Dec, 1845.] 299 



Meeting for Business and %ftnnual Meeting, Dec. 30, 1S45. 



Vice President Morton in the Chair. 



The Committee to whom was referred a paper by Dr. 

 King, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, read 16th inst., reported 

 in favour of publication. 



Description of Fossil Foot Prints. 

 By Alfred T. King, M. D. 



It is now more than a year since fossil foot prints were discovered 

 in the sandstone of the coal measures in Westmoreland county, 

 Pennsylvania. Since then, numerous localities have been ob- 

 served, which contain well characterized impressions. Some of 

 these are similar to, and a few identical with, those which I first 

 described, but by far the greatest number are totally different 

 from any which have heretofore been observed. 



About three miles from this town, near the summit of the first 

 anticlinal roll, west of Chesnut ridge, one of the principal axes of 

 elevation belonging to the Alleghany range, in a coarse grained 

 sandstone, are eight remarkable impressions, all having the same 

 dimensions, the same distance apart, and forming a continuous se- 

 ries in a slightly bent line. _ Each is of an ovoidal form, 13 inches 

 long, 9 broad, and from 3 to 6 deep. The impression is deep 

 and ovoidal before, but superficial behind, as though made by an 

 animal with a long and flexible pastern. 



Twenty-seven miles from Greensburgh, on the summit of 

 Chesnut ridge, in a coarse grained sandstone, are numerous im- 

 prints, as perfect as they are anomalous and remarkable. These 

 imprints are of different kinds : the greatest number seem to have 

 been made by rvminant mammals, as the feet were cleft so as to 

 resemble those of the ox and deer, but much larger. They are 

 of various sizes, and differ from most living types, in having two 

 hind hoofs, which made deep and vivid impressions from one to 

 two inches behind the main track. 



The length of the largest, including the posterior imprints, is 9 

 inches, breadth 5f inches. 



The smaller vary from 44 to 5| inches in length, by 2k to 

 4s in breadth. The general form of these foot marks is ovoidal, 

 the largest portion being behind as well as the widest part of the 



