CERATOPS BEDS. 



207 



This geological horizon is a distinct one in the upper Cretaceous, 

 and is indicated for more than 800 miles along the eastern flank of the 

 Bocky Mountains. It is marked at nearly every outcrop by remains of 

 these reptiles, and hence the strata containing them have been called 

 the Ceratops beds. They are freshwater or brackish deposits which 

 form a part of the so-called Laramie, but are below the uppermost beds 

 referred to that group. In some places, at least, they rest upon marine 

 beds, which contain invertebrate fossils characteristic of the Fox Hills 

 deposits. The most important localities in the Ceratops beds are in 

 Wyoming, especially in Converse County. 



Fig. 53. — Hap of Conver.se County, Wyoming; showing localities where skulls of the Ceratopsidas 

 have been discovered. 



The position of each sknll is indicated by a cross ( + ), and more than thirty of these specimens 

 were found within the area bounded by the Cheyenne River and the dotted line. The localities given 

 are based upon field notes made by Mr. J. B. Hatcher. 



The fossils associated with the Ceratopsidse are mainly dinosaurs, 

 representing one or two orders and several families. Plesiosaurs, croc- 

 odiles, and turtles, of Cretaceous types, and many smaller reptiles, 

 have left their remains in the same deposits. Numerous small mam- 

 mals, also of ancient types, a few birds, and many fishes, are likewise 

 entombed in this formation. Invertebrate fossils and plants are not 

 uncommon in the same horizon. 



