The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-07

that d1nosaur skull ever existed must be
the victim of nightmare or suffering
from the digestion of bone hunting
camp. AT the same time the big sci.
entists claimed that the skull Prof Can
non round was that of a species of
ounalo. AS the fossil was embedded in
sanoStone. and In a formation which de-
noted another period of the worlds his
tory when there was no such an amman
as the buffalo, Prof. Cannon battled with
the giants and later they all acknowI-
t eoSeu tnelr error. Since that episode
paleontoIog1sts have given over being
sure of anything
Inc stegosaur was the most remarkable
OF the sauropods 1t proved to be the
historic animals. The type specimen
or the first remains of the stegosaur was
round in the Denver section. Others
I'D peen found IN Wyoming. Imagine
would put rhinoeeraS to shame that
was more than twenty feet in length
IRON top OF snout to tip of it's tail, with
a. slender elongated head ayeragine
about four inches in width. and 0n14
sixteen inches long. Such was the STE
goSaur. 1t had a smaller brain than anv
sT,H animal that ever lived on earth.
me principal part of it's brain was in its
sacfum. This posterior chamber in
winch the principal part of the animals
praln was contained, was formed by the
enlargement of the spinal canal and was
d Dene cavity resembling in great re-
spect the skull This rear brain cavity
was just twenty times larger than that in
front. -
The stegosaur was NOT fiebtine
creature. 1t had small cerebeIIun. but
with optic nerves and olfactory organs
enlarged beyond the average for its size
auch a creature had its protection in
TINS unusual sense of sight and smell
It's teeth were small and of a Character
which showed that it lived entirely on
vegetation The dermal armour of the
steSosaur was its safeguard from the
attacks OF animals. The small head was
covered in front with long bony bealS.
the throat With thick skin, in which were
emDedded large number of horny pro-
taperances A series of vertical plates
extended above the neck. along its back
and for two-thirds of the length of its
tan. These plates ranged from seventy
SIX to forty-tlve inches in width The
paleontologiStS fail to guess their use
In TACT. they admit they would never
nave believed them possible on an animal
had they not been found on the fossiI
| remains and in place. They figure that
the largest of the plates were the ami
maj weapons of attack. To make them
| effective the brute must have fought
backward, as they were all situated on
| the posterior part of the body
The stegosaur had small feet and it's
tail was of such strength and magnitude
| that IT could stand on il like a kan
| CARGO. The size of the leg bones shows
| that its means of locomotion were slow.
| The weight of the Spines and the plates
ana the other armour must have been
| enormous, the bulk of the animal being
| figured at many tons. These creatures
| inhabited the section which is now Den
| yer when the climate was of a tropical
nature and the country was mass of
| sluggish lakes.
| The new discovery is of interest lust
! now owing to the fact that many of the
| best biologists in the country met in
| convention in Denver recently One OF
| the places to which an expedition was
| planned during the session was the bone
| bed country around Canyon City and
| also that of Grand Junction. where
| party of the bone hunters from the Field
| Columbian museum are now at work.
| Denver Republican.