Remarks on the Lower Cretaceous beds of Kansas and Nebraska, together with descriptions of some new species of Carboniferous fossils from the valley of Kansas River

256 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP Family SCINCID^.

Plestiodonleptogrammus^ Baird.

— Two

post-nasals, the posterior one behind

and

above the

much

smaller anterior. Colorblack, with five narrow, white lines,the

two

lateral along the middleof single rows.

Median

lightlinenot bifurcated.

PlatteRiverValley. Lt.Warren,Dr.

Hay

den.

Type

No.3119.

Plestiodon inornatus,Baird.

— ^Two

post-nasals of equal size, one above the other.

Hind

lew applied threetimes forwards, reachingtheear.

//a5.—Sand

Hillsof Platte. Lt.Warren, Dr.

Hayden. Type

No. 3110.

Plestiodon tetrafframmus, Baird.

— ^One

post-nasal plate; post-frontal

and

inter- nasals separated

by

the post-nasal. Five supra- orbitals. Dorsal scales of equalwidth. Lightolivegreen above;sideswith

two

yellowishlines,separated

by

sixrowsof darkerolive scales.

Upper

labials pure yellowish.

Body

en- circledby about28rowsofscales.

No

dorsalstripe.

Ifab

— Lower

Rio Grande. Dr. Berlandier, Lt. Couch.

Type

No. 3124, Plestiodonegregius^Baird.

— ^One

post-nasal plate; post-frontalandinter-nasals separated

by

the post-nasal.

Four

upperlabials. Ears verysmall.

Two

cen- tral dorsal

rows

largest.

Body

cylindrical. Color reddish ash,with

two

or three white lines on each side,

margined

with dusky,sometimesa third; all these alongthe centres of single

rows

of scales.

Upper

lateral lines separated

by two

plainrows.

Body

encircled by about22 rowsofscales.

//a6.—

Indian Key,Fla. G.

Wurdemann. Type

No. 3128,

Plestiodonseptentrionalis^Baird,

— ^One

post-nasal plate

which

doesnot separate the inter-nasals

and

post-frontals. Coloraboveolive,withfour equidistant

and

equaldarkstripeson adjacenthalfrowsof scales.

Two narrow

whitelines

on

aachside,traversing the centres of singlerows,

and margined

above

and below

byblack.

Upper

laterallightstripesseparated

by

sixrowsofscales. Beneath lightgreenish.

Hah.

—

Minnesota

and

Nebraska. Rev. S,

W. Manney, 'Type

1356.

Eemarks

onthelower Cretaceous beds of

Kansas and

Nebraska, together

with

descriptions of

some new

species ofCarboniferous fossils

from

the valley of

Kansas

river.

BY

F. B.

MEEK AND

^E, V.

HAYDEN.

The

CretaceoussystemasdevelopedinNebraska, isclearly divisible intofive distinctformations,

which

have, for the sake ofconvenience, been

numbered

1,2,3,&c.,from the base upwards.

Although

atfirstentertaining

some

doubts asto

whether

No. _1, or the lowest formation,

might

not beolderthanCreta- ceous,

we

always placeditprovisionally, inour published sections, intheCre- taceoussystem.

More

recently, aftera carefulreview of the subject,

we became

satisfiedfromthe

modern

affinitiesof

numerous

dicotyledonousleaves foundin thisformation, that

we

hazardedlittle in regardingitas a settledquestionthat itcouldnotbeolderthan Cretaceous,

and

so expressed ourselves inour paper readbeforethe

Academy

of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,March, 1858.

The

reference ofthisformationto the Cretaceous,however,

was

not without

some

exceptionsgenerallyadmitted, forProfessorJulesMarcou,inhis

work on

the "

Geology

of North America," page143,refersittothe

New Red

^Sandstone,

and

inasubsequentpublication,- he placesitintheJurassic; while

some

in- vestigatorsin thiscountryalso inclined to theopinionthatit

must

be Triassic.

Inthemidstof these conflicting opinions, althoughsatisfied

we were

right,

we

wished, in orderto

remove

all doubts from the

minds

of others, tohavethe opinionof

some good

authorityin fossilbotany,(a department of palseontolo-

*]N"otespour server aunedescriptiongeologique desMontaguesRochenses,page20.

[Dec.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA 257 gy

^to

which we have

givenlittleattention,)respecting thefossil leavesonwhic-h

we

mainly based our viewsinregardtotheageof thisformation. Consequent-

ly,

we

sent outlinesketches ofa few of

them

to Professor

Oswald

Heer,*the distinguished authorityin fossilbotanyat Zurich, Switzerland, informing

him

they

were from

a formation

we

regarded asCretaceous

and

requesting

him

to letus

know

to

what

genera

and

geological

epoch

he

would

referthem.

Thisletter

was

sent toProfessor

Heer

in

August

last,before

we

Btarted toKansas,

and

on ourreturn, inthelatter part ofOctober,

we were

disappointedat find- ingnoreplyfrom him. Afterwaiting

some

days longer,

and

receiving

no

an- swer from Professor Heer,

we

concluded our letter

had

either failedtoreach him,or thathe

was

unwillingtoexpress an opinion based

upon mere

sketches of the leaves_; consequently

we

submittedthe

whole

to Dr.

Newbury, who had

then returnedtoWashington,

and

in

whose

opiniononthissubject

we

havethe fullestconfidence.

After

examining

the specimens, Dr.

Newbury

gave us a written statement bearingdate Nov. 12, containingalist of the generato

which

he

had

referred the leaves,togetherwith

some

interestingremarks

and

generalizations,in

which

he expressedtheopinionthatthey are certainly Cretaceous,

some

of

them

be- longingtogenerapeculiar tothat epoch,

and

that the

whole

belongto

more

highly organizedplantsthan anything

known

inthe Triassic or Jurassicflora.

