KANSAS PTERODACTYLS. 



BY S. W. WILLIS TON 



PART I, WITH PLATE I. 



The first American species of the singular group of extinct Mesozoic 

 reptiles variously know as Ornithosaurs, Pterosaurs or Pterodactyls 

 was described by Marsh from a fragmentary specimen obtained in 1870, 

 by the Yale College Expedition in Wallace County, Kansas. About 

 a dozen other specimens were obtained by a similar expedition the 

 following year in charge of Professor Marsh, or by Professor Cope, 

 and were described by these authors shortly afterward. By far the 

 largest number of known specimens, however, other than those in the 

 Kansas University Museum, were obtained during the years 1874, '75, 

 '76 and '77 by parties of which Professor Mudge, Dr. H. A. Brous, 

 E. W. Guild, George Cooper and myself were the members, and it 

 was from these specimens that most of the published characters were 

 derived. Many of these specimens are necessarily fragmentary ones, 

 still the material now in the Yale College Museum is ample to eluci- 

 date everything of interest concerning these animals. 



During the past few years, the Museum of Kansas University has 

 been enriched by a series of excellent specimens of these animals, ob- 

 tained from the same regions, specimens that permit the solution of 

 most of the doubtful characters and throw not a little light on the 

 affinities of the Kansas forms. 



The species hitherto named are as follows: 



PTERANODON. 



Plcraiiodon Marsli, Amcr. .loiirii. Sui. xi, \). ."iOS, .liinc l.S7(l; and xii. p. 179' 



Dec 1870; xxiii, p. 253, April, 1882; xxvii, p. 12:5, May, 1881; AVillisldii, 



Am(!r. Naturalist, xxv, p. 1171, Dec. 1891. 

 Pteranodon occidentalis. 



PLcroihK'iijhis Oireid 'S\;i\'>\\, AiinT. Jnurii. Sci. i, p. 172, Juiu' 1871, Sc|). p. 



]() (num. prcoc). 

 Pierodficti/luii ocridentdlii ^ihiViih, .\iiiri-. .luiirn. Sci. iil, ji. 212. .\\iy\\ 1S72. 



Sep. p. 1; Cope, Crctac. Ycrt. p. lis, p|. \ ii. il'. .">. (i. 

 OrnilhocheiriJ.s Jiarpyid. Co\)i', l*i-oc. Aimr. Phil. Sue. 1S72, p. 171 (Cdpi). 



This species was originally based upon the distal end oi two wing- 

 metacarpals, and teeth. In the following year, a fuller description 



(l) KA.N. UNI\'. qiAK., VOL, I, NO. I,JILV, 1S92 



