Barbour —New Nebraska Mammoth, Elephas hayi. 129 



Art. X. — A New Nebraska Mammoth, Elephas hayi • by 

 Erwin H. Barboue. 



On June 23, 1914, the office of the Nebraska Geological 

 Survey was notified that a mammoth jaw had been discovered 

 in the Hurlbert sand pit at Crete, Nebraska, eight blocks east 

 and three blocks north of the center of the town. 



An assistant in the department was detailed to visit the spot 

 at once, and through the courtesy of Mr. Hurlbert, secured 

 the mandible and teeth of a mammoth that proved to. be new. 

 We wish to propose for this the name Elephas hayi in recogni- 

 tion of Dr. Oliver P. Hay, of the Carnegie institute, who has 

 spent some time in the study of the specimen, and who con- 

 curs in the belief that it is new. 



The jaw, though finely preserved, was badly broken and 

 damaged in the pit, and although pieces were carried away as 

 relies, they were afterwards returned. Later the surrounding 

 gravel was carefully screened and important additional bits 

 were obtained. The writer also visited the site of the dis- 

 covery, and finds the sands and gravels to be of considerable 

 extent, and of glacial origin. They undoubtedly represent an 

 interglacial, rather than a glacial stage, and shall be counted 

 Aftonian. The deposit seems to vary in thickness from 10 to 

 20 feet or more, and probably contains numerous bones. The 

 specimen in question was found 11 feet below the surface. It 

 is reported that a number of years ago, many bones were 

 found extending from the present Hurlbert gravel pit across 

 the newly graded road, particularly in an excavation for the 

 basement of a neighboring building. This leads to the hope 

 that as work progresses additional material may be found. 



Associated with this jaw were fragments of a large tusk. 

 The jaw and teeth of an exceptionally large and interesting 

 new Pleistocene horse were found two blocks distant in the 

 same deposit. 



The chief distinguishing characters of Elephas hayi are : 

 unusual length of mandible ; the last molar small, narrow, 

 and anterior to the coronoid ; transverse ridges 10 to 11 ; angle 

 distinct and sharp posteriorly; coronoids uncommonly promi- 

 nent, deeply pitted, and set very obliquely. Making allow- 

 ance for sex, age, and individual variation, the mandible of 

 Elephas hayi, as compared with any of our well-known mam- 

 moths— -E. imperator, E. columbi, or E. primigeniios — is 

 uncommonly long, justifying the name long-jawed mammoth. 

 The jaw may be counted a primitive character, for longirostral 

 proboscideans preceded the more modern brevirostral forms. 



Am. Jour. Sci. — Fourth Series, Vol. XL, No. 236. — August, 1915. 

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