Knowing

as

we

did that the rocks from

which

these plants

were

obtained,

— ^beyond

^alldoubt,

—

hold a position beneath, at least, eight

hundred

feetof Cretaceousstrata,containinggreat

numbers

ofAmmonites,Scaphites, Baculiies,«f-c., it ofcourse never once occurred to us that

any

person

might

suppose it Tertiary.

About

the thirteenth of

November we

sent

on

to the

American

Journalof Science, a

communication

containing Dr.

Newbury's

listof thegenerato

which

he

had

referredourplants,with

some

extracts from his remarlcs, allof

which

willappearinthe

January number

of that Journal.

Some two

orthree

weeks

after

we had

corrected thelastproofof this paper,

we

received(13th of Dec.) aletterfrom Professor Heer, bearing date of Nov. 20, in

which

he informedws thatourletter

had

reached

him

at alatedate, in consequence of hisabsence from

home, and

thatafterhisreturn,other

engagements had

prevented

him

from replyingsooner. Inthis letterProfessor Heer,inaccordance with ourrequest, sent us alistof the genera, asnearasit

was

possible for

him

to

make them

out

from

hastily

drawn

sketches,

and

also kindly furnished briefdiagnosesof the species,! stating at the

same

time that although oneof the outlinesresembles a Cretaceous

genus

(Credneria,) the nervation being obscure,

and

the others being

more

likeTertiary forms than anything

known

intheCretaceousof the oldworld, he

was

inclined totheopinionthatthey are Tertiary.

Along

with ProfessorHeer's letter,

we

also receivedaprintedpamphlet,en- titled" Letters on some_{points of}the Geology _{of Texas,}

New

llexico,

Kansas and

Nebraska; addressedtoMessrs. F. B.

Meek and

F.V.

Hayden,

byJulesMarcou."

Inthis

pamphlet

Professor

Marcou

quotes Professor Heer's conclusionsin re- gardtoourfossilplants,

and

expresses the opinionthatNo. 1, of the

Nebraska

section,is bothMiocene

and

Jurassic,orinotherwords, that

we

have included initstratabelongingtoeachof these

two

widelydifferentgeological epochs.

Having

avery high regard for Professor Heer's opinions

on any

questionin fossilbotany,

where

hehas

had

an opportunityto

examine

thespecimens

them-

selves,or tostudy

good

figures

and

descriptions,

we

are quite sure,

had

the

whole

collectionbeen submitted to him, instead of

mere

sketchesof a

few

of the species, hisopinion

would have

been very dilferent.

At any

rate,

we

can assertwiththefullestconfidencethatitisabsolutelyimpossiblethat thisforma- tion,or

any

part of it, can beTertiary,for

we know

itpasses, asalreadystated, beneathat least eight

hundred

feet ofCretaceous strata. This is not

mere

conjecture,noraninference

drawn

from

having

seenthisformation

under

^cir-

*OurfriendDr.NewberrywastheninINew Mexico.

tFordftscriptionsoftheee plantsbyProf. Ileer,seethelasttwopages ofthispaper.

1858.]

258 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEJMY OF

cumstances leading ustosuppose from the dip of thestrata,thatit

must

pass beneaththeCretaceous ifcontinued in a given directionatthe

same

angleof inclination,butfromthe fact that it has actually beenseen, directlybeneath theotherCretaceousrocks,not merely at one place,

and by

oneobserver,but

by

severalpersonsat

numerous

localities.

Inordertosatisfy others

we

are not mistaken in this,

we

willgive afewof the

many

^{facts in our}possession, bearing onthisquestion. Inthefirstplace,

we would remark

that the farthest point towards the southat

which we have

seenthis formation,isnear

Smoky

Hill river, inKansas,latitude38*^30' north,

and

longitude97° 30'west. Here

we

found it formingtheupperpartof sev- etal isolated elevations

known

as the "

Smoky

Hills," atan altitudeof

about

1200feetabovetheMissouriatFortLeavenworth.

At

this locality,however,

we saw

no rocks overlying it,

and

consequently have no stratigraphicalevidence thatitisthe

same

rock seen

by

us at other localities

under

Cretaceous beds

;

but our lithological

and

palaeontological evidence isquiteconclusiveonthis point,for this rock in color, composition,

and

allother respects, isundistin- guishablefrom No. 1,ofthe

Nebraska

section, as seen nearthe

mouth

ofBig Siouxriver

on

the Missouri,

and

contains

numerous

fossilleaves,

some

of

which

are identical with those occurring in No. 1, at the last

mentioned

localities.

Amongst

these leaves Dr.

Newberry

has also identified at least one genus (^Ettingshausiania) peculiartotheCretaceous system.

Bearingin

mind

thatalltherocksherehave agentlebut uniforminclination or diptothenorth west^;

and

that the formation

under

consideration consists ofred

and

yellowish sandstones,

and

various colored clays,withgenerally

more

orless

impure

lignite

and

ferruginousconcretions,

we

will be preparedtorecog- nizeitatlower

and

lowerelevations as

we

proceed northward.

Without

undertakingtomention indetailtheintermediate exposures,

we

will- pass

northward

atonceto localities

where

ithasbeen seen beneath Cretaceous rocks

by

three differentobserversatvarious times;thisisnearthe

Kansas and Nebraska

line

—

latitude40°north,

and

in the vicinityof^97*=>ofwestlongitude.

Here

atanelevation ofabout seven

hundred

feet

above

theMissouriatFort Leavenworth, or

some

five

hundred

feet

below

the level of the exposures

mentioned

atthe

Smoky

Hills, our deceased friend, Mr.

Henry

Pratten,

saw

near

Wyeth's

creek, in 1853, thefollowingexposures indescendingorder_;

1st. Slope,thicknessnotgiven.

2nd.

Yellow and

whitish limestonefilledwithcasts

of Inoceramus^ referred

by him

to/.myteloides

>No.

