2 SMITHSONIAN' MISCEl.LANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 87 



about 2 miles in an airline west of Hagerman, the exact locality being 

 NW^ Sec. 16, T. 76, R. 13 E. The elevation is about 400 feet above 

 the level of Snake River. According to Gidley. 



the bone deposit was evidently at the time of its formation a boggy, springy 



terrain, perhaps a drinking place for wild animals This assumption is based 



on the general character of the deposits as stated, and the fact that it contains 

 the bones of literally hundreds of animals, mostly belonging to an extinct species 

 of horse. For the most part the bones are disarticulated, intermingled, and 

 scattered in a way to suggest that they represent the slow accumulation of many 

 years rather than the sudden overwhelming of a large herd in one grand 

 catastrophe. Springs and swampy conditions are indicated from the fact that 

 there are in the deposits the remains of frogs, fish, swamp turtles, beavers, and 

 other water living animals, and abundant evidence of vegetation. 



The bones were found mainly in unconsolidated beds of sand and 

 gravel . 



Considering the nature of these deposits and the large numbers of 

 parts of other animals present, remains of birds are few. only two 

 bird bones coming from the main quarry — a fragment of a swan 

 humerus collected by Gidley and a bit from a pelican collected by Boss. 



For bird remains, a locality about 3 miles south of the fossil quarry 

 described above is of more importance, as Gidley, assisted by S. P. 

 Welles and Elmer Cook, obtained there in June 1930 a number of 

 fragmentary specimens. These were labeled by Gidley as " from 

 about 200 feet above level of Snake River and estimated to be about 

 200 feet below horizon of fossil horse (PIcsippus sJwshonensts) 

 quarry ". The deposit is Upper Pliocene. Additional specimens were 

 collected subsequently at this point by Elmer Cook. 



It is unfortunate that the majority of these specimens are not more 

 complete, as a highly interesting avifauna is indicated ; but with most 

 of the species represented so indefinitely that they cannot be described 

 their generic affinities are uncertain. To assign them names at this 

 time would only give rise to uncertainty in subsequent work, so that 

 they are listed with whatever discussion seems pertinent in the hope 

 that further specimens may come to hand. 



Two additional specimens of the large Cygiius come from a locality 

 designated as Canyon 9, 5I miles south of the main quarry, and at the 

 same level as the fossil horse deposit. 



Subsequent to the field-work outlined additional specimens have 

 been obtained from time to time from Mr. Cook, who found them in 

 scattered areas south of the main quarry. Occurring also in Upper 

 Pliocene deposits, these include fragmentary remains of several 

 aquatic species of considerable interest. 



