898.] Os/'oni, Skeleton of Coryphodon )-adians. 87 



cnemial crest, and rests by a slightly concave distal face upon the 

 broad flat astragalus. The position of the pes is probably fairly 

 represented in the left right foot, and although it is possible for 

 the astragalus to be brought still nearer to the ground in the long 

 forward step, it appears that in this type plantigradism is not so 

 marked as has been stated by Osborn ; probably the different 

 species varied in this respect. As in the fore feet, the median 

 digit faces outward. The astragalus has a well-marked astraga- 

 lar foramen. 



General Appearance of Coryphodon. 



The most accurate forecast of the appearance of the animal 

 was that made by Cope' in 1874 : 



" The general appearance of the Coryphodons, as determined 

 by the skeleton, probably resembled the Bears more than any liv- 

 ing animals, with the important exceptions that in their feet they 

 were much like the Elephant. To the general proportions of the 

 Bears must be added a tail of medium length. Whether they 

 were covered with hair or not is, of course, uncertain ; of their 

 nearest living allies, the Elephants, some were hairy and others 

 naked. The top of the head was doubtless naked posteriorly, 

 and in old animals may have been only covered by a thin epider 

 mis, as in the Crocodiles, thus presenting a rough, impenetrable 

 front to antagonists. 



" The movements of the Coryphodons, doubtless, resembled 

 those of the Elephant in its shuffling and ambling gait, and may 

 have been even more awkward, from the inflexibility of the ankle. 

 But, in compensation for the probable lack of S]jeed, these ani- 

 mals were most formidably armed with tusks. These weapons, 

 particularly those of the upper jaw, are more robust than those of 

 the Carnivora, and generally more elongate, and attrition pre- 

 served rather than diminished their acuteness. The size of the 

 species varied from that of a Tapir to that of an Ox." 



Osborn' in 1892 wrote as follows : 



" The fact is, the position of the fore and hind feet of Cory- 

 phodon is absolutely different. The fore foot was digitigrade, 

 like that of the Elephant, the hind foot was plantigrade, like that 

 of the Bear. In other words, the carpus was entirely raised from 

 the ground and the manus rested upon the distal ends of the meta- 

 carpals and upon the spreading phalanges, while the calcaneum 



' Vertebrate Palaeontology, Vol. IV, Wheeler Survey, p. 203. 



2 Fossil Mammals, of the Wasatch and Wind River Beds, Collection of 1891, Osborn & 

 Wortman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Sept., 1892, p. 121 



