The Carbon County news., 1930-10-16
DIN0SAUR EGGS
FOUND IN COUNTY
Continued from page y


and that although it is small it is
larger than few teeth which have
previously been discovered in the
Upper Lance formation.
1t is unusual, DR.. Jepsen stated
that Dihosaur eggs, bones and
teeth and mammalian remains sh-
ould be found in such close asso-
ciatlon was the case in the dis
covery this summer. "Fossil-hunt-
ing is really exciting when a find
of this nature is unearthed," DR..
Jepsen said.
The original problem on which
the Scott Fund Expedition was
working this summer was to dis
cover the Upper and Lower bound
aries in southern Montana of the
Fort Union formation which lies
on top of the Lance. In connection
with the work of determining the
Upper boundary of the Fort Union
formation, large jaw was dis
covered which is believed to be a
primitive species of Coryphodon,
or one of its ancestors. The jaw
is twelve inches long and has sew
en- teth, the front one being long
and tusk like.
A Coryphodon is a rhinoeeros-
like animal which roamed America
and Europe some many millions
of years ago. DR.. J. C. F. Seig-
freidt, paleontologist, has the tusk
on exhibit in Red Lodge, although
the Princeton party took the jaw
back to the university with them
for further study. But the meat
of the discovery is: the particu-
lar tusk which DR.. Siegfreidt has
was found in formations which in
dicated that this tusk's owner did
not roam this country 100000
years ago, but instead lived and
died at date some 100000 to
20,0O0,0O0 years earlier. And that,
according to Dr.. Seigifreidt, would
make the animal the forerunner
of the great family of Coryphodons |
found in America. The tusk was
dug up on horizon which is a.
bout 1000 feet directly above the I
Eagle coal mine at Bearcreek, |
which is in the Fort Union meas
ures, by DR.. Jepsen and E.
Moles.
The Coryphodon, it is believed
had tendency to live in the swami
py lands, as does the hippopot-
anus of today. Through seientif-
nc research during the past sum
mer by the Princeton university
geologists, it has been proved that
Carbon county was at one time
a swampy, sub-tropical country,
several times inundated when wa.
ter came in. Mud flats which were
formed by the elevation Of the Ro-
cky mountain ranges, which no
doubt was the home of these ami
mails which roamed the low shores.
on the east side of the Rockies.
underwent severe climatic changes,
which annihilated these animals.
In commenting upon the discov-
cry DR.. Seigfreidt stated that this
tusk and jaw Indicate that further
outstanding discoveries will un-
doubtedly be made in the Fort I'm
ion formations, because of the fact
that the discovery was made in
the lower horizon and this would
also indicate that ancestors to
most animals found in higher hor-
lions may be found in the Fort
Union measure.
The Fort Union measure lies
east of the Rocky mountain range
as far east as Bismark, N. D., be-
ing 5000 feet in Montana and
varies from 200 to 400 feet in Nor
tn Dakota. '
DIR. Seigfreidt has stated that
fossil discoveries made by the
Beartooth geological research ex-
pedition, and especially the discov-
cries of DR.. Erling Dorf, of Prin-
ceton university, show the i'm !
portance of paleontology and no !
doubt there will have to be re-
vision of the strategraphy of the
northwest, which will have to be
revised on account of the fossil
discoveries made in the various :.
measures. DR.. Dorf and his party |
discovered fossils in southern Mon
tana which proved that Montana
was a sub-tropical country at one
time. Redwood, banana, fig, laurel |
and other tropical leaves were I
discovered embedded in sandstone
rocks, which Indicate that southern {
Montana had warm climate. sim I
1lar to that of lower California and
t
Early in the summer a large +
number of small jaws were found I
which will be added to the museum
at Princeton and also used for re- a
search work. Some belonged to !
primitive primate- like animals a. t
bout the size of very small monk $
ey. Others are what may prove to t
be the earliest ancestors of the Ar l
tiodactyls, DR.. Jepsen said. The v
Artlodactyl group includes the pre- t
sent-day cattle, hogs, sheep. an h
teldpe, camels and many other s.