3,

Nebraska

Sec.

=

^/.problematicus. J

3rd. Slope,thicknessnotgiven.

|

^No.2,

Nebraska

Sec.

4th.

Red

ferruginous sandstone withleavesofdi- 5

-kt i q„„

.11

^, ^iNo.i,INeDrasK.aoec*

cotyledonoustrees. 5

A

short distancewestofthis exposure Dr. J. G.

Cooper

informs us he

saw

outcrops of ared sandstone in the valleys at about the

same

elevation;

and

abovethis,exposuresof dark gray laminated clay answering exactlythe de- scription of

No.

2,of the

Nebraska

section,while

above

thelatter,nearthe tops of the ^hills,he

met

with outcropsof light coloredlimestone containing

numer-

ouscastsofInoceramus.

At

otherlocalitiesnotfar tothesouthwestof the foregoing,Mr.

Hawn saw

ex- posuresof lightcoloredlimestoneforty-five feet inthickness,containinggreat

numbers

ofInoceramus

which we

referred, from specimens sent

by

him, to/.

problematicus.*

Below

this there

was

a slope of twenty-seven feet in

which

he

saw

noexposures, while still lower he observed outcropsofdarkferrugi- nous

and

yellowsandstone,

and

variouscolored clayswith impressionsof leaves

*It iswith somedonbtwehavereferredthis species toI.problematicus;it isthesamespe- ciesdescribedbyDr. Schiel in the secondvolumeof thePacificRailRoadReport,pyge108,plate 3,figure8. Itisrather longeronthehingethaniscommoninI.problematicue,fromwhichit

maybedistinct.

We

alwaysrefer to this shell inspeaking of/.problematicus.

[Dec.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 259

resembling,ashe supposed, thoseofoaks

and

willows. (Seehissection

pub-

lished

by

us intheProceedingsof the

Academy

ofNatural SciencesofPhila-

delphia,May,1857.)

Proceeding

northward

from thelast

mentioned

localities,

we

find

on

reaching the

Loup

forkof Platteriver,nearthe eastern limits of the

Pawnee

reservation, outcropsof the light colored Inoceramus beds already mentioned,(No.3,Ne- braskasection,)nearthe water's edge;

and

atthe

mouth

of

Loup

fork, onthe Platte, theredsandstone No. 1, so often referred to, cropsout nearthe river margin,v/hiletheLioceramusbedsare seen in the bluffs

above

it.

Going down

the Platte in a direction nearly contrary to the dip of thestrata,

we

find this sandstonerising

up

so as toform nearthe

mouth

of Elk

Horn

river,bluffs

some

sixtyfeet in height.

Here

itseems to rest directly

upon

Carboniferousrocks.

Continuingon

down

the Platte,

we

find this red

and

yellow sandstonerising higher

and

higherin the hills until

we come

within fiveor sixmilesof the Missouri,

where

itisseenwith itsbaseelevatednearsixtyfeet

above

the Platte;

and

there areprobably outlines ofit

between

that point

and

theMissouriat greater elevations.

So

that

we

here find the

same

formation

which

at

Smoky

Hill riveriselevated

about

twelve

hundred

feetabovethe level of theMissouri atFortLeavenworth,

and

seven

hundred

feet

above

the

same

horizonnearLittle Blueriver, has

by

the gradual north-western dip ofthestrata,

sunk

towithin about one

hundred

feetoftheMissouriat the

mouth

of the Platte.*

Ascending

theMissouri

from

thelocalities justmentioned,

we

seeoccasional exposuresof theupper Carboniferousrocks,

which

graduallysinklower

and

lower untiltheypassbeneaththe rivernearFlorence, tobe succeeded

by

thereddish

and

yellowsandstones, &c., ofNo. 1,

—

^{(Nebraska section.)}

^Above

^this,occa-

sionalexposures of thisformationareseen with itscharacteristic fossilleaves,

•alongthe river;

and

atseverallocalities,

some

thirtymiles belowthe

mouth

of Big Sioux river, it forms perpendicular escarpments of yellowish sandstone risingfromthe water's edge to

an

elevation ofabout eightyfeet;whileata higher point,

back on

the

summits

oftheHills, the

same

calcareousbedsare seen, containing Inoceramusproblematicus.

Here

at aquarryinthesandstone (formation No. 1,)

some twenty

feet

above

the level of theriver,oneofus(Dr.

H.) collected a large

number

offossil leaves,

some

of

which

are identical with speciesfound

by

usinthisrockat the

Smoky

Hill localityalreadymentioned.

The

sketchesof leaves sent by us to Professor

Heer

were mostly

drawn from

specimenscollected atthis locality.

At

the

mouth

of Big Sioux rivera

low

bluff ofthis formation, not

more

thanfifteenortwentyfeetin height,isseen,

and

onthe hills

back

alittle

from

the river at ahigherelevation the

same

Inoceramus bed crops out at several places,

and

is used for

making

lime.

At

another locality, about eight or ten miles

up

theBig Siouxriver,

which comes

in from the north west,one of us (Dr. H.)

saw

No. _1,containing its characteristic fossil leaves, directly beneath No.2,ofthe

Nebraska

section. This exposure presentedthe following bedsin thedescendingorder:

1st. 20feetexposedof lightgray limestone

and

marl, ₎ No. 3 of containing Inoceramus Problematicus. )

Nebraska

Sec.

2d, 45feetdark laminated claywith ferruginous ) No. 2 of concretions containingfish scales

/ Nebraska

Sec.

3d. 15 feetexposed

above

the edgeofthewater, con- ^'\

sistingofyellowish friable sandstone,with a | No. 1of thinbedof

impure

lignite above,

and some y ^Nebraska

layersof variouscoloredclay below,contain- j Section, ing dicotyledonousleaves.

