298 8. Abstammungslehre. 



wie sie von lebenden Ästenden bekannt sind, lassen sich auch an dem fossilen 

 Material durch Unregelmäßigkeiten in der Größe und Anordnung der Platten 

 nachweisen. Die rheinische Grauwacke, der die beschriebenen Arten ent- 

 stammen, ist eine küstennahe Bildung; diese sind also Litoralformen, was sich 

 auch in der starken Ausbildung ihres Skeletts ausspricht. 



R. Wilckens (Greifswald). 



557) Cockerell, T. D. (St. Louis), The Miocene trees ofthe Rocky 

 Mountains. 



(Amer. Naturalist 44,518. p. 31—44. 10 Fig. 1910.) 



An account of some of the fossil leaves of trees in the Florissant flora 

 Colorado, which is believed to be of Miocene age. The evidence from the 

 Vegetation shows that the climatic conditions in this mountain region probably 

 resembled those of Southern and Lower California at the present time, with 

 a comparatively damp atmosphere but little precipitation during a considerable 

 part of the year. The desert conditions and accompanying desert flora and 

 fauna of the Southwest must have existed long before the Miocene. Compari- 

 sons of the Florissant flora with the Oeningen beds of Baden show many 

 close resemblances in the species; and many species of the Florissant flora 

 are shown to be closely related to living Californian species. 



R. R. Gates (St. Louis). 



558) Gregory» W. K. (Read by title), Osteology and genetic relations 

 of the Menotyphlous Insectivores. 



(The New York Academy of Sciences Section of Biology 11, April 1910.) 



Gregory (Newyork). 



559) Brown, Barnum, Notes on the Restorations of the Cretaceous 

 Birds Hesperornis and Baptornis. 



(The New York Academy of Science, Section of Biology. 10. Januar 1910.) 

 A few brief notes from a forthcoming paper were presented. The anatomy 

 of Hesperornis as known from described material was discussed and compared 

 with a skeleton recently mounted in the American Museum. In this specimen 

 for de first time a complete tail is known. The swimming pose here chosen 

 is accepted as the one that best represents its aquatic habits and more nearly 

 conforms to the structure of the limbs. The peculiar arrangements of the palate 

 bones in Hesperornis and the contemporary Baptornis were shown to constitute 

 characters that distinguish them from all known birds. 



Two new specimens have made possible a paper restoration of Baptornis 

 which in some characters is more primitive than Hesperornis. The striking 

 features are a complete fibula, keretofore known only in Archäopteryx and a 

 very long tail of which fourteen vertebroe are preserved. There were at least 

 sixteen. This is complete though reduccd in size. The palate bones are like 

 those of Hesperornis. Hussakof (Newyork). 



560) Joubiii, L., Sur une jeune Spirule. 



(Comptes Rendus Acad. Sc. 150,7. p. 414—415. 1910.) 

 L'auteur decrit une jeune Spirule ramenee des grandes profondeurs; il 

 fait remarquer que les yeux de ce jeune animal sont aplatis, alors que chez 

 l'adulte, ils ont l'aspect «telescopique» caracteristique de beaucoup d'animaux 

 abyssaux: la disposition «telescopique» n'est donc pas precoce et ne s'acquiert 

 qu'assez tard, conformement d'ailleurs ä ce que l'on connait d'autre part chez 

 de jeunes Poissons abyssaux. Fred Vles (Paris). 



