496 GEOLOGY. 
being from eighteen to twenty feet! Its large tearing teeth 
clearly indicate the carnivorous and predaceous habits of the spe 
cies, and its food was doubtless fishes which it captured, probably 
by plunging into the water like the pelicans and other similar 
birds. Two new species, P. ingens and P. velox, are also described 
in the same paper. The former was even more gigantic than the. 
one just mentioned, being at least double its bulk and measuring 
from tip to tip of the expanded wings fully twenty-two feet! 
P. velox was about two-thirds this size, having a spread of wing 
of from twelve to fifteen feet. The great interest attaching to 
these fossils lies in the fact that, up to the time of their discovery, 
no remains of these flying Saurians had been detected in this 
country, although they are found abundantly in the Cretaceous 
of Europe. 
_ In the same number,’ Professor Marsh announces that the 
-Mosasauroid reptiles were protected by osseous dermal plates. 
Specimens belonging to the genera Edestosaurus, Liodon, 
dus and Clidastes have been obtained with these plates attached. a 
These dermal “ scutes,” as they are termed, are quadrilateral a 
form, with the margin of the upper side more or less bevelled, 
so as to admit an imbricate arrangement; alternate TOWS of dif- 
ferent sizes and shapes thus producing a complex pattern. The 
cranium was probably not thus protected. ae 
In the May “ Journal of Science” Professor Marsh describes - 
remarkable gigantic swimming bird, discovered in Western Ee 
sas, to which he gives the name Hesperornis regalis. Te is 
tons of five individuals of this species, more or less complete, We 
obtained. From these, it appears that while Hesperomis ers 
widely from all known birds, recent or extinct, it has its N te 
living allies in the Colymbide, or divers. The skeleton COME the 
would measure about five feet nine inches from the apex of t 
bill to the extremity of the toes. The extreme rarity of s 
the Cretaceous formation, even of any kind, renders this d 
of great importance. But it is especially 50, when it pie 
bered that all the birds hitherto discovered, either wee 
ceous of this country or of Europe, are of comparative 
size, and belong to still existing families; such as we qa 
bird (Laornis), the wading birds (Paleptringa), the sae 
tornis), and the cormorants, (Graculavus), which profesar ay 
has already described from the American Cretaceous- 