J

*Thegradual descent of the Missouririvermakesitssurface at FortLeavenworth,about three hundredfeet lowerthanatthemouthof thePlatte,hencethe exposures of No.1,seenatthelat- ter locality,onehundredfeetabove the Missouri, aresomefourhundredfeetabovethelevelof theMissouriatFortLeavenworth, and of course about threehundredfeetlowerthan theLittle Blueriveroutcrops. Thedip,however,isgreaterthanthiswouldindicate, forthestrata incline towardsthenorthwest,while themouthof Platte river,isnortheastof theBlueriverlocalities.

1858.]

260 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP

Oae

of the sketches ofalonglanceolateleaf,like

some

of the existing species ofSalix,sent

by

usto Prof. Heer,

was drawn

from aspecimen collected,from one of thelower sandstones here.

Aejainat anotherlocality

on

the Missouri,aboutthirty milesabovethe

mouth

ofBig Siouxriver,No.1,

was

seenby oneof us (Dr. 11.) only five feet above the water's edge,andimmediately overlaid

by

No. 2,of the

Nebraska

section,con- tainingitscharacteristic species ofAmmonites;

and

directly overthe latter,he

saw

No. 3,containing Inoceramus Prohlematicus.

* At

this locality he also foundinNo. 1

some

of the

same

fossil leaves characterizingitat the other placesalready mentioned.

On

ascendingthe Missouri,abovethelast

named

locality, formationsNo. 2, 3, 4

and

5are seentosink atthe

same

gradual uniform rateofdip, in regular succession,beneaththeleveloftheMissouri;so that on reaching Heartriver,

we

findthe top ofNo. 5nearly

down on

a level with the water's edge,

and

a shortdistanceabovethat localityitpassesoutof sight, tobe succeeded

by

the GceatTertiary Lignite basin of the upper Missouri,

which

overlapsit onthe hillsalongthe river for

some

distancebelow.

From

theforegoing statement,

we

thinkitwill be clearly understood, that formation No.1 of the

Nebraska

section holdsa position beneath the other cretaceousdeposits of thatregion;whiletheoccurrence initof highly organiz- ed angiosperm dicotyledonousplants provesthatit cannot beolder than Cre- taceous. It

may

be argued, however,that it

may

in part be Cretaceous

and

part Tertiary, orat

any

ratethatsomeof these leaves

may

have been obtained fromoverlying Tertiarybeds which

we

have confounded with the Cretaceous below. This,however,isimpossible,simply because specimensofnearlyallthe speciesfoundatthe varionslocalities,have been quarried fromthe

same

bed at BlackbirdHill,

and

thewhole, not apartonlyof this formation, passesbeneath alltheotherCretaceous rocksof the northwest. In addition to this,

we

hare extensive collections of plantsfromthe Tertiary ofNebraska, nota single species of

which

is identical with thosefrom No. 1.

When we

statedin

some

ofour papersthatit

was

possible

we might have

includedin thisformation beds not belongingto theCretaceous, it

was

notbe- cause

we

thought

any

part ofit

might

be Tertiary, but because

we

suspected

some

of thelower bedsreferred toitin

Kansas might

possiblybeJurassic;

and we

areeven

now

preparedtobelieveit

may

yetbefound torepose on Jurassic rocksinthat Territory, asit doesattheBlackHills.

Descriptions op

new Carboniferous

Fossils.

The

carboniferousspeciesdescribedinthe followingpagesofthispaper,were collected

by

usinKansas,fromtheuppercoal measures, extending

up

to the baseofthePermian, through aseriesof strataholdinga higherstratigraphical positionthan

most

of the coal deposits of the west.

We

found this series of rocks abounding,atplaces, inorganic remains, mostlyof the

same

species oc- curring inthe coalmeasuresof Missouri, along with a few othersapproxima- tingto

Permian

forms.

Amongst

ourcollectionsfromtheserocks

we

haveidentified

most

of the car- boniferous species figuredbyProf.

Marcou

inhis

work on

thegeologyof

North

America,

which

represents a

group

offossilscharacteristic ofour westerncoal measures.

We had hoped

tohave ready for this paper

some remarks

on ihe upper carboniferous

and Permian

rocks ofKansas, illustrated

by many

local sections,

showing

therangeof thevariousfossils,but

we

have,for

want

of time, been compelled^to defer theseforanotheroccasion.

Fdsulina

cylindrica, Fischer.

Inourcollectionsfromtheupper

members

of theCoal MeasuresofKansas,

we

havegreat

numbers

ofFusuUna,

many

of

which

agree sovery nearlywithfigures

*Itisof course unnecessaryforus toinformgeologicalreaders thatarock overlaidbystrata containingAmmonites andInoceramus^cannotbe Tertiary, because thesegenera becameextinct atthedawnof the Tertiary epoch.

[Dec.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 261 and

descriptions of the speciesabovecited,that

we

have thusfar failed to find

any

reliablediflFerencesby

which

theycanbe distinguished. Ifthese arereally- identicalwithF.cylindrica itnotonly proves that speciesto

have had

an im-

mense

geographicalrange,but to

have

existed through vast periods of time, since,accordingtoMurchison de Verneuil andKeyserling,itiswidelydistribu- tedin Russia,

where

itonlyoccursintheupperpart of thelower carboniferous or

mountain

limestoneseries; whilein

Kansas

itrangesthrougha great thick- ness of upper carboniferous rocks,

much

of

which

appears to be even

more modern

than

most

of thewesterncoal measures.

F.cylindricavar.ventricosa.

Along

withtheformsabove mentioned,

which we

regardasprobablyidentical with Fasulinacylindrica,

we

^findin

some

of theupper

members

ofthe coal

mea-

suresinKansas,others differing so

much

insize

and

form, that

we

evensuspect they

may

possiblybelongtoa distinct species. These

we

propose to designate forthepresentas a variety of F. cylindrica^

under

the

name

of ventricosa^

which

willbe a

good

specific

name,

should they prove to be distinct.

