34«'> BUFFALO LAND. 



of the gullet ; hence the throat in the Python- 

 omorphs must have been loose and almost as baggy 

 as a pelican's. Next, the same habit must have 

 compelled the forward position of the glottis or 

 opening of the windpipe, which is always in front 

 of the gullet. Hence these creatures must have ut- 

 tered no other sound than a hiss, as do animals of 

 the present day which have a similar structure, as 

 for instance, the snakes. Thirdly, the tongue must 

 have been long and forked and for this reason: its 

 position was still anterior to the glottis, so that there 

 was no space for it except it were inclosed in a 

 sheath beneath the windpipe when at rest, or thrown 

 out beyond the jaws when in motion. Such is the 

 arrangement in the nearest living forms, and it is 

 always, in these cases, cylindric and forked. 



The flying saurians of the cretaceous sea of Kan- 

 sas, though not numerous in si^ecies, were of remark- 

 able size. Though their remains are generally 

 flattened by .the pressure of the overlying rocks, 

 two species have left a complete record of their form 

 and dimensions. One of them (Ornithoc/u'rus Tarpyid) 

 spread eighteen feet between the tips of the wings, 

 while the 0. umbrosus covered nearly twenty-five feet 

 with his expanse. These strange creatures flapped 

 their leathery wings over the waves, and, often 

 plunging, drew many a fish from its companions of the 

 shoal; or, soaring at a safe distance, viewed the sports 

 and combats of the more powerful saurians of the sea ; 

 or, trooping to the shore at nightfall, suspended 

 themselves to the cliffs by the claw-bearing fingers 

 of their wing-limbs. 



