Geological Papers. 49 



They were rigid when they carved at pleasure the living Portheii 

 or mosasaurs. The premaxilre were prolonged into a long, dagger- 

 like weapon of solid bone, and the teeth in the angles of the jaws 

 were doiibl-eedged and projected forward. So when, with the 

 swimming force of this great fish, the snout entered the quivering 

 flesh of his prey, these teeth opened wide the breach, permitting 

 the whole head to enter. If the sharks of modern oceans are their 

 terror, what can we say of the snout fishes of the Cretaceous? 



George secured a complete skeleton, nearly, of a large plate- 

 carpus nineteen feet long, the largest I have known — the entire 

 column, head, and one paddle and ribs of one individual. Also, a 

 splendid little tylosaur — most of the column, head, front and back 

 paddles nearly complete, with breast bone and cartilagenous ribs. 

 We are now mounting these great show specimens at my shop in 

 Lawrence. Charlie is mounting the titanothere at his home on 

 his homstead in Wyoming. George also secured fine skulls, in 

 addition, oi platecarpus and tylosaurus of Portheus; Icthyodectes, 

 the great cat fish; Anogmius, Empo, Gillicus, etc. And more 

 wonderful, the tail of a shark showing the dorsal fin for the first 

 time. The shark we sold to the University of Kansas last year, 

 now finely mounted by Mr. Martin, under whose skillful hands a 

 skull was found beneath the scattered fragments that covered it. 

 Thus a specimen of inestimable value of this rare shark is pre- 

 served in our University Museum, 



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