They

differ fromF.cylindrica^as figuredin Murchison de Verneuil

and

Keyserling's

work on

thegeology ofRussia, inbeing

much

larger,

some

of

them measuring

nearly half an inchinlength,

and

0.20inchindiameterat themiddle_; they are also proportionably

much more

ventricose,

and

differinbeing usually less

symme-

trical,in consequenceofaneside being

more

gibbous than the other.

The

transversegrooves

marking

thepositionofthe septa alsopass across the central ventricoseregionwith

more

of a lateral curvethanin the Russian specimens

;

whiletheedgesoftheseptathemselves,

when

the outer shell is removed, are seento be apparently less distinctly waved.

Again

the aperture in allour specimensissovery

narrow

astoappearentirely closed.

In the description of theRussian specimensitissaid that

young

individuals areproportionablyso

much

shorter

and more

fusiform thanthe old,that they

might

readilybemistakenforadifferentspecies;exactly the reverse,however,is thecasewith our

Kansas

specimens, thesmaller individualsbeing

more

nearly cylindrical,while they appeartohave

become more

gibbous with age, until in

some

casesthey

might

be described as subglobose.

Locality

and

position.

—

^{Thisvarietyisfoundat}Juniata on Blue river,

and

at

Manhattan on

theKansas,^faraboveallthe coalbedsyetdiscoveredinKansas.

Orthisina crassa,n. sp.

Shell thick,of

medium

size, §ubquadrate,rather compressed; hinge,gene- rallyalittlelessthanthe greatest breadth of the shell,but sometimes equal- ling it. Front broadly

rounded

; lateral margins

more

or less arcuate, in

some

examplesnearly straight. Surface

ornamented by numerous

straight ra- diatingstriaj,

numbering

nearthebeaks aboutthirty to forty on eachvalve,but increasing

by

theimplantation of others

between

them, from one hundred,to

about

one

hundred and

twentyfour,aroundthe

margin

; thesestriaearecrossed

by numerous

fineelevatedconcentriclines,

which

arenotonlyquite distinctin thespacesbetween, but

on

wellpreservedspecimensareprominent

on

_{the stri»}

to

which

theyimpartasub-crenulate aspect, as seenbythe aid of alens.

Adult

specimens also generally

have

severalstrongconcentric imbricating

marks

of growth.

Largeror ventralvalve nearlyflat, cardinaledgeslopingalittle towardsthe lateralmargins;

beak

not very prominentor distinct,not incurved, sometimes a^littletwistedtooneside;area ratherbroad,flat,

and

inclined obliquely

beyond

the cardinaledgeof theothervalve; deltedium thick

and

prominent.

Smallerorventral valve moderately convexin the middle,concave on each sideof the

umbo, which

isgenerallydepressed: mesial tooth strong,

and prom-

inent,bifid.

Length

ofa specimen alittle above the average size 1*25,inch, breadth, 1-30inch: transversediameterof the

two

valves

Locality

and

position

— Leavenworth

^City,K.T.,inCoal Measures.

1858.] 19

262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

ChONETES" MUCRONATA,n. Sp.

Shell rather large, semicircular,havingits greatest breadth on the cardinal border,

which

isusuallyextended into

mucronate

angles. Surface

ornamented by

a few sub-imbricatingconcentric

marks

ofgrowth,crossed

by

fine regular closelysetstrise,about one

hundred and

fiftyof

which may

be counted

around

the border,

where

eight ornine of

them

occupythespaceofoneline.

Largervalve depressed,having generally a broad, shallow, undefined, mesial sinusextending fromthe fronttowardsthebeak. Ears sometimesseparatedfrom the central regionby very shallowdepressions,andoftenslightlycurved

upwards

at the extremities. Cardinal margin sloping a little fromthe beaks,on each side of

which

itis

ornamented by

from eightto eleven tubularspines, directed

©bliquelyoutwards.

Area

ratherwide and,having a broad deltoid aperture, withelevated margins.

Smallervalve following nearly the curveof the other;

beak and

central re- gion concave; ears flat; arearather broad,but narrower than the other,

and

rectilinear. Interiorprovidedwithasmallveryslightly projectingbifid

median

tooth,

which

nearly closes the aperture of the other valve.

From

thebase of this tooth there arefive radiating ridges,

two

of

which

are rather obscure,

and

extendobliquelyoutwards near the cardinal edge, whilea thirdextendsatright anglestothe hinge, a^little

more

thanhalf

way

across towardsthe frontof the yalve.

The

other

two

ridges are

much

shorter,

and

occupy an intermediate po- sition

between

this

median

ridge

and

the lateral one,

and

are directed oblique- lyforwards

and

outwards.

The whole

interioris

more

orless granulose, the granules neartheborder being

much

smallerthanthe others,

and

rangedin

rows

paralleltothestrias

on

the outside. Breadthof largestspecimen1.13 in.;length 0-62 inch.

Thisspecies isvery nearly alliedto C. Smithn, of

Norwood and

Pratten, to

which we we

wereatfirstinclinedto referit; a careful examination, however, ofalarge

number

of individuals in all conditions of preservation,hassatisfied us that the^striaeof theshell

now

before us arealways entirely destitute of the pitsso characteristic ofC.Smithn.

Our

shell is also

much more

extended

on

thehingeline,

which

terminatesin

more

acute angles; whilethere are notun- frequently eleven, instead of tentubeson eachside of thebeak.

Localityandposition,

— Near

FortRiley, K.T.,

Upper

Coal Measures.

AxiNus

(ScHizoDus) ovATUs,h. sp.

Shell ovate,

most

gibbousslightly inadvanceof themiddle; anteriorextrem- itybroader thanthe other,

somewhat

narrowly rounded; posterior

end narrow and

compressed,obliquelytruncateabove,sub-angular below. Base semiovate inoutline, the

most

prominentpart being in advanceof the middle; cardinal edge very^short,straight

and

horizontal,meetingthe obliquely truncate poste- rior

margin

atan angleofabout one

hundred

and^thirtydegrees.

