﻿Samuel 
  Wendell 
  Williston. 
  223 
  

  

  that 
  on 
  Uintacrinus, 
  which 
  is 
  so 
  intimately 
  associated 
  

   with 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  vertebrates, 
  coming 
  from 
  his 
  pen. 
  

   Comparatively 
  few 
  contributions 
  treated 
  of 
  the 
  mammals 
  

   or 
  of 
  the 
  fishes, 
  and 
  the 
  birds 
  were 
  given 
  scant 
  attention, 
  

   although 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  beautiful 
  and 
  interesting 
  Meso- 
  

   zoic 
  ones, 
  Hesperornis 
  and 
  Ichthyornis, 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  his 
  

   adopted 
  State. 
  It 
  was 
  to 
  the 
  reptiles 
  that 
  he 
  turned 
  for 
  

   material, 
  largely, 
  I 
  suppose, 
  because 
  of 
  their 
  abundance 
  

   in 
  Kansas 
  and 
  because 
  of 
  his 
  having 
  been 
  first 
  employed 
  

   in 
  their 
  collection. 
  He 
  not 
  only 
  wrote 
  more 
  extensively 
  

   of 
  them 
  than 
  of 
  any 
  other 
  class, 
  but 
  he 
  thought 
  of 
  

   paleontological 
  problems 
  and 
  taught 
  the 
  science 
  largely 
  

   in 
  terms 
  of 
  reptiles, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  within 
  this 
  group 
  that 
  his 
  

   research 
  rises 
  to 
  the 
  rani?: 
  of 
  eminence. 
  From 
  the 
  Chalk, 
  

   he 
  wrote 
  of 
  pterosaurs, 
  and 
  to 
  him 
  and 
  to 
  Eaton 
  we 
  owe 
  

   our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  culminating 
  flying 
  reptiles, 
  Nyc- 
  

   todactylus 
  and 
  Pteranodon. 
  He 
  wrote 
  of 
  plesiosaurs 
  — 
  

   work 
  of 
  monographic 
  value 
  although 
  never 
  brought 
  

   together 
  in 
  monographic 
  form. 
  Turtles 
  also 
  engaged 
  his 
  

   attention, 
  and 
  on 
  mosasaurs 
  none 
  other 
  than 
  Dollo 
  of 
  

   Belgium 
  has 
  made 
  nearly 
  so 
  many 
  or 
  so 
  valuable 
  contri- 
  

   butions 
  ; 
  his 
  restorations 
  of 
  the 
  principal 
  genera, 
  Cli- 
  

   dastes, 
  Tylosaurus, 
  and 
  Platecarpus, 
  are 
  standard. 
  

   These 
  results 
  were 
  monographed, 
  appearing 
  mainly 
  in 
  

   Volume 
  IV 
  of 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  Geological 
  

   Survey 
  of 
  Kansas, 
  1898. 
  

  

  Willis 
  ton's 
  later 
  work, 
  after 
  his 
  transference 
  to 
  Chi- 
  

   cago, 
  added 
  a 
  new 
  luster 
  to 
  his 
  fame. 
  This 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  

   older 
  reptiles 
  and 
  amphibians 
  of 
  the 
  Permo-Carbonif- 
  

   erous. 
  His 
  influence 
  was 
  broader 
  than 
  the 
  actual 
  scope 
  

   of 
  his 
  own 
  writings, 
  for 
  two 
  of 
  his 
  pupils, 
  Doctor 
  Roy 
  L. 
  

   Moodie 
  and 
  especially 
  Professor 
  E. 
  C. 
  Case, 
  have 
  supple- 
  

   mented 
  their 
  master's 
  work, 
  thus 
  giving 
  us 
  a 
  surprisingly 
  

   large 
  amount 
  of 
  information 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  exact 
  and 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  character 
  concerning 
  these 
  early 
  terrestrial 
  forms. 
  

  

  Williston 
  was 
  loath 
  to 
  speculate 
  in 
  print, 
  nor 
  was 
  he 
  

   at 
  all 
  inclined 
  to 
  express 
  opinions 
  concerning 
  the 
  classi- 
  

   fication 
  and 
  relationships 
  of 
  the 
  vertebrate 
  groups, 
  

   despite 
  his 
  splendid 
  taxonomic 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  Diptera; 
  he 
  

   was, 
  however, 
  very 
  frank 
  in 
  his 
  constructive 
  criticism 
  

   of 
  the 
  attempts 
  of 
  others. 
  His 
  first 
  general 
  statement 
  

   of 
  reptilian 
  classification 
  was 
  really 
  that 
  contained 
  in 
  his 
  

   Water 
  Reptiles 
  (1914), 
  Chapter 
  II, 
  where 
  he 
  says 
  : 
  "The 
  

  

  