VERTEBRATE REMAINS FROM PORT KENNEDY BONE DEPOSIT. 

 By Edward D. Cope. 



PREFACE. 



The cave or fissure from which were obtained the organic remains described in the following 

 paper was first made known to geologists by Mr. Charles M. Wheatley in 1871, 1 having been ex- 

 posed the year previous by workmen engaged in quarrying the Cambrian limestone (Calciferous 

 epoch) at Port Kennedy, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The fossils 

 then collected were described by Prof. Cope, 2 the number of species determined at that time being 

 thirty-four. 



The paleontological interest of the locality seems to have been lost sight of until the atten- 

 tion of Dr. Samuel G. Dixon, the President of the Academy, was called, in 1894, to the finding 

 of fossils in a clump heap adjoining the quarry. Dr. Dixon's examination of the fissure convinced 

 him that farther exploration would be productive of good results, and, assisted by Messrs. S. N. 

 Rhoacls and D. N. McCadden, and with the permission and co-operation of Mr. Irwin, the pro- 

 prietor of the quarry, an interesting collection was obtained, including the remains of a number of 

 undescribed species. 



Mr. Henry C. Mercer conducted the subsequent excavations and shared with Dr. Dixon 

 and Mr. Clarence B. Moore the expenses of the undertaking; the latter, also, having made liberal 

 contributions to the work. The Academy is, therefore, indebted to these gentlemen for the material 

 from the so-called " bone-hole" which now forms a part of its paleontological collections and upon 

 which the present communication is based. 



Mr. Mercer published a preliminary account of his work, 3 describing the cave and the rela- 

 tion of the fossil remains to the stratified clay and stone contained therein, and to the debris. He 

 also considers suggestively the nature of the deposit, and recounts the care taken to preserve 

 reliable evidence as to the cause of the extraordinary accumulation of organic forms of Pleistocene age. 4 



Mr. Mercer's communication immediately precedes one by Prof. Cope, 5 in which he states 

 that his studies were then based on not more than half the material submitted to him, and were 

 to be regarded as only preliminary to the full report which he hoped to make at a future time. 

 This was followed in 1896 6 by another paper on additional collections from the same locality, also 

 preliminary to a complete and illustrated report to be made after a full investigation of all accessible 

 material. 



The full report alluded to is here presented. It is possessed of a melancholy interest from 

 the fact that it is the last work of the distinguished paleontologist. Its preparation, which was 

 continued during the intense agony of his last illness, furnishes a striking illustration of his in- 

 domitable self-will and devotion to the cause of science. 



It has been thought best to publish the manuscript just as it was left by the author and 



1 Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts, 3rd Ser., I, April, 1871, pp. 235, 384. 



2 Proc. Am. Phil. Soc, XII, April 7, 1871, pp. 73, et. seq. 



3 Proc. A. N. S. Phil., 1895, p. 443. 



* The paper by Mr. Mercer immediately following the present communication adds materially to our 

 knowledge of the cave and its contents. 



5 Proc. A. N. S. Phil., 1895, p. 446. 



6 Proc. A. N. S. Phil., 1896, p. 378. 



25 JOUEN. A. N. S. PHILA., VOL. XL 



