J. B. Hatcher — Ceratops Beds of Wyoming. 143 



as by the smaller crocodiles and turtles, and the diminutive 

 mammals, all of whose remains are now found imbedded in 

 the deposits. That these animals at one time inhabited the 

 very region where they now lie entombed is conclusively 

 shown by the occasional finding of entire skeletons with every 

 bone in place, at localities far distant from the border of the 

 beds, and in a state of preservation which could not possibly 

 exist had they lived and died on a distant shore, and their car- 

 casses been transported by the waters to their present resting 

 places after death. Moreover, skeletons are sometimes found 

 in an upright position or inclined to one side or the other, 

 showing that the individual met death by miring in the imme- 

 diate spot where the remains now rest. A noteworthy exam- 

 ple of this was that of the skeleton of a Dinosaur discovered 

 in August, 1891, by Mr. A. L. Sullins, and recently described 

 by Prof. Marsh as Claoscmrus annectens* ■ This skeleton 

 when found was in a partially erect position, the limbs ex- 

 tended, and every bone in its natural position except where 

 exposed and worn away by recent weathering. The ribs were 

 still distended, retaining the exact form and capacity of the 

 thoracic and abdominal cavities. The whole showed that the 

 animal in its wanderings had mired in the quicksands, and in 

 its struggles for liberation had been engulfed by them. 



In the sandstones of the Ceratops beds hardly a fossil bone 

 of any considerable size is to be found that does not bear evi- 

 dence of having been dropped in shallow waters. In many 

 instances, it is still possible to determine the direction of the 

 currents which succeeded in burying the bones, and thus pre- 

 vented their decay. For instance, on one side of a bone the 

 matrix will be made up entirely of sand, while on the oppo- 

 site side the stems and leaves of plants have been dropped, 

 and, now partially lignitized, form a considerable portion of 

 the matrix. This arrangement of the materials of the matrix 

 in which the bone is imbedded shows the direction of the 

 current to have been from that side containing only sand, and 

 toward the side containing the plants. So shallow were the 

 waters, the bone itself became an obstacle sufficient to pro- 

 duce an eddy on its lower side, in which the leaves and other 

 vegetable materials accumulated, and sank to the bottom. 



Conclusions. 



If the Ceratops beds of Converse county, Wyoming, are 

 the equivalents of the typical Laramie of southwestern Wyom- 

 ing, the remarkable vertebrate fauna of the former will prove 

 of great importance in determining the age of other beds now 



*This Journal, vol. xliii, p. 453, May, 1892; and vol. xliv, p. 171. Aug., 1892. 



