The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-06-02
-Dietz on Science
-DIetZ on Science
KING TUT FOUND
TO Be INVENTOR
OF STAR CLOCK
Astronomical Device Among
Objects in Tomb of
Ancestor.
BY DAVID DIETZ
Scripps Howard Science Editor


An astronomical instrument made
by King Tut, the largest and most
complete specimen of a plesiosaur
ever discovered in Australia, living
pebbles" and a giant clover with
seven leaflets are among the latest
finds of the scientific world
The astronomical instrument con-
sists Of an ebony handle to which
a plummet was attached. II was
used to help an observer determine
the exact instant at which a given
star crossed the meridian, thus serv-
ing the function Of sort of stellar
clock.
Il came from the tomb Of Thut-
NOSE ", one of the ancestors Of
King Tutenkhamon. 1t seems that
robbers despoiled the tomb of Thut-
NOSE during the reign of TutenK-
hamon
The latter decided to refurnish
the tomb and the instrument bears
an inscription which says that it
was made with his two hands by
Tutenkhamon, restoring monuments
for his ancestor Thutmose w.
Reptile, Skeleton Made
The plesiosaur was a marine mon
ster which swan in the seas which
covered Australia about 120.000000
years ago. The skeleton, which is
forty feet long, is about two-thirds
complete, making it possible for the
first time to reconstruct accurately
the creatures appearance
It was discovered by William E.
ScheVill, assistant curator Of the
Harvard Museum of Comparative
Zoology.
The plesiosaur was not fish, but
p reptile, a sea-going cousin of the
dinOsaur.
The living pebbles are among
The many curious creatures brought
back from the shores Of the Gala
pages Islands by DR. Waldo L.
Schmitt. curator of marine inverte-
brates at the Smithsonian Institu-
ton.
Holds Living Pebble
Or. Schmitt was member of the
Galapagos expedition Of Captain C.
Allen Hammock of Los Angeles. He
collected hundreds of specimens of
crabs and shrimps.
The living pebble is really a
tiny crab, known to science as the
leucosiid crab. 1t gets its name from
the fact that it resembles a coral
pebble both in color and size. DR..
Schmitt says that the only way to
find the crabs is to watch the peb-
bles on the shore until one begins
to move.
Other interesting creatures col
lected by DR.. Schmitt include the
shame faced crab" so-called be-
cause of the way in which its claws
fold over in front of its face, as
though it were trying to hide be-
hind them. The scientific name of
this creature is the calappid.
Collects pistol Crab"
He also collected specimens of the
so-called pistol crab" Actually
this creature is a variety of shrimp.
II gets its name from the fact that
one of its claws closes with a snap
that resembles the report of a
pistol
The giant clover was found by j.
w Thompson of Seattle, botan-
list. Thompson found it growing on
the sagebrush slopes and sent it to
the Smithsonian Institution for
identification.
According to c. v Morton, Smith
sonian botanist, the giant clover is
"one of the most remarkable plants
found in the United States in recent
years"
Last of New Plants
He says that how so large and
conspicuous a plant escaped s.
covery until now is a mystery
The plant has a thick stem nearly
two feet high and bears heads of
flowers about two inches in diane
ter. The seven leaflets occur at the
end of leaf stem nearly eight
inches long.
BotanistS feel that this will be
one of the last conspicuous new
plants to be brought to light. This
is because the whole country has
been so thoroughly "botanized' by
both professionals and amateurs