A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE FOSSIL BIRD GALLINU- 

 LOIDES WYOMINGENSIS EASTMAN 



R. W. SHUFELDT 

 Washington, D.C. 



A number of years ago, in the Geological Magazine of London, 

 Dr. Eastman described one of the most interesting and complete 

 skeletons of a fossil bird that we have in this country/ This 

 remarkable specimen (see Fig. i) was taken in the Green River 

 shales of Wyoming, near the town of Fossil, during the summer 

 previous to the publication of the article, and it passed into the 

 possession of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge 

 (Massachusetts), where it still forms a part of the collection of 

 fossil vertebrata. 



During the latter part of May, 19 14, I met Dr. Eastman at the 

 United States National Museum, where he was engaged upon a 

 study of the fossil fishes belonging to that institution. He kindly 

 suggested that I communicate with Professor Samuel Henshaw of 

 the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge, and borrow, 

 if possible, the slab containing this fossil bird, and make a more 

 complete study of it than he had made when the specimen first 

 came to him for determination. This suggestion I was glad to act 

 upon; and in a few days, through the courtesy of Professor Hen- 

 shaw, the original slab came to hand for my study and description. 



First of all I made two perfectnegatives of the specimen (8' X 10'), 

 reproducing it nearly natural size ; the reproduction of a print from 

 one of these forms the subject of Fig. i in the present article. 



In his account of this fossil, Dr. Eastman speaks of it as "a 

 nearly perfect skeleton of a gallinaceous bird" (p. 54), and had he 

 adhered to that opinion, the place he thus assigned it to in the sys- 

 tem would never have been questioned. However, he evidently, 



I Charles R. Eastman, "New Fossil Bird and Fish Remains from the Middle 

 Eocene of Wyoming," Geol. Mag., London, VII (February, 1900), 54-58, PI- IV 

 (reduced rather more than one-third). 



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