has named this
gigantic tortoise Pr0tosfeqa qtgas. the
irst or generic term referring pr0ba-
b'y TO the peculiar condition nf its
seemingly undeveloped ribs and con-
tiguous parts. which are like those Of
an ordinary turtle just Matched. Here
il the most gigantic Of all turtles In ma
. turity. having the undcyeloped struct-
urc Of the immature state.
One Of the largest reptiles OF ihi.
period that has been found j. the iodon
The lower jaw was discovered project
ing from chalk elf. and. on rennoy-
ing the earth, a long projecting muzzle
WAS disccrned Tins resembles the
head of the blunt-nosed sturgeon Of fhc
prescn. waters. The Pteroddctyi nnstrO-
S4s. The vcritablc flying FERTILE o.
dragon Of that remote era, was also IN
cafthed. The specimen was found Al
the base Of a blum. II measured twenty
nine feet from iingcr TO finger. and
when alive must have been one Of The
most terrible Of the inhabitants Of the
ancient world. 1t derived its powers Of
+ flight. not by membrane stretched
over four elongated fingers. with a
rudimeniary thumb. like the bats.
nor by a wing without distinct
fingers, rs in birds. but by wing
sustained principally on a very
elongated toe, while the other members
possessed their normal shortness. and
were armed with claws. With this re-
markable conformation were associated
a long neck and bcak. II could ily IN
the air. remain on the wing long
time. and suspend itself to trees and
rocks by its short toes. Another won
der discovered was the Hespcro,itS. a
large wafer. biri seven feet in height,
and having knie-likc teeth. The teeth
were set in grooves. the wings were
rndimeniary aud useless. while the legs
were like those of a duck. a stAdy ~
iis skeleton shows il 10 have been close
IN related 10 the ostrich. Another
wonder was a iying-birl. the ici
thyornis. having still more reptilian
characteristics. IT. teeth. lake the :illi-
gators were IN distinct sockets. aud,
stranger vet is vertebrsp j. bi-concavc
~~*t lftNAtitAt Vltf tRttAAt ~ NH'
fishes and few reptiles.
One Of the most gigantic reptiles dis
covered was the sfmphicreiiuS. The
thigh-bone was so heayy tina. the find
ers We're forced 10 harness 4 mule - Il
10 drag il out Of the hole. Ii measured
over eleven feet in length. A section
Of the yertchra. from the dorsal por-
ton, was heavy lit for four men. and
when placed upon the ground in the
position assumed by the animal. il tow
cred above the iallest of the party,
being over six feet in height. To ap-
preciafc this. the reader must remem-
Ter that the corresponding bone Of the
nearest living representative If this ami
NAL can be lifted By the little finger.
Other fossil saurians. whose trigh
bones are six feet in length. have been
given a length of over 100 feet II they
Increased in proportion To the size Of
this bone. we should have creature
over 700 feet in length. but. Of course.
this j. merely a supposition, though
quite aprObable one. This Saurlan be-
longed ID the genus -imphicroisds. A
ihigh-bonc Of an allied genus over six
feet lOng can be- seen in the Museum
Of Natural History. Central Park.
II is in a case in Geological
Hall. and side by side with
the same bone Of the nearest allied
form. Near by are other creatures
representing the same age. Some Of
the whales Of this and later times Were
80 feet long. and the State Of Ala
bama was on .e their roaming ground.
In some localities now the enormous see
lions Of the back-bones are so numer-
Gus that the farmers are obliged 10 burn
them and build fences with them.
In another case i'm the Museum j. ar
ranged magnf cent collection Of fossil
sharks teeth. some Of them as large as
4 mans hand. They belonged 10 4
shark over 100 feet long. They cane
from the later beds Of the Ashley and
Cooper Rivers. Soath Carolina. and
were collected by Prof. Holmes. the vet
eran geologist. Of Charleston. In a tall
vase are some beautiful crinoids. pre-
scented to the Museum by Robert l..
stuart. In the same hall are curious
armorcd and war-likc fishes called
Chmaeroids. which measure 30 feet in
length, and the bones Of an animal
quite as large as the living elephant,
! six Of which are like those Of the rhinoc-
eros. This j. known 10 science a. the
dinoceros. The curious oreolon. too.
j. here; an extinct animal that seemed
10 combine the characteristics Of the
hog. camel. and deer. N u. Times.
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