172 AMPHIBIA AND PISCES OF THE PERMIAN OF NORTH AMERICA 



"Measurements. m 



"Length of plate 0.013 



Width on short border .007 



Transverse width .007 



Depth , .002" 



Genus SPERMATODUS Cope. 

 Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 2d ser., ix, 1894, p. 438. 



An imperfectly known genus founded on half of a much-crushed skull. 

 It was regarded by Cope as a Crossopterygian and the type specimen was 

 thought to resemble closely the skull of Polypterus. To the writer, however, 

 the resemblance tp Polypterus is not so apparent; and it is even doubtful 

 whether it is a Crossopterygian. Provisionally the genus may be placed in 

 the Actinopteri. Its peculiarities — as far as they may be inferred from only 

 a very poorly preserved half of a skull — are given below: 



Revised description of genus: 



1. Basioccipital of skull with a cotyloid cavity for the first vertebra 



and situated in front of the foramen magnum, 



2. Parasphenoid covered from its posterior third to near the ante- 



rior extremity with small, delicate teeth. 



3. Surface of skull ornamented with minute tubercles of enamel. 



Additional characters are given under the specific description below. 



Spermatodus pustulosus Cope. (Plate 32.) 



1894. Spermatodus pustulosus Cope, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 2d ser., ix, p. 438, 

 text fig. 4. 



Type: Left half of a badly crushed skull. No. 7245 American Museum, 

 Texas. 



Original description: "The general shape of the head is broad and flat. 

 The occipital cotylus is circular in outline. The parasphenoid tooth-patch 

 has an elliptic posterior outline, and the teeth are crowded, and measure 

 from 0.4 to 0.3 millimeter in diameter. The parasphenoid is 5.5 times as 

 long as wide at the middle. There are two rows of palatine teeth, but 

 whether they are on different bones or on a single crushed bone is not easy 

 to determine. They are displayed on the superior surface of the specimen 

 by the crushing of the parts. The teeth are rapiform, with acuminate 

 apex and striate enamel. They generally stand four in a space of five mil- 

 limeters, with short interspaces. The largest are a millimeter in diameter. 

 In the longest row, probably imperfect, there are eight teeth. The cranial 

 sculpture is probably considerably worn off by* exposure. It remains on 

 parts of the frontal and maxillary bones. It resembles greatly a collection 

 of minute pustules. The bony tissue is elevated into small tubercles, which 

 are capped with enamel, which is abruptly distinguished from the osteine. 

 When the enamel is lost there remains a pit in the tubercle. The tubercles 

 are oval on the frontal, and oat-shaped at one point on the maxillary. 



"The basihyal is turned with the anterior face posteriorly. This face 

 is not divided into two for the hypohyals as in Polypterus bichir. It is a 

 transverse oval with one long side flat, and the other concave. The cerato- 

 hyal is flat, and becomes quite thin posteriorly. Its anterior extremity is 

 excavated into an oval cup. The supposed mandible is flat, and in a hori- 

 zontal plane, but is more robust than the ceratohyal. If there were any 

 orbital bones they have left no traces. 



