The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-20
FOUND AMONG FOSSILS.
DISCOVERIES MADENBsAssACHU.
Sets RED SANDSTONE.

N'AAOi eAhk rEoa Eus venus Reptile
Into the Genus Bird, and They Had
Big Teeth and Averaged Fourteen to
Fifteen Feet High.
From the Springfield Republican.
Several footprints Of reptiles of various
dimensions have lately been discovered
about three miles from Holyoke. upon the
rock in G.. L Bosworth's quarry near the
shore of the Connecticut river, which have
caused considerable excitement and ELECTED
many inquiries
These discoveries occur not infrequentIy,
more than 10 900 such footmarks having al.
ready been brought to light, and, in fact. il
is we'll known throughout the scientific
world that the new red sandstone of the
Connections valley, which extends about Ito
miles from north TO south and average about
twenty miles in width from east to west, 1
one of the most prolific repositories of fossil
prints. Slabs OF this stone, having upoI
them the wonderful indentations, can ba
found in almost all the museums of thf
country and Europe.
few days ago. accompanied by mt
friend, Prof. Woodman who IL, as the worlI
knows, one of the most profound scholart
in the natural sciences. / visited Mr.. Boss
worth's quarry. The soil over the rocks,
WhASh - NV VOL az hAiat loCttAAby. uAU
been removed and left exposed an extensive
area. upon which large number of tracks
are apparent Prof. Woodman said that in
all his ramhllngs throughout the world be
had not seen such q large number clustered
together In so circumscribed place. Sew.
eral OF the tracks can be traced from one
end OF the quarry TO the other.
There is not only large number OF them.
but they are of various sizes, aud were
made by animals of different species. though
the conformation of the foot indicates thai
they belong to the same genus Some Of
the tracks measure IL inches in length and
10 in width; others are 10 inches long, and
there are Others that do not measure more
than or inches, and are Of proportional
width. A slab taken out near the edge Of
the public road which forms the northern
boundary OF the quarry has two large,
well delineated tracks upon its surface 4
feet inches APART, which Indicate the strida
in the step of the animal
All the tracks bear the same couforma.
ton Of the foot-that is, all have only thres
toes, and the steps bear the same charao-
teristics--they are single, that is, made by
bipeds. There is no doubt they are much
| smaller now than when frat made. The
mud In drying up must have contracted
considerably 60 beoome, as the rock Is to-
day, OF crystalline nature. Many Of these
fossil prints bear a close Resemblance
to the tracks of birds, 90 much 90
that for years many Of them ware
believed to have been made by some
of the feathered tribes; but since the
discovery of the dinosaurs In the triassio
strata the question has been definitely SET
tied. There 10 no doubt now that these
tracks were made by several species of reps
tiles which have already been found Ia the
triassic beds OF Nevada aud California and
on tne western slope of the Rocky
mr. nm TAI Iha nt.exa L. n
show that these animals formed a large
genus, with very many species One species
had three toes, another had four, and an
other five. The 3-toed was the most
numerous and produced species of enormous
sizes The broutoEoum giganteum, the
otozoum moodii belong TO the 3-toed variety,
and were from IA to 10 feet In
hight The 4-toed and 5-toed species were
not quite 30 numerous, but they produced
individuals OF still greater Dimensions.
Specimens have been found that measured
Is feet in hight and their tracks "a inches in
| length.
The fossils Of oil these animals show that
all the species had large heads, saurian-like,
with enormous teeth. They all had foui
| logs, but made little use OF their forelegs.
which were very small and atrophied fDr
want OF use. These characters hes Indicate
that they were in form as well as IN habitg
closely allied to the bird family.
The fact that they walked on their hind
legs. that their bones were hollow like
those Of birds, that they had the same con-.
formation Of the foot and we're biped 10
their habits points 10 the conclusion that
they were the primitive sketches of a new
design which was just in the stage of it's
evolution, an intermediate form or conneot-
Ing link emerging from the rcptilian genus
10 the genus bird. They are surely nearer
the type bird than that Of any other, and II
it were not for their forelegs they might be-
classed at once as the primitive genus of
the feathered tribe.
The fact that they had teeth does not pre.
clude the possibility Of their being uterine
date between reptiles and birds, because
teeth were very common appendaQe to
the primitive birds, and are still found with
some of our living birds. The parrot and
the penguin have rudiments of teeth aud
alveolar processes. That conformation Ia
fossil birds was the law. and its absence was
the exception. Several species had Jaws
like saurians. and we're saurian-like 10 their
disposition and APPEARANCE The archm5.
teryL, the gastofnie. the hesperornis, the
iobthyornis, and rnahy others were of that
sort. Some OF these birds had teeth three
inches In length. sharp and pointed.
But the dinosaurs were not the ONLY
animals which had the privilege TO rove
over the muddy plain OF this valley. A large
nulupef VI obnoi hOOtpTlubb nave been found
which must have been made by other
animals belonging to different orders. The
tracks of the labyrinthodonts, the emalio--
saurs, the belodonus lepturus, the droma-
therium, aud many others are often met
with. In 1S42 the late Prof Hitchcock had
already examined 1900 which had been
made by thirty-two species of bipeds aud
fourteen species Of quadrupeds.
In regard 10 footprints the question upon
which centers the greatest interest Is NOT
about their number or nature, nor OF the
character or disposition of the animals thar
made them, but In their immense antiquity.
II they dated only few years back they
would not be noticed, but their age is so
immense that we can never form an ade-
quate conception OF its duration, and it Ia
80 with all the geological periods.
The number OF centuries required ia
bring the state OF the earth from a
vaporous mass into It's concrete form.
and then through the series OF trans.
formations which have marked the eyolu-
tious of the radietes into the articulates. and
these into the mollusks, and the molusks
into the fishes, and the fishes into the rem
tiles and the reptiles into the birds. and the
birds into the mammalians, aud the mann
malians into the genus homo, bafis our
imagination. The only means we have to
uuravel the past is the division Of time
adopted for geology-that is, the azoic. or
time previous TO the appearance of the or
Ranic life; the eozoio, or the time when life
FIRST appeared; the palozoic. or age Of fishes;
the mesozoIc, or age OF reptiles; the ceno-
x;o Or tho ana IF tho y1apnu,a lfana Tho