Volume VII. October, 1892. Number 



Journal 



MORPHOLOGY 



ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE SKULL IN THE 

 MOSASAURID^. 



Dr. G. BAUR, 



University of Chicago. 



A NEARLY complete specimen of Platecarpus coryphceus, Cope, 

 found this summer by the writer in the cretaceous of Kansas, 

 about fourteen miles southwest from Russell Springs, Logan 

 County, makes it possible to clear up different doubtful points 

 in the morphology of the Mosasauridas. The specimen, now 

 in the possession of the Paleontological Museum at Munich, 

 Bavaria, will be fully described there. I shall restrict myself 

 to the skull, studying some of its characters which have been 

 in doubt from a morphological standpoint. It is impossible to 

 discuss here the difficult synonymy of the Mosasauridae. I 

 leave it to one who has ample material to work himself through 

 the labyrinth of names, and to find out which can be adopted. 

 Only one word about this point. The specimen on which these 

 researches are based agrees with Platecarpus coryphcBus, Cope ; 

 and I hope that the final description will contain definite char- 

 acters, at least of this genus. 



History of our Knowledge of the Mosasauroid Skull. 



I shall only discuss the principal papers. Every notice, how- 

 ever, of a morphological character, will be included. 



