ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS 213 



time in the racial history of the Oreodont family, and from this period they 

 began to diverge into various terminal lines of development, leading finally to 

 complete extinction. 



In summary of the various supposedly primitive and carnivoroid characters, 

 we find twenty-six major primitive and twenty-four carnivoroid, of which ap- 

 proximately one-half are common to both. These may be listed as follows : 



(1) Characters which are both primitive and carnivoroid: (a) Dolicho- 

 cephaly, (b) well marked postorbital constriction, (c) prominent sagittal 

 crest, (d) high overhanging occiput, (e) relatively large head, (/) more or 

 less elongate face, (g) very large temporal fossa, (h) palate narrow and some- 

 what arched transversely, (i) presence of well developed canines, (j) long 

 body and long tail, (7c) short legs, and (l) dorso-lumbar vertebral formula of 

 19-20. 



(2) Characters which are primitive: (a) Stout, heavy zygomata, (b) long, 

 robust, downwardly-projecting paroccipitals, (c) relatively large lacrymal 

 bone, (d) well developed milk dentition, (e) complete dentition of forty-four 

 teeth, (/) probable omnivorous habit, (g) brachyodonty, (h) large spine on 

 axis, (i) large size of lumbars compared with dorsals, (./') broad blade of 

 scapula, (fe) five digits in manus, (I) stout puboischiadic symphysis of pelvis, 

 (m) relatively small pelvic outlet, and (n) absence of bullae in the earlier 

 forms. 



(3) Characters which are carnivoroid: (a) Broad mandibular coronoid, (b) 

 long mandibular symphysis, (c) incisors subtransverse, (d) relative positions 

 of basicranial foramina, (e) relatively large infra-orbital foramen, (/) tongue 

 and groove articulation on lumbar zygapophyses, (g) spine of scapula dividing 

 it into two subequal parts, (h) position of acromium and metacromium, (i) 

 humerus and ulna, (./) metapodials long, slender, keeled (phalanges and 

 ungues), (k) femur and tibia, (?) semi-digitigrade. 



The author's use of the term primitive is only relative — that is, the charac- 

 ters which he considers generalized in this group are, in some instances, not 

 so in other groups. Some of these also may be secondary developments, due 

 to muscle responses or other causes, such as may have produced the heavy 

 zygomata and robust paroccipitals and the possible omnivorous habit. 



The carnivoroid characters may be secondary, as Doctor Matthew considers 

 to be the case in Agriocharus, or they may be primary, which does not seem 

 to be an unreasonable supposition. 



The author of the next paper showed lantern slides of a mounted skele- 

 ton and restoration in the Museum of Yale University. Although listed 

 generally as from Oregon, this species is really from the Upper Oligocene 

 of Nebraska. 



RESTORATION OF EPOREODON SOOIALIS, MARSH 

 BY MALCOLM RUTHERFORD THORPE 



(Abstract) 



One of the two cotype skeletons of this genus and species has just been 

 mounted at the Peabody Museum of Yale University. After the skeleton was 



