Mat 6, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



709 



thew. It announces the discovery of this pig- 

 like genus in the Miocene of North America 

 (hitherto confned to the Eocene and Oligo- 

 cene), and, in an interesting paragraph, sums 

 up the present views of the author as to its 

 evolutionary history: 



On present evidence we must regard the genus 

 as of Old World origin, probably not African, 

 possibly European, but, considering the relative 

 advancement and geological position of the Euro- 

 pean and African species, more probably of Asiatic 

 origin. 



Dr. Matthew contributes (in collaboration 

 with Harold J. Cook) another paper on " A 

 Pliocene Fauna from Western Nebraska," of 

 which the remarkable features are thus sum- 

 marized; the separation of fifty species allied 

 to those of the Upper Miocene, but differing 

 (1) in the presence of more advanced species 

 or mutations, (2) Pleistocene or modern 

 genera not hitherto reported from the Ter- 

 tiary, (3) abundance of three-toed horses re- 

 sembling the pleistocene Equus and Hippi- 

 diorij (4) the remains of gigantic camels of 

 the genus Pliauchenia. 



Professor Osborn furnishes a paper on 

 " New Carnivorous Mammals from the Fayum 

 Oligocene of Egypt," in continuation of his 

 previous studies on this fauna. The new 

 genus Metasinopa is diagnosed from " a nearly 

 complete lower jaw from the upper beds." 



Dr. L. Hussakof discusses further the vexed 

 question of the systematic relationship of 

 American Arthrodires, and deposes East- 

 man's genus Protitanichthys. Eoy L. Moodie, 

 of the University of Kansas, contributes a 

 paper on " New or Little Knovm Forms of 

 Carboniferous Amphibia in the American 

 Museum Collections." 



Nine articles of varying interest in mam- 

 malogy are contributed by L. S. Quackenbush, 

 John T. Nichols, Dr. Allen, Eoy C. Andrews 

 and Dr. Elliot. The most extended of these is 

 an account by Dr. Quackenbush of the 

 " Alaskan Mammoth Expeditions in 1907 and 

 1908." A feature of Mr. Andrews's paper is 

 the photographic reproductions of whales, 

 " sounding," the " slick," inspiration, " lob- 

 tailing," thrashing, diving and spouting. 



Mr. Bentenmiiller adds five articles, with 

 plates, to his previous papers upon gall-in- 

 sects. Professor Cockerell discusses the 

 "Fossil Insects of Florissant, Colo." ; James A. 

 G. Eehn contributes a long paper (31 text fig- 

 ures) upon the " Orthoptera of Sumatra"; 

 Professor Wheeler is represented by an article 

 upon the " Ants of Formosa and the Philip- 

 pines," and Aaron L. Treadwell has a note 

 upon an external parasite of eunicidian 

 worms, taken in the Bahamas. 



Two remaining papers have considerable 

 value, one by Walter Granger, on the " Faunal 

 Horizons of the Washakie Formations of 

 Southern Wyoming," and some suggestive 

 paragraphs by Dr. W. J. Sinclair on the 

 " Washakie or Volcanic Ash Formation." 

 The summary of the latter comprises a num- 

 ber of informing statements which deserve 

 entire transcription : 



The Bridget rocks are rhyolitio tuffs containing 

 glassy sanidine while the Washakie rooks are 

 andesitic with soda-lime feldspar. From the ab- 

 sence of agglomerates and the fine-grained char- 

 acter of much of the ash it seems probable that 

 it was transported mainly by the wind, and as 

 the prevailing winds are at present from the 

 west and had probably the same direction in 

 Tertiary time, the centers of eruption should be 

 located somewhere in the west or southwest. The 

 absence of agglomerates does not favor the idea 

 of local contemporaneous vents discharging rhyo- 

 litic and andesitic ash respectively and the great 

 thickness and uniform petrographic character of 

 each formation is opposed to the conception of 

 rapid variation in the chemical composition of 

 the ash at a single center of eruption. Assuming 

 contemporaneous deposition from two centers of 

 eruption it seems probable, in view of the com- 

 paratively short distance separating the areas 

 occupied by the two formations (about fifty 

 miles) that some intermixture of the two types 

 of ash should be found, but the conspicuous 

 absence of plagioclase feldspar from all the 

 Bridger tuffs, and its presence in all those of the 

 Washakie shows that this has not occurred. The 

 lithologic evidence, therefore, does not favor the 

 idea of contemporaneity for any part of the 

 Bridger or Washakie. 



Professor Osborn in 1881 upon faunistic 

 evidence had indicated their probable separa- 

 tion. L. P. Gratacap 