Beaks

loca- tedslightlyinadvanceof themiddle,elevated,

and

incurvedatrightangles to the hinge, rather distinctly angular

down

the posterior slopes

and

obliquely towardsthelowerpart of the posterior extremity. Surface

unknown. Length

0-65inch;heighth0-45 inch; transversediameterof the

two

valves 0-20 inch.

This species appears to be about intermediate

between

Schizodus truncatus^

King,

and

S.rotundatus,

Brown,

as represented

by

figures 27

and

30,platexv., King's

Permian

fossilsofEngland.

From

S.rotundatus,itdiffers inbeing

more

elongate,lessbroadlyroundedin front,

and much more

obliquely truncate pos- teriorly; thehinge lineisalso shorter

and more

nearlyhorizontal. It differs from^{;S'. truncaiusinthe}

more

nearly central position of the beaks,

much

shorter

and

lesssloping cardinaledge_; whileits anterior extremity is

more

narrowly rounded.

Locality«wc?posz/fiow.

—Cottonwood

Creek,K.T.,high

up

in

Upper

Coal

Mea-

sures.

[Dec.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 263 AlLORISMA

?ALTIROSTRATA,D.Sp.

Shelloblongoval,very gibbousinthe

umbonal

region ; beaks

much

elevated abovethe cardinal edge, incurved,and locatedoverthe anteriorend. Posterior extremity

more

compressed, but apparently

more

orlessgaping,

rounded

in out- line,anteriorend^verticallysubtruncate,

somewhat

gaping;basenearly straight, oralittle concave nearthemiddle,rounding up towards the extremities. Car- dinalborderrather short,straight

and

inflected so astoform amoderatelydis- tinct,impressed areaforthereception of the ligament. Surfaceof cast

marked by

concentric undulations,

which

are narrower,

more

regular,

and

distinct on the

umbones and

over their slopes, than towards the base

and

extremities.

From

the anterior side of the beaks, thereis on each ^valve,an obscuresulcus descendiugobliquely

and

widening towards themiddleof thebase.

Length

3-06 inch; height from thebasetodorsal

margin

1-63 inch; do. to highestpart of beaks1"74 inch

; greatest transverse diameter.

Having

oolyseen aninternal cast ofthis shell,

showing

neither the

muscular

norpallial impressions,

and

givingno cluetothe character ofthe hinge, there

must

remain

some

uncertainty respectingitsgeneric relauons. Its

most marked

peculiarityistheunusualelevation of the beaks,

which

givesit

much

theform of

some

of the JurassicPholadomyas.

We know

ofnoothershellfromthe

whole

Carboniferous

System

with

which

itcan be confounded.

Localityandposition.

—

Grasshopper Creek,K. T.,

Upper

Coal Measures.

Allorisma

subcuneata,n.sp.

Shell large, clavate, cuneate,gibbousin the anterior

and umbonal

regions, contracted

and

compressed posteriorly.

Beaks

depressed,incurved

and

re-

moved

aboutone eighththe length of theshellfromitsapterior extremity. Pos- teriorend narrowly rounded,

and

apparently gapinga little; buccal end olb- liquely truncate above, rathernarrowly rounded,

and somewhat

gaping below.

Base

nearlystraightalong the middle,curving

up

very gradually behind,

and

abruptlyinfront; dorsal outline sloping slightly from _the beaks towards the analextremity. Surfaceof cast

marked

by

more

orlessregular concentric un- dulations; hinge long

and

straight; lunule oval,not verywell defined;ligament area long

and

narrow,

bounded

oneither side bya

narrow

obscureridge,

on

the outside of

which

there^isa long,parallel, shallow undefined sulcus. Anterior

muscular

impressionlunate,theupperextremitycurved backover itselfso as to give the

whole somewhat

theformof the letter

G

; posterior

muscular

impres- sion, large,oval, ovate,orrhomboidal, locatedabout onethirdthe length of the shellfromthe posteriorend; pallialimpressionfaint,havingadeep angularsi- nus.

Length

5-10 inch;height2-25 inch

; greatest thicknessnear the anterior

end

1-70 inch.

Thisspecies is verysimilar to Sanguinolites clava of

MeCoy,

butitsventral

margin

isstraighter,itsbeaks rather

more

depressed,

and

its anterior border

more

narrowly

rounded below

the beaks.

The

lunette on the anterior side of the beaks, inourshell,appears tobelessdistinctly defined thanisrepresented in Prof.McCoy's figure,whilethe anterior

muscular

impression

m

S.clava

ap-

pearstobe orbicular instead of lunate as inourshell.

Locality

and

position.

— Leavenworth

City,inuppercoalmeasures,

Allorisma?

Leavenworthensis,n.sp.

Shellvery thin, oblong, subcylindrical behind,

more

compressed anteriorly;

posteriorendbroad, rather obliquely truncate,very widely gaping,or even di- latedatthemargins; buccalend narrowly

rounded and

nearly closed. Base almoststraight, orbutslightlyconvex, rounding

up

graduallyinfront

and much

more

abruptly untothetruncateposteriorborder. Dorsaloutline concave from thebeakstoitselevated posterior extremity.

Beaks

moderatelyelevated, slight- ly flattened,"

more

orlessangular behind, incurved,

and

locatedabouthalf

way

betweenthemiddle

and

the anterior end. Surface

marked

by obscure concen-

1858.]

264 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

trieundulations,

which

curve abruptly

upwards

parallel to the truncate anal margin; theseundulationsarecrossed byradiatingrowsofverysmall granules, onlyvisible

by

the aidof alens.

The

anteriormuscular impressionisoval,arcuate,and

surmounted by

a small accessory impression nearly detached fromit.

