ART. 7 NEW FOSSIL KEPTILE GILMOEE ^ 



For the most part the dorsal vertebrae protruded into the over- 

 lying block of sandstone which was split off and lost, and hence little 

 knowledge is to be had of the upper portions of the remaining dorsal 

 vertebrae. These seem to have had broad centra with slightly con- 

 cave sides with a slight median keel developed on the ventral side. 

 Five articulated centra in the mid-presacral region have a combined 

 length of 44 mm. Single vertebra vary from TI/2 to 8 mm. in length. 

 These measurements indicate an animal approaching the size of 

 Koiloskiosaurus^ a colytosaurian from the Triassic of Germany near 

 Coburg, described by Huene.^ 



Telerpetan from the Triassic of Eligin, Scotland, has 24 presacral 

 vertebrae in the complete series, and from the fragmentary evidence 

 at hand it would seem that the specimen now before me may have 

 had an equal number of vertebrae in the complete presacral series. 



Ribs. — Impressions of 14 ribs of the left side and 11 of the right 

 side are present. While only a few are preserved in their entirety, 

 they show a gradual lengthening from the neck to the middle of the 

 dorsal region, posterior to which they become progressively shorter 

 and more slender. The longest rib measures 53 mm. from end to 

 end. All of the ribs having a complete proximal end may be called 

 single headed, though in reality both capitulum and tuberculum are 

 probably present though connected. Williston ' has suggested the 

 term holocephdlous for this type of rib articulation. He also points 

 out that this form of articulation is almost invariable among the 

 Cotylosauria, occurring occasionally in the Theromorpha and in the 

 living Sphenodon. Those ribs that remain in articulated position, 

 and there are at least eight of them, have their heads lying opposite 

 the sides of their respective centra, a fact that seems to indicate their 

 articulation to have been with transverse processes on the side of the 

 vertebrae and not intercentral. 



Pectoral girdle. — Two deep, slot-like impressions lying on either 

 side of the vertebral column and in front of the longer ribs (fig. ^S) , 

 a position entirely in accord with the relative position of the pec- 

 toral girdle, are doubtfully regarded as having been made by the 

 blade portions of the scapulae. The one point opposed to such a 

 conclusion is the fact that the greatest diameter of these impressions 

 lies transverse to the vertebral series, whereas, in the properly articu- 

 lated skeleton the longer diameter of these bones would be more or 

 less parallel with the backbone. Further development might dis- 

 close the true nature of these molds but this course was deemed 

 inadvisable inasmuch as surrounding impressions would be destroyed. 

 If these do represent the pectoral bones, and if they occupy their 

 proper position in relation to the lower jaws, it would be evidence 



1 Huene, F. von, Die Cotylosauria der Trias, Palaeontograpliica, vol. 59, 1919, p. 75. 

 ' williston, S. W., Osteology of the Reptiles, 1926, p. 113. 



