i 



A NEW FOSSIL EEPTILE FEOM THE TKIASSIC OF 



NEW JERSEY 



By Charles W. Gilmore, 



Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, United States National Museum 



INTRODUCTION 



Through the generosity of Dr. C. N. Fenner of the Geophysical 

 Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, the United States 

 National Museum has come into possession of a fossil specimen of 

 considerable scientific interest. Found in the Upper Triassic of 

 New Jersey, this specimen is important as adding one more form 

 to the meagerly known fauna of that geological period. 



Under date of October 19, 1926, Doctor Fenner wrote me regard- 

 ing the discovery of this specimen as follows : 



It was found on or about September 10, 1926, by Herbert R. Fenner, 64 

 Broad Street, Clifton, at the intersection of the street with the tracks of the 

 Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, An excavation was being 

 made there to change the grade of the street and carry it under the railroad 

 tracks and the specimen had evidently been turned up in these operations. 

 It was found as a loose slab. Search was made in the vicinity for the missing 

 portions of the skeleton, but they were not found. 



While I was at my brother's home last summer I visited the excavation a 

 number of times and took note of the character of the strata. They consisted 

 of the usual irregularly bedded alternations of reddish brown sandstone and 

 shale that are characteristic of the Triassic of this region. There are occa- 

 sional thin beds or strings of pebbles. Frequently the dividing surfaces 

 between sandy layers were smooth, almost glossy, films of shale, such as might 

 be left by the drying up of a pool of muddy water and very pretty rill mark- 

 ings were common, but no mud cracks or ripple marks. The smooth films of 

 shale carried many small circular markings, perhaps bubble rings. There 

 were also numerous little oval lumps of which the structure was too poorly 

 preserved for any definite conclusion, but they vaguely suggested replacements 

 of vegetable growths, such as cones or collections of short, acicular leaves. 



The locality is about 0.3 mile to the east of the First Watchung trap ridge, 

 and the gentle westerly dip would make the stratigraphic position about 400 

 feet below the base of the sheet, if there are no intervening faults. As you 

 doubtless know, the Triassic of this region has been supposed to be entirely 

 Upper Triassic. 



At first glance the specimen gives the impression of being in an 

 excellent state of preservation, but this idea is soon dispelled when 



No. 2728.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 73, Art. 7. 



76979—28 1 



