124: Wortman — Studies of Eocene Mammalia in the 



I will next take up these characters seriatim, and make such 

 comments as appear to me to be needful and necessary in con- 

 nection with each one separately. They are as follows : 



(1) ' ' Progressive shortening of the 

 face and elongation of cranium 

 with reduction of teeth and de- 

 velopment of jaw muscles;" 



(2) ' ■ high sagittal crest ; (3) occiput 

 narrow ;" 



(4) " a preglenoid crest ;" 



(5) " a large postmastoid foramen 



(6) ' ' no postglenoid foramina 



(7) ' ' mandibular condyles scroll-like 



(as in Felidae) ;" 



(8) ' ' atlas with form and vertebra- 



terial canal as in Felidse (Wort- 

 man) ;■" 



(9) " axis with elongate spine ;" 



(10) "certain dorsals and lumbars 

 with progressively revolute zyga- 

 pophyses (as in Mesonychidae and 

 certain Pinnipedia, Phoca ;" 



(11) "lumbars with progressively de- 

 veloped anapophyses ;" 



(12) "scapula, humerus, and ulna of 

 about equal length ;" 



(13) "scapula very large, spreading 

 superiorly (imperfectly known in 

 Oxycena), supra- and inf raspinous 

 fossae subequal ;" 



(I) I have explicitly and distinctly 

 stated in my paper, p. 132, that 

 the length of the face in Patrio- 

 felis is not known with certainty ; 

 it is, however, probably correct 

 and a truly specialized character. 



(2), (3) The occiput is unusually low 

 and broad in certain species of 

 Limnocyon, and the sagittal crest 

 little developed ; they do not, 

 therefore, apply to the entire 

 family. 



(4) Common to many other Creodonts 

 and not true of two species of 

 Limnocyon ; unknown in Thereu- 

 therium. 



(5) Now known to be the stylomastoid 

 foramen ; its posterior position 

 is also characteristic of certain 

 members of the Mesonychidse 

 and is not known in any of the 

 Limnocyoninse, except in one 

 species where it opens below. 



(6) Stated in my paper on Oxycena 

 (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 

 1899, p. 142) as probably present 

 in this species ; also known to be 

 present in at least two species of 

 Limnocyon. 



(7) Also true of many other Creo- 

 donts. 



(8) Same character is found in other 

 species of Creodonts, notably 

 Sinopa, Mesonyx, and Dromocyon. 



(9) Unknown in Oxycena and all other 

 members of the family, but the 

 same is true of Mesonyx, Dromo- 

 cyon, and Sinopa. 



(10) If described as having a double 

 tongue and groove articulation, 

 it is a truly specialized charac- 

 ter of the family. ' ' Eevolute " 

 is an altogether inappropriate 

 and incorrect expression as ap- 

 plied to it. Neither Mesonych- 

 idse nor Phoca has this character 

 of articulation. 



(II) Also true of other species of 

 Creodonts, but unknown in the 

 Limnocyoninse. 



(12) Unknown in all the Limnocyon- 

 inae. 



(13) Scapula practically unknown in 

 all species of the family except 

 Patriofelis. 



