GEOLOGICAL PAPERS. 127 



believes. So I am led to think Cope was right when he suggested 

 that this animal had the power to spread his mandibles laterally, to 

 force food down a loose, baggy throat. Then, I have a nearly com- 

 plete skeleton of the large Platecarpus coryphmus. 



I never get tired of talking about these old Kansas mosasaurs. 

 But as they are so well known, I will tell jou of a skeleton I was able 

 to secure of the great predaceous fish, Cope's PorthexLS mollosus. 

 This was discovered several years ago by my friend, Mr. W, O'Bourne, 

 of Scott City. He entertained me every time I came to town in his 

 pleasant home, surrounded by beautiful trees. His estimable wife 

 and he did all in their power to make me forget the hardships of 

 the fossil fields, and I returned to them with fresh courage. My son 

 George rediscovered the specimen, with several tons of loose dirt on 

 top. I consider this specimen better than the one I sold the Ameri- 

 can museum, Central Park, New York, in 1900. Professor Osborn 

 had it mounted by his skilful assistant, Mr. Adam Herman, and I 

 take great pleasure in showing you a fine photograph of this speci- 

 men. Public Opinion, page 89G, December, 1902, says: "It is the 

 most striking specimen of a fossil fish to be found anywhere in any 

 museum in the world." In this photograph the dark shades repre- 

 sent the bones I collected, the light shades the parts restored, using 

 the skeleton of a living tarpon for comparison. And it would seem 

 that this restoration could be safely made when so much of the skele- 

 ton is present. Yet my more complete specimen shows that there 

 were no additional spines in the dorsal line They were V-shaped. 

 The proximal ends of the limbs were provided with rounded heads, 

 that fit in bowl-like depressions in the centrum of the vertebra. The 

 distal end was sharp — no room for extra spines. Further, some of the 

 spines in the caudal region were double. 



This individual of mine occupies three large panels of its native 

 chalk. The complete head, gill bones and pectoral arches are the 

 most perfect of any I have collected. The distal ends of the pectoral 

 fins are cut off by the wash, with a few of the ends of the ribs in this 

 region. All the proximal ends and many complete ribs are present, 

 with all the spines of the vertebrae. Both the pelvic and dorsal fins 

 are present, but unfortunately the tail fins are missing. I hope the 

 museum that procures this specimen will be able to get a cast of the 

 tail fins in the New York museum, as that individual seems to have 

 been of the same size as this one. I have twelve feet of the skeleton, 

 but the one in New York is sixteen feet long. So I am truly de- 

 lighted that in these two specimens men of science will at last get 

 correct ideas for the first time of this great fish. 



I wish, in this connection, to give credit to my son George F,, who 



