250 G. R. Wi eland — Armored Saurian from the Niobrara. 



Art. XIX. — A New Armored Saurian from the Niobrara ; 

 by G-. R. Wieland. 



The greatest American storehouse of fossil marine verte- 

 brates is doubtless in the Niobrara chalk of western Kansas. 

 But despite the fact that many of the diverse forms there rep- 

 resented must have lived near and frequented the shores of 

 the Niobrara sea, very little evidence of even presumably true 

 land forms has thus far been obtained. 



The best known form to be regarded as land, or at least 

 lacustrine or fluviatile, is the Hadrosaurus agilis of Marsh 

 from the Smoky Hill river. Though the type of this dino- 

 saur includes considerable portions of the skeleton, only a single 

 individual has ever been recovered. In fact, in the University 

 Geological Survey of Kansas, vol. iv, Professor Williston says, 

 in speaking of the Dinosauria : " But a single specimen (that 

 is Hadrosaurus agilis) has ever been found in the state, so far 

 as I am aware, though the animals must have lived here about 

 the shores of the Cretaceous seas in great abundance." 



And although collecting in the Niobrara has been especially 

 active during the past ten years, no further examples even 

 doubtfully referable to Dinosauria came within my knowledge 

 until about two years ago. Then [ noted amongst turtle 

 material sent to the Yale Museum from the Hackberry Creek 

 region by Mr. Charles H. Sternberg, and referred to me for 

 study, the two paired and presumably caudal, or else cervical, 

 dermal elements shown in figure 7, 7a. 



On the basis of such slender evidence it was of course not 

 possible to say whether a crocodilian was indicated, or even 

 some remote progenitor of such a turtle as Miolania. Now, 

 however, we are enabled to present some clearer evidence for 

 the presence of a second Dinosaurian genus in the Niobrara. 



This last season Mr. Sternberg secured, five miles south of 

 Castle Rock and three miles south of Hackberry Creek, six 

 dermal scutes of a form quite certainly dinosaurian. These 

 plates later came into my possession and have been donated to 

 the Yale Museum. The name Hierosaurus Stembergii is 

 assigned them in honor of their Collector. It is thought that 

 other fragmentary specimens have been observed, so that it is 

 probable that further material will yet be obtained. 



In the excellent figures l-7a of the present fossil scutes, 

 drawn by Mr. R. Weber, the principal characters may at once 

 be discerned. 



The scutes are all shown one-third the natural size in the 

 figures l-7a. The bones shown in figures 1-3 are odd, that 

 of No. 3 being merely a tubercle with a fine right-angled stria- 

 tum on its lower surface. Those shown in Nos. 4 and 5 are a 

 pair, but other elements must have intervened ; while the two 

 fused elements shown in No. 6 form an isolated asymmetrical 



