No. 535] THE SAUROPODOUS DINOSAURS 411 



mentioned, in the U. S. National Museum, there are 

 present all the metacarpals and some of the phalanges. 

 Through pressure two of the metacarpals, the fourth 

 and the fifth, have had their hinder faces squeezed 

 against the hinder faces of the other three. Otherwise, 

 the bones retain their original relationships. Of these 

 the first is distinctly larger than the fifth. The lower 

 end is especially enlarged, to support the phalanx and 

 the great claw. It is proper here to say that Dr. v. 

 Huene has very justly criticized the representation of 

 the feet of Diplodocus as presented in my plate pub- 

 lished in the Proceedings of the Washington Academy 

 of Science. 



Dr. Matthew refuses to accept my explanation of the 

 tracks made by the supposed iguanodon. Those tracks 

 are certainly in need of explanation. So far as I am 

 aware, no one has as yet ventured to mount a dinosaur 

 with the toes pointing inward after the manner of those 

 tracks. 



Neither does our author accept my suggestion that 

 some of the tracks found in the Triassic sandstones of 

 the Connecticut River Valley were made by birds. The 

 conclusion appears to be that, because a few dinosaur 

 bones have been found in that region, therefore all the 

 tracks are those of dinosaurs. Dr. Matthew does not 

 attempt to show how animals built as were the Triassic 

 dinosaurs that we know, with short diverging femora, 

 rather short lower leg bones, and short metatarsals, 

 could put one foot directly before the other in walking 

 or running. It is much to be doubted whether a running 

 duck or penguin could do this. And are we to suppose 

 too that those Triassic dinosaurs were always running! 

 It may he easy in mounting the skeleton of a dinosaur to 

 place the femora parallel or even to bring the knees to- 

 gether. Tn life the thighs could not take this position, 

 unless on each side there had been a considerable exca- 

 vation at the junction of the ponderous belly and the 

 thick tail, a sort of little wheel-house for the thigh to 



