1913] Merriam: A Peculiar Horn or Antler 



339 



If the peculiar horn here described represents a type hereto- 

 fore unknown, it would appear to be a form nearly related to 

 Merycodus necatus, the common Mohave species. (See fig. 4). 

 Merycodus necatus is characterized by the possession of a short 

 horn with a short, wide, flattened beam, from the broad summit 

 of which two nearly equal branches arise. The form seen in 

 no. 20052 would be produced by flaring the branches, bending 

 them toward the branches of the opposite horn, and developing 

 the superior spikes or papillae. 



While the writer is not inclined to consider the specimen 

 seen in no. 20052 as certainly representing a new type of horn 

 or antler, or a previously undescribed animal, it seems desirable 

 to give a specific designation to this type, which may be known 

 as Merycodus coronatus. While the form of horn or antler seen 

 here suggests various kinds of antlers of the modern Cervidae. 

 there is no evidence to indicate that this Miocene animal repre- 

 sents anything more than a foreshadowing of a modern type. 



Transmitted June 28, 1913. 



