New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-02
A FOSSIL SEA SERPENT.
REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT sAUR1AN FOUND IN
COLORADO.
From The Denver Republican.

From The Denver kepuDHcan
The University of Denver has come into possess
sion of very interesting fossil II Is an ancient
Conflict vertebrai column about is feet long and
containing ninety vertebrate portions or me head
Almost am new psrfoct Condition Nearly ali the bones
we'll pctriied. bur some retain nan -h3ny struct
IRE Professor Lee. OF the university thus writes
18Th The specimen is gift to the university from
/, was fonnd Is interesting one day a Mexican
herdsmar rode into Flager and reported that his
Bones Tn" man picked up Of the bones and
TO nd 6d cay y se sonF we that h
bones might he OF scientific interest He drove 10
the PLACE G 0 1Gr a om the Sfonnd ees it had
lain through countless thousands of years There
ro had been abo e fo wrem feet t ." the tail was st i'm
bedded in the solid rock. This was carefully dug
out ana b He sent WHof to the University where his
son became interested In the study of geology.
Nj keegan Iopor na Wnle ne By several
geoogists. From them learn that the bones
are the e pace of
near the division between cretaceous and tertiary
nitely Further study however, shows that the
reptile Is crctaceous form 49,. .ou
part Of Colorado bu, The greater ps part Of the
half OF the % was snh h aye Of
reptiles was nearing its close. Those clumsy over
Rabitants Of the Denver region had reached their
elimination and were ready 70 pass out OF eX-
soon
naugura ed at the end of the age. Among these
reptile forms find the ancestors OF the modern
serpents During the cretaceous period the seas
erc jnha hited by long snakelike reptiles called by
Cope PythonamOrpha or Mosasauria He gives
three gcnera-clidastcs. platecarpus and mesasau-
ras II is in one OF these genera OF sea serpents
thar our monster must he placed. 1t Is difhcut 10
incatc II definitely because so many or the char-
acteristic parts are destroyed
II sent some of the bones 10 the department.
of the National Geological Survey at Washington
u G and received word that the specimen IL
probably a cdastes. although the jaw is more
massive and the teeth more compressed than IN
the only specimens have | think that you
bral columns of this group OF marine reptiles In
existence The tail is particularly fine and gives
me a much better impression OF the depth ana
compri ssion of this part OF the body After care
mi examination of the published descriptions
was led TO the opinion that the species mas not
been described heretofore. go
..If one can imagine long. slender reptile some
times - feet in length. not quite as slender AS tho
mod I'm serpent and having two pairs OF snort
naddleke feet one will have fairly good idea
~ mis- class OF reptiles. They were great sea
oernrnfs and were covered with bony scales, as
Professor Marsh has shown. have referred to
thorn as the ancestors OF snakes; the form or the
body was very snakelike and the long jaw SHOWS
mechanism similar to that OF serpents which makes
II possibe to swallow the food whole Their HABITS
seem 10 have been serpentke ana they HVed duT-
ing the age Immediately preceding the introdlc-
lion OF true snakes. II IL an easy step rom an
animailike clidasies to the modern serpent Just
dron of his limbs make them rudiinentaIy ana
make the body little more slender and the change
Is completc.