The

posteriormuscular impres- sion isbroad oval, not very deep,

and

placed close

up

under the posterior ex- tremityof the dorsal edge; fromthisimpression, thepallial linedescends,with a broadgentlyconcavecurve, so astoformabroad very shallow sinus.

Length

2-85 inches

; heightfromventralmargintomiddleof dorsaledge 1'3G inch; do.from ventral

margin

toaline

drawn

from

summit

of beakstothe elevated posteriorextremity1-50 inch; greatest transverse diameter (near the centre) 1-11 inch; breadih of posterior hiatus 1-07 inch, height do ^1-44 inch.

^

Locality

and

position.

— Leavenworth

City,

Kansas

Territory,Coal measures.

Allorisma? Cooperi.

PanopcBa Cooperi,

Meek and Hayden.

Trans.

Albany

Inst. vol. iv. p. 11.

March

2d, 1858.

This species bears

such

astriking similarity, in

form and

generalaj^pear- ance, to

some

of theJurassic

and

Cretaceous Panopseas,that

we were

atfirst

leadto referittothatgenus, supposingas

we

thendid, thatit

was

a

Permian

species. Sincethattime

we have

collectedspecimens of itinKansas,

show-

ing that the hinge is edentulous, consequently itcannot beaPanopcea;

we

therefore

now

^referit provisionally tothe generaAllorisma, King, to

which

it

appears

most

nearlyrelated,

though we

arenotquitesureitisatrue Allorisma.

We found

it ranging^

through

a considerable thickness of the

upper

coal measures,but

we do

notthinkitrangesquite

up

intothePermian.

Locality

and

position.

— ^Near

^Helena,

^Kansas

^Territory,

^Upper

Coal Measures.

Pleurotomaria

subturbinata,n. sp.

Shellratherthick,obliquelyconical_; spire

moderately

elevated,pointedat the

apex

; volutionssix to six

and

ahalf,

convex and

angular inthemiddle, obliquely concave above,

and having around

themiddleof the last one,just

below

theangle, a rather

narrow

revolving shallow sulcus. Umbilical region not

much

depressed, butperforated

by

a very smallpit

;aperturesuborbicular.

Surface

ornamented by

small revolvinglines,only preserved

on

the

under and

outersides of the

body whorl

inour specimen,

which

is

somewhat

worn,

and shows no

linesofgrowth.

The

angle

on

the

middle

of the whorlsappearsto

he

double, or

composed

of

two

closely set parallel lines; suturelinearbut distinct.

Length

0'36inch; breadth0*29inch_; spiralangleregular,divergence69*.

Locality

and

position.

— ^Same

^aslast.

Pleurotomaria

humerosa, n. sp.

Shellovate turbinate_; spire turreted,

moderately

elevated

and

pointedat the apes. Volutions five to five

and

a half, very convex,

more

orlessob- liquely flattened or alittleconcave above,

rounded

below,

and

distinctlyan- gularatthe outer

margin

of the

upper

flattenedside. Suture distinct;

um-

bilicalregion slightlydepressed,

and having

avery smallperforation. Surface

ornamented by

about ten rather strong revolvinglines, onlyfour of

which

are visible

on

theturnsof thespire,

below

the angle;

on

the obliquelyflattened space above, thereareusuallysixorseven revolving^striae,

which

arenot

more than

half as large asthose

below

theangle. Aperturesuborbicular.

No

lines of

growth

are visible

on

our specimens,

which

are

somewhat

worn.

Length

0*62 inch; breadth0-50 inch, spiralangle about62°.

Locality

and

position,

— Grasshopper

creek,K.T., Coal Measures.

[Dec.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 265 The

following are the descriptions

by

Prof.

Heer

of the fossilplants from.

No. 1 ofthe

Nebraska

section, referred to

on page

257.

1. LiriodendronMeeJcii,Mihi.

L.foliistrilolbatis, lobo

medio

apicerotundato, lateemarginato,basiangus- tato, lobislateralibus obtusis.

DiffertaL. Procaccinii, Unger, eta L.tuUpifera, L.,lobisrotundatisetlobo

medio

basi angustato.

This leafis furnished

with

a slender petiole, towards

which

it gradually diminishes; themidrib extendstothe

apex

;towards the

middle

ofthelobes

on

eachside proceeds a secondarynerve,

which

also sends out

on

bothsides tertiarynervesatrather acute angles. Further

down on

eachside (near the base) isanother secondary nerve,

which

inosculateswith the former. Thisis

a

mode

ofstructure

which

characterizesLiriodendron;further

up

therearises

very

delicatesecondary nerves,

which

likewise

branch oS from

thepetiole.

2. SapotacitesHaydenii, Mihi.

S. foliisobcordato-ellipticis, basi

sensim

attenuatisintegerrimispenninervis, nervissecondariisnumerosis, ramosis angulo-acuto egredientibus.

Affinis S. mimusops, Heer. FloraTert. Helv. I. Taf.ciii.f. 4.

The

leafgradually diminishes

toward

the base,

rounded toward

the apex, ratherdeeply emarginate,

margins

entire.

From

the midrib

which

gradually

becomes

slender

and

dies out,proceedatacute angles

very numerous

secon-

dary

nerves

which have

thepeculiarity oframifyingvery

much,

3. Lauriisprimagenia, Unger. Taf. 13, ^fig. 1^? Heer, FloratertiarHelvet. Taf.Ixxxvi. fig.1.

Tlie

form and

nervation agreeas farasthe leaf has

been

preserved,

with

the preceding species, only theleafisdiminishedina

somewhat

less degree

toward

thepetiole,

and

prolonged

toward

the

apex

asinUnger.

Itlooksquite similar totheleaves of

Laurus

primagenia,

which

I

have

re- ceived

from

Corfe, intheIsleof

Wight.

