PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS. OF NEW YORK 375 



Marsh ('92) describes a skeleton in the museum of Yale university which 

 is " perhaps in the best preservation of any skeleton of the American 

 mastodon yet discovered." I am informed, however, that it lacks the hind 

 legs. Dana ('95, p. 999) states that this skeleton was found at Otisville, 

 Orange co. 



The Newburgh mastodon. " The mastodon discovered about two 

 months ago at Newburgh, N. Y.,has now been more fully uncovered, but 

 thus far proves to be an incomplete skeleton. The parts preserved are 

 the skull, much injured by removal, both upper tusks, the vertebrae be- 

 ginning at the last cervical and extending to near the tip of the tail, 

 18 ribs on each side out of 20, a right scapula and a complete pelvis and 

 portions of the toot bones. No traces of the limbs have been found thus 

 far, although extensive excavations have been made. Fortunately, 

 Mr Schaefer, the owner, has removed the bones with care and treated 

 them skilfully. Many very interesting observations could be made by a 

 careful study and exploration of this locality. During a visit by the 

 present writer, the following observations were made, partly with the aid 

 of Mr Schaefer. The deposition is in three levels, the two upper being 

 separated by a smooth clearly defined surface, and by slight differences 

 in the character of the soil, which is largely dark and thoroughly decom- 

 posed vegetable matter, intermingled with few stones and very numer- 

 ous remains of trees of various sizes. Examination of the latter gives 

 abundant evidence of the existence of beaver in this hollow in the period 

 of the mastodon, and we can easily imagine that the different soil levels 

 were due to the building of successive beaver dams. When the dams 

 were .first completed the back flow of the water caused temporarily an 

 interruption of the deposition of vegetation and may account for the 

 differences of level above alluded to. The locality has been visited by 

 a large number of people, including several well known paleontologists." 

 — H. F. Osborn. 



Castoroides ohioensis Foster 

 1838 Castoroides ohioensis Foster, Second annual report on the geolog- 

 ical survey of Ohio. 1838. p. 81. 

 1847 Castoroides ohioensis Hall, Boston journ. nat. hist. 5 : 385. 



Type locality. " About one-half of a mile west of Nashport [Ohio] " 

 (Foster, '38, p. 80). 



Distribution in New York. Remains of Castoroides ohioensis have 

 been found only once in New York — in a swamp near Clyde, Wayne co. 



Principal records. Hall: "The cranium was received from Rev. 

 Benjamin Hall, D.D., president of Geneva college, and was discovered 



