228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



August 8. 

 Dr. Carson, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Fifteen members present. 



Bema7'ks on Fossil Vertehrates from Wyoming. — Prof. Letdy 

 remarked that the collections of fossils presented this evening, 

 by Drs. J. Van A. Carter and Joseph K. Corson, were of nnusual 

 interest. They consist of remains mainly of turtles, with those 

 of mammals and crocodiles, and were obtained from the tertiai'y 

 deposits in the vicinity of Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory. 



The great abundance of remains of turtles, of many species and 

 genera, of fresh-water and terrestrial habit, obtained in W3'oming, 

 indicates this region to have swarmed with these animals during 

 the earlier portion of the tertiarj^ period. Crocodiles and lacer- 

 tian reptiles were likewise numerous. The many mammalian 

 remains found in association with the reptilian fossils mainly 

 belong to tapiroid and carnivorous animals. 



The Wyoming tertiary fauna presents a remarkable contrast 

 with the later faunre of the Mauvaises Terres of White River, 

 Dakota, and of the Niobrara River, Nebraska. Among the large 

 number of fossils from these two localities, rich in evidence of 

 mammalian life, there occur the remains of a single species of 

 turtle in each, and none of crocodiles or other reptiles. 



Dr. Carter's collection, besides containing remains of Trionyx 

 guttatus, Emys Jeanesianus, E. Haydeni, and E. Stevensonianus, 

 and Baena arenosa, also adds two new turtles to the list. One 

 of these is a species of Emys of the largest size, and exceeds any 

 now living. The carapace has measured about two feet and a 

 half in length, and the sternum about two feet. In honor of its 

 discoverer, it may be named Emys Carteri. 



The first and second vertebral plates of this species present an 

 unusual, perhaps an anomalous, appearance. The first is 4 inches 

 long, and clavate in shape, with the narrow part foremost. The 

 second is 2^ inches long, and presents the usual hexagonal form 

 reversed. The third plate, a little longer, is quadrate, with convex 

 sides. The first vertebral scute is vase-like in outline, 5^ inches 

 long, 2f inches wide in front, 4f inches near the middle, and 3^ 

 inches at the back border. The second scute, of the oixlinary form, 

 is 5 inches long, and 4 inches wide. 



The second turtle belongs to the recently characterized genus 

 Baena, but is considerably larger than its associated species 

 which have been described. The shell in its complete condition 

 has been upwards of a foot and a half in length, and is seven 

 inches and a half high. The sternum is flat, and about fifteen 

 inches long. Its pedicles ascend at an angle of about 45°, and 

 are seven inches and a half broad. As in the living Eermatemys, 



[November 21, 



