RECORDS OF MEETINGS 383 



Summary of Papers 



Di-. Matthew ^aid in aljstract: The many hundreds of mammalian 

 fossils secured by the American Museum expeditions to the Lower Eo- 

 cene of AVyoming and New Mexico, under Mr. AValter Granger, included 

 material which had led to the following conclusions: (1) the Armadillo 

 group, already known from Metacheiromys of the Middle Eocene, was 

 also represented by aberrant genera in the Lower Eocene; (2) Hyopso- 

 dus, classed by earlier authors as a Primate and later as an Insectivore, 

 proved to be a very primitive member of the Condylarthra ; (3) certain 

 upper and lower teeth bore a marked resemblance to those of the existing 

 Galeo pith ecus, and may indicate the presence of the Dermoptera in the 

 North American Lower Eocene; (4) a fragmentary jaw bore lower molars 

 that are remarkably similar to those of certain extinct Patagonian genera 

 allied to the Homalotheres. The faunistic bearing of these discoveries 

 was discussed. 



Di-. Gregory reviewed the systematic history of the family Xotliarc- 

 tidae, and illustrated some of the fossil and recent material which had led 

 him to the following conclusions : 



1) That the American Notharctidse and the European Adapidae are 

 so closely related that they may well be regarded as belonging in a single 

 familj^, the Adapidae; including two subfamilies, the AdapinaB and the 

 Notharctinge. These diverged from each other at an early date, perhaps 

 before the Middle Eocene, and followed different lines of evolution in 

 Europe and in America. The family Adapidge may be defined as follows : 



Dental formula I^ cj P^ m| 



2 1 b o 



Incisors with cutting edges and spatulate crowns. Canines caniniform 

 not incisiform. Lacrymal not extended on face. Lacrymal foramen 

 marginal. High sagittal and lambdoidal crests. Brain-case not much 

 expanded. General architecture of skull substantially as in Tjemurids, 

 including mode of formation of auditory bullse, position of tympanic 

 annulus, course of internal carotid artery and position of all other fo- 

 ramina. 



2) That the Notharctine division of the Adapidae is also rather closely 

 related to the stem of the existing Lemuridae. 



3) That the remote ancestors of all the higher Primates, especially 

 the New World monkeys, went through a stage of evolution which is 

 nearly represented by the more primitive members of the Notharctinae, 

 such as Pelycodus frughwrus : but that there are no known types which 



