Mat 14j 1915] 



SCIENCE 



735 



for the possible benefit of an acre of corn dur- 

 ing the crop season would be^ equivalent to 1 

 horse-power for 22 seconds; and the heat 

 evolved by $1,000 worth of radium on an 

 acre of land in 100 days would be less than the 

 heat received from the sun on one square 

 foot in 30 seconds. Cyril G. Hopkins, 



Ward H. Sachs 

 Univeksity of Illinois 



SPECIAL ABTICLES 



NEW REPTILES FROM . THE TEUS OF ARIZONA AND 

 NEW MEXICO 



Beginning the later part of March, 1914, 

 the University of Wisconsin paleontological 

 expedition spent two months in Arizona and 

 New Mexico collecting Triassic vertebrates. 

 The time was divided chiefly between two 

 localities, Wingate, New Mexico, nine miles 

 east of Gallup, and along the Little Colorado 

 Eiver some fifty miles northeast of Flagstaff, 

 Arizona. In both localities material was col- 

 lected which should add substantially to our 

 knowledge of the Triassic vertebrate faunas of 

 the west. 



Conspicuous among the collections are 

 Phytosaur remains of various types. One 

 nearly complete skull, apparently the largest 

 yet discovered, will probably prove to be a new 

 form. 



One of the most interesting finds from the 

 Wingate region is that of a nearly complete 

 pelvic girdle of distinctive form. The sacrum 

 consists of two closely united vertehr« with 

 moderately biconcave centra. The neural 

 arches are massive and are surmounted by 

 stout, comparatively short spines with con- 

 siderably expanded tops. The sacral ribs unite 

 broadly with the arch and centrum, each rib 

 being supported by a single vertebra. Distally 

 the ribs are greatly expanded in an antero- 

 posterior direction and are considerably thick- 

 ened below and apparently down curved along 

 the inner side of the ilium. 



The upper portion of the ilium is ex- 

 panded both laterally and in an antero-poste- 

 rior direction into a broad, horizontal shelf. 

 The ischia meet along the median line in a 

 trough-like union that extends back in a hori- 



zontal tongue-shaped process. The pubes take 

 a comparatively small part in the floor of the 

 pelvic opening as the lower anterior portion of 

 these elements extends directly down in a 

 broad plate-like expansion at right angles to 

 the vertebral column. The lower outer corner 

 of the pubic expansion is swollen into a foot- 

 like process, possibly to bear a portion of the 

 weight of the creature when at rest. 



All three elements enter the imperforate ace- 

 tabulum in a firm union. The acetabulum is 

 large and deeply concave and set off by a prom- 

 inent raised boundary. It is directed out and 

 down and considerably back. The girdle meas- 

 ures about 450 mm. from the top of the sacral 

 spines to the lower border of the plate-like ex- 

 pansion of the pubis. The greatest width, at 

 the lateral expansion of the upper portion of 

 the ilia, is approximately 370 mm. 



The massive construction of the girdle has 

 suggested the name Acompsosaurus wingatensis 

 for this new form. It is to be hoped that other 

 material in the collections will add a knowl- 

 edge of other parts of the skeleton. Figures 

 and a more complete description of Acompso- 

 saurus wingatensis will follow in another 

 place. 



Maurice G. Mehl 



University op Wisconsin 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OE WASHINGfTON 



The 539tli meeting of the society was held in 

 the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Saturday, 

 April 3, 1915, called to order by President Bartseh 

 at 8 P.M., with 65 persons present. 



On recommendation of the council, Mr. Ben 

 Miller was elected to active membership. 



Under heading Brief Notes, Dr. L. 0. Howard 

 called attention to a wasps' nest he had lately 

 seen which was marked by a conspicuous blue 

 streak. In making this nest the wasps had evi- 

 dently made the blue streaked part out of a blue 

 building paper, instead of making their pulp from 

 the natural wood. Messrs. Bartseh and Lyon re- 

 ferred to the red-headed woodpeckers in the 

 grounds of Freedmen's Hospital, stating that a 

 few birds had remained during the winter of 

 1914-15, though none had wintered during 191.3- 

 1914. The species is abundant in the hospital 

 grounds this spring. Messrs. Bartseh and Bailey 



