2.S THE AMIiniCAS Ml SKI M .lOlliSAL 



arc incrcly used citlicr liccausc the insect is forccil to, a- in llic case of tlic 

 loiiii' tiind \{"ji> for junij)in^, oi' iKcausc it finds it convcnicni, a> li\inj^ in 

 (■n'\iccs when the shape of tlic hody cnaMcs it to do >n'' 



Therefore, li't us he on the safe side and n^c tlic non-coniniittal phrase, 

 "the relation hetween hal)it and stnieturc, '" ratht-r than the eoininittal 

 one, "achiptation of structure to hahit." Kxaniples of sucli relation are 

 h-yion. The hirj^e win^s and slender bodies of drajjon flies make them su- 

 preme in tlu' air hut clumsy on the "jround. Tlie irround l)eetlcs ha\c lcl,^s 

 of such length and suppleness that they ar<' cnaMcd to run swiftly. The 

 "electric lij^ht l)iiu"' whose home is tlie water has j)addle-s]uiped legs and a 

 kee]-sha])ed hody. The water strich'rs skate oxer tlie surface of j)onds and 

 streams liy \ irtiie of sirndcr, liair-co\ered feet which do not hreak the sur- 

 face film. The mole cricket burrows in the ground by using the spade- 

 shaped front legs. The numtis catches its prey with its toothed front legs. 

 The .scalpel-like ovipositor of the katydid slits lea\-es and the bar-like 

 one of the cricket makes holes in the ground for the recej)tion of eggs. 



The subject is most fascinating and tlierefore one in which we are 

 apt to lose our judicial balance. At any rate, howc\er the relations come 

 about, they are not only numerous and striking but, as is shown by the 

 dominance of insect life, effective. 



FORT LEE DINOSAUR 



liil 11 '. I). MatflKic 



THE discovery of a fossil reptile skeleton, probal)ly a dinosaur, at 

 Fort Lee almost within the city of New York is of exceptional 

 interest to New Yorkers. It was found on the rc(l shales which 

 underlie the Palisades and outcrop at the river's edge opposite KiOth Street 

 almost directly in front of the site of old Fort Lee and just south of the 

 boundar\ of the Palisades Park, being disco\-ered there by three post- 

 graduate students of ("f)luml)ia University, Messrs. .1. K. Hyde, I). I), 

 ("ondit and A. ('. Boyle, through whose courtesy and the good offices of 

 Professor Kemp, the Museum has been enabled to ac(iuire this specimen. 



The red .shales and sandstones in wliich this fossil was found belong to 

 the Triassic period, the early part of the Age of Reptiles. The formation 

 extends over a considerable part of New Jersey and is found also in tlie 

 lower part of the Connecticut \'alley and at other points along the Atlantic 

 Coast, but fo.ssils are everywhere rare and xertebrate fossils especially .so. 

 Great numbers of footprints indeed have been found in two or three locali- 



