﻿NO. 
  1969. 
  FOUR 
  t^EW 
  SPECIES 
  OF 
  FOSSIL 
  HORSES— 
  HAY. 
  585 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  thought 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  remains 
  mentioned, 
  except 
  probably 
  the 
  

   skulls 
  of 
  Bison 
  hison, 
  were 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  deposit. 
  The 
  

   writer 
  has 
  consulted 
  Prof. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Todd, 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Kansas, 
  

   regarding 
  the 
  geological 
  age 
  of 
  this 
  deposit. 
  He 
  responds 
  that 
  the 
  

   remains 
  are 
  from 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  river, 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  cut 
  

   down 
  nearly 
  100 
  feet 
  since 
  the 
  ice 
  of 
  the 
  Kansan 
  stage 
  was 
  across 
  

   the 
  valley; 
  and 
  that 
  he 
  sees 
  no 
  geological 
  reason 
  for 
  thinking 
  that 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  many 
  years 
  since 
  they 
  were 
  deposited 
  in 
  their 
  resting 
  place. 
  

   He 
  knows 
  of 
  no 
  older 
  bed 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  

   derived. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  as 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  endeavored 
  to 
  prove,^ 
  no 
  

   native 
  horse 
  has 
  left 
  its 
  remains 
  on 
  drift 
  of 
  the 
  Wisconsin 
  stage, 
  

   from 
  which 
  fact 
  it 
  appears 
  reasonable 
  to 
  infer 
  that 
  the 
  native 
  horses 
  

   had 
  by 
  that 
  time 
  become 
  extinct. 
  The 
  same 
  statement 
  appears 
  to 
  

   be 
  true 
  of 
  the 
  extinct 
  species 
  of 
  bison 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  carnivores 
  known 
  as 
  

   the 
  saber-toothed 
  cats. 
  Moreover, 
  the 
  skull 
  here 
  described 
  is 
  believed 
  

   to 
  be 
  specifically 
  identical 
  with 
  a 
  fine 
  specimen 
  from 
  Hay 
  Springs, 
  

   Nebraska, 
  at 
  which 
  place 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  also 
  three 
  species 
  of 
  

   camels. 
  This 
  specimen 
  is 
  described 
  below. 
  These 
  considerations 
  

   make 
  it 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  horse 
  skull, 
  the 
  skull 
  of 
  Bison 
  Tcansensis, 
  

   and 
  the 
  femur 
  identified 
  by 
  Professor 
  Moodie 
  as 
  belonging 
  to 
  Smilodon 
  

   belonged 
  to 
  a 
  time 
  antedating 
  the 
  Wisconsin 
  drift 
  stage. 
  The 
  skulls 
  

   of 
  Bison 
  hison, 
  found 
  near 
  Lawrence, 
  are 
  less 
  thoroughly 
  fossilized 
  

   and 
  are 
  probably 
  of 
  a 
  later 
  time. 
  It 
  seems 
  not 
  unlikely 
  that 
  deposits 
  

   of 
  the 
  Aftonian 
  stage 
  had 
  been 
  laid 
  down 
  in 
  an 
  old 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  

   Kansas 
  Kiver 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  now 
  attacking 
  these 
  deposits. 
  

   This 
  conclusion 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  confirmed 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  teeth 
  of 
  a 
  

   horse 
  apparently 
  identical 
  with 
  those 
  of 
  E. 
  laurentius 
  have 
  been 
  

   found 
  in 
  Aftonian 
  deposits 
  in 
  western 
  Iowa. 
  

  

  In 
  describing 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  fossil 
  horses 
  we 
  must 
  continually 
  

   deplore 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  resemble 
  one 
  another 
  very 
  

   closely. 
  When 
  one 
  has 
  the 
  teeth 
  only 
  for 
  study, 
  one 
  longs 
  for 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  skulls, 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  might 
  furnish 
  distinguished 
  charac- 
  

   ters, 
  but 
  when 
  these 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  hand 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  that 
  one 
  is 
  

   little 
  better 
  off 
  than 
  before. 
  The 
  skulls 
  and 
  its 
  parts, 
  including 
  the 
  

   teeth, 
  of 
  what 
  are 
  certainly 
  different 
  species, 
  are 
  greatly 
  alike 
  in 
  

   form 
  and 
  often 
  in 
  size. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  there 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  parts 
  of 
  

   each 
  species 
  of 
  horse 
  so 
  much 
  variation 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  often 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   determine 
  where 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  placed 
  the 
  lines 
  which 
  one 
  is 
  certain 
  must 
  

   be 
  drawn 
  somewhere. 
  Only 
  by 
  careful 
  work 
  on 
  all 
  accessible 
  mate- 
  

   rials 
  can 
  one 
  hope 
  to 
  approach 
  correct 
  results, 
  and 
  future 
  research 
  

   must 
  be 
  depended 
  on 
  to 
  eliminate 
  such 
  errors 
  as 
  may 
  find 
  their 
  way 
  

   into 
  this 
  paper. 
  

  

  1 
  Smiths. 
  Misc. 
  CoU., 
  vol. 
  59, 
  p. 
  10. 
  

  

  