Dunker

(Paleontographica, iv. Taf. 34, f. 2,) has figuredasimilar leaf as Salicites Hartigi,

from

the chalk of

Blankenburg. But

in this, along

with

stoutersecondary nerves, thereare

always

several

more

delicate ones.

4. LegiiminositesMarcouanus, Mihi.

L. foliis magnis, obovalibus, apice obtusis,emarginatis nervis secondariis sparsis;basilaribusapproximatis.

The

leaflet is verylarge,

but

ceasalpinia-like, at the base

somewhat

un- equal, obtuselyrounded. Itisalso

rounded

at the

apex and

deeply

emar-

ginate.

The

midribdiesout

toward

the

apex

; secondary nerves very sparse

and

delicate, one

on

eachside near thebase, the next following ones distant

and much

curved.

Inits

form

it

reminds

one strongly of Ccesalpinia Falconeri, butis

much

larger. Itwould, however, be important ^to

know whether

theleafisleather- like orthinskinned. Ifthe latter isthe case, the leaf

probably

belongs to Csesalpinia, but if it is leather-like,the Dalbergia are to be

compared,

as

among them

similarly

shaped

leaves are found.

5. Populusleuce, Unger. Taf. 15,^fig. 6?

Phyllitesleuce, Eossmassler, Blatter

Von

Altsaltel,Taf. 3, fig.12?

Unfortunatelythis leaf isnot preservedentire,

and

the

margin

is

no where

complete. So far, however,as the

form

can be determined, it agrees

with

Populusleuce, as also inthe nervation.

Thus we have

a stoutmidrib,

and from

this

mid

rib

above

thebaseoftheleafproceeds

on

either side stout secondary nerves,

which then send

off

outwardly two

or three rather stout tertiary nerves,

which

are

curved toward

the apex. Besidesthese, springs forth

on

eachside

below them, but

almostatthe

same

spot, a delicatesecondary nerve

which

does not ramify

any

further,

but

dies out near the margin.

At about

the

middle

of theheightof theleaf,there springs

from

the midrib

on

each

1858.]

9

266 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP

side, another secondarynerve, wliich runs nearlyparallelwith the basalone,

and

furtheraboveare

two

othersimilar ones.

The

nervulesarecurved,

soms

remainingsingle, others forked. In allthesepointsthe

Nebraska

leaf agreee with Populusleuce, butfora positive determination

we must

wait for leaves

whose margins have been

preserved.

A

similar leaffrom theIsleof

Wight

has

been

figured

by

Prestwieh(on the structure of thestrata

between

the

London

clays, &c., Quart. Jour.x. pi. iv.

fig.1, 2), butin this (of

which

I

have

specimensbefore

me)

the lower basal nerves are

much

^stouter,

and

the

two upper

ones are curved

much more toward

the apex, while the midrib cannot

send

forth

any more sach

stout secondary nervesfartherup.

At

firstsightthe leaf also appears similar to Credneria integerrimaZenker, Paleontographica,butin this leaf the midrib is

much

stouter,

and

theside nervesare

more

bent

and

curved towards the apex, otherwise the nervulesare of similar structures.

6. Populuscyclophylla, Mihi.

P. foliisorbiculatis, basi attenuatis, triplinervis, integerrimis.

Similar to the preceding,

and may

perhaps belong to thatspecies as a

younger

leaf, yet thebase of the leaf is attenuated

toward

thepetiole,

and

there are at thebaseof theleaf only three nerves.

On

the suppositionthat the formerleafis Populus leuce it is

assumed

thatitis

rounded

atthebase, but should

more

perfectlypreservedspecimens

show

that, likethe smallone, itisdiminishedatthebase into the petiole, it

would

form aspecies different

from

Populusleuce, as in this latter speciestheleaves are

rounded

atthebase,

and moreover

possess

some

^obtuseteeth

on

themargin.

7. PJujllitesobtusi-lobatus, Mihi.

Folium

trilobatum, lobis integerrimis, obtusiusculis.

Perhaps

belongingtoLiriodendron Meekii, but

Liquidambar and

Acer are also tobetakenintoconsideration. Itis,however,tooimperfectly preservedto be

determined

withcertainty. It

seems

to

have

threelobeswithentiremargins.

8. PhijUites obcordatus, Mihi.

Polium

obcordatum, basi

angustatum,

integerrimum, nervo-primario po- necto, nervis secondariisanguloacuto, egredientibus, debilibus, subramosis.

Valde

affinisPh. clusiodes,Rossmassler, Beitrage33, Taf. _6,fig. 24, et

non

nisinervis secundariis fortioribus etramulosis distingusenim.

The Corresponding Secretary

read his report for thelast

two months.

The

following reports

from

the

Recording

Secretary, the

Librarian and

the

Curators were

read

:

REPORT OF THE RECORDING SECRETARY FOR

1858.

During

the pastyear, Dec. 1, 1857, to

November

30, 1858, there

have been

elected sixty-nine

members and

eightcorrespondents.

Of

thesethirteen

members were

notresidents ofthecity atthetimeof their election.

Two members have

resigned.

Three have

forfeitedtheir

membership.

Seven have

died, to wit: Mr. Charles

McEuen,

Mr.

W.

Frederick Rogers, Professor

John

K. Mitchell, M.D., ProfessorRobert Hare,

M.

D.,the

Hon.

Job R. Tyson,

Edward

Minturn,

M.

D.,

and

Glavin

Watson, M.

D.

The

^deaths of the following correspondents

have been announced

: Mr.

GeorgeR. Gliddon, Mr.

John

A. Vancleve.

The

followingPapers

have been

readbeforethe

Academy, and

orderedtobe publishedinthe Proceedingsor Journal.

By

SpencerF. Baird, ^''Description ofa

new

Phyllistome Bat

from

California.^'

'

By W.

G.Binney, two, towit: '

'Notes

on American Land

Shells,No. 3

and

No. 4."

[Dec.