370 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



generic name Dinotheriwn, and excellent descriptions of the remains 

 then known. 



Count Miinster's " Beitrage zur Petrifactenkunde," published 

 1843-'46, contained several valuable papers on fossil vertebrates ; and 

 the separate papers by the same author are of interest. Andreas Wag- 

 ner wrote on Pterosaurians in 1837, and later gave the first description 

 of fossil mammals of the Tertiary of Greece, 1837-'40. Johannes Miil- 

 ler published an important illustrated work on the Zeuglodouts in 1849, 

 and various notable memoirs ; and Quenstedt interesting descriptions 

 of fossil reptiles, as well as other papers of much value. Riitimeyer's 

 suggestive memoirs are widely known. 



Hermann von Meyer's contributions to vertebrate paleontology 

 are by far the most important published in Germany during the period 

 we are now considering. From 1830 his investigations on this sub- 

 ject were continuous for nearly forty years, and his various publica- 

 tions are all of value. His " Beitrage zur Petrifactenkunde," 1831-'33, 

 contains a series of valuable memoirs. His " PaliBologica," issued in 

 1832, includes a synopsis of the fossil vertebrates then known, with 

 much original matter. His great work, " Zur Fauna der Vorwelt," 

 1845-'60, includes a series of monographs invaluable to the student of 

 vertebrate paleontology. This work, as well as his other chief publi- 

 cations, was illustrated with admirable plates from his own drawings. 

 Other memoirs by this author will be found in the *' Paheoutographi- 

 ca," of which he was one of the editors. In the many volumes of this 

 publication, which began in 1851, and is still continued, will be found 

 much to interest the investigator in any branch of paleontology. 



The " PalfBontographical Society of London," established in 1847, 

 has also issued a series of volumes containing valuable memoirs in va- 

 rious branches of paleontology. These two publications together are 

 a storehouse of knowledge in regard to extinct forms of animal and 

 vegetable life. 



It may be interesting here to note briefly the use of general terms 

 in paleontology, as the gradual progress of the science was indicated 

 to some extent in its terminology. At first, and for a long time, the 

 name "fossiP'' was appropriately used for objects dug from the earth, 

 both minerals and organic remains. The term " oryctology," having 

 essentially the same meaning, was also used for this branch of study. 

 For a long period, too, the termination ites {Xt^og, a stone) w\as applied 

 to fossils to distinguish them from the corresponding living forms ; as, 

 for instance, " ostracites,''^ used by Pliny. At a later date the general 

 name "figured stones" {lajyides Jigurati) was extensively used ; and, less 

 frequently, "deluge-stones" (Japides diluviani). The term "organ- 

 ized fossils " was used to distinguish fossils from minerals when the 

 real difference became known, although the name '•'■ rcliquim'''' was 

 sometimes employed. The term " petrifactions " {petHficata) was de- 



