CLASPING ORGANS OF AMPHIBIA. 253 



Through the kindness of Dr. L. Hussakof of the American Mu- 

 seum, I have had the opportunity to examine the object described 

 by Cope and am able to verify his description. The fragment, 

 which lacks the greater part of the handle, is of a reddish brown 

 color and is covered with a shining enamel very similar to that 

 described by Fritsch for the clasping organs of Ophiderpeton. 

 The object has very little resemblance to a Ceratodus tooth, as 

 may be seen by referring to the figure herewith given (Fig. 3). 



In the Laramie deposits remains of five species of Amphibia 

 have been discovered. The forms, the fragments of which are 

 rather abundant in the deposits, are based on small portions 

 of the skeleton which are typically amphibian in structure. 

 The forms described from the Laramie Cretaceous of North 

 America are : Scapherpeton tectum Cope, based on a single 

 vertebra with a fragment of another bone ; 5. laticolle Cope, 

 based on several vertebrae and a limb bone ; vS. excisum Cope, 

 based on several vertebrae ; 6". favosum Cope, based on a single 

 vertebra, and Hemitrypus jordanianus Cope, based on a single 

 vertebra. 1 Lambe has figured vertebrae of Scapherpeton tectum 

 Cope, and provisionally referred fragments of a jaw to this species 

 from the Judith River beds of Canada. 2 



Cope suggests 3 that the comb-like bodies described above 

 may have been the clasping organs of the Scapherpeton forms of 

 the Laramie. The element described as Ceratodus liieroglyphus 

 Cope, certainly agrees in every detail with the amphibian ele- 

 ments figured and described by Fritsch and Stock and there can 

 be no doubt that it is not a fish tooth but is probably the clasp- 

 ing organ of some one of the Laramie Amphibia. If it is the 

 clasping organ of some one of the Laramie amphibians certain 

 interesting deductions would necessarily follow. Among the 

 earlier forms the clasping organs are only known among some 

 of the Carboniferous Microsauria and Aistopoda. If these 

 organs are present in the Laramie forms and also in the Car- 

 boniferous forms there must be some genetic relationship between 

 them. Hylceobatrachus from the Wealden of Europe does not 



1 Cope, 1876, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., pp. 353-359. 



2 Lambe, 1902, Contrib. Canad. Paleon., Vol. III., Pt. II., p. 31. 



3 Cope, 1885, Pal. Bull., No. 40, p. 408. 



