Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-13
A REsiARKABLE SKELETON.


From the n. 7. Tribune.
Professor Whitfield, the curator Of the de-
partment Of geology in the American museum
of natural history, has just received new ad-
dition to his department. This ID . cast Of one
of the earliest mammal fossils which science
has yet discovered. The original Of the cast il
the property Of Professor E. d. Cope, the pa
leontologist Of Philadelphia, and the cast itself,
the first one made, was presented TO the mu-
scum by DR.. Robert II. Lamborne Of this city.
The interest in this specimen is keen, owing to
the fact that the fossil IL the skeleton Of an ami
NAL which il regarded a. the parent type Of all
animals of to-day which are distinguished by
having hoofs Its scientific name Is phenaco-
dus-prim@vus. The fossil was discovered sew
eral years ago in the Wind River valley of
Wyoming territory, and was afterward secured
by Professor Cope, who learned Of the circum-
stances.
The preservation Of the animal is remarkable.
Ithadapparently laid down to die in the clay. and
the body remaining undisturbed, the bones were
not scattered. In appearance the skeleton is
not formidable. The animal, which is believed
to have been full-grown. was not when alive
What first strikes the observer is its remarkable
preservation. The smallest bone appears to be
preserved Apparently the animal sank down
in the clay exhausted and went into its last
sleep. The carcass was not disturbed, the bones
were never scattered and the skeleton was
gradually, in the course of thousands Of years,
transformed with the surrounding earth into
stone. The skull has some resemblance to that
OF horse, but is more of the general type of
the rhinoceros. There are no tusks, but slight
protuberances which indicate an approach to
them. The teeth have much the same char
acter as those of modern animals. Each of the
four feet has five long and slender toes, which
have the general appearance Of human fingers,
except that each Of the toes is capped with q
small perfectly shaped hoof, which is q copy in
miniature of a horses hoof.
The animal, Prof. Whitfield says, fed on
plants and flesh, as it was best able to procure
the one or the other. The cartilaginous por-
ton of the skull at the mouth is wanting, but
the general structure is similar to that Of the
rhinoceros, which has the long pointed lip
like the beginning Of trunk for the purpose
of better gathering in the grass or foliage, while
the teeth in their structure are adapted in some
measure to the food of carniverous animals.
II the larger animals of to-day had not then
made their appearance the Phenacodus must
have been in the habit of making his special
meals on snakes, frogs, and the like. From
the appearance of his feet he was fiat-footed
animal, but the toes also rested on the ground
and aided him in climbing steep inclines.
Prof. Cope, as well as the European paleon-
tologists, regard this skeleton as one of the
most remarkable discoveries Of recent years.
N HOEt duNduCeQ IOTln Oh tnlS animal was OD-
tanned some years ago in France, and was the
subject OF much speculation by Cuvier, the
naturalist. It was termed the paleotherium,
and was regarded as the ancestral form of the
horse. Several other specimens have since
been discovered in good condition, showing
that the animal had reached the size Of q deer,
but its toes were reduced to three or four Prof.
Cope, as the results of his studies on the early
character OF animals, indicated in O paper
which he published in 1881, that the older form
of these animals, if ever found, would possess
those distinctive traits which are indicated in
this specimen of the phenacodus, which he has
since obtained. The stratum in which this
fossil was found belongs to the early eocene, or
the lower tertiary period, in the first of which
the remains Of mammals have been obtained.
The time of their existence is calculated by
biologists as anywhere between 4OO,0O0 and
soc, 900 years ago, so small matter as 10O, 900
years either way making little difference.
The Phenacodus DR.. Cope regards as the dis
tinct ancestor of the higher forms of animals.
In succeeding ages the larger animals, like the
elephant and giraffe, were developed from it
and the different surroundings and conditions,
led to the growth of the plantigrade animals
like the bear, the carnivOra like the leopard,
and the lion and hoofed animals like the Horse
and deer, all of these branches developing
some of the minor traits which were possessed
by the original type. When the new building
Of the Museum of Natural History is COM
pleted Professor Whitfield expects to secure for
his department complete collection of fossils
showing the development Of these branches of
animal life SO far as science has yet been able
to indicate them.