Vol. 5] Bovard. — Quaternary Felidae from California. 157 



wish to express my sincerest appreciation for his kindly sugges- 

 tions and for the arrangement of the paper. Professor Merriam 

 and Dr. C. Hart Merriam have compared the Potter Creek ma- 

 terial with that of the U. S. National Museum, and I am indebted 

 to them for the use of their notes. Through the kindness of Mr. 

 AY. W. Orcutt certain material from the asphalt deposits was 

 loaned the University and has been useful in making comparisons. 



SMILODON CALIFOBNICUS, n. sp. 

 PI. 13, figs. 1-4. 



Specific Characters. — P 3 absent, M 1 with an anterior basal 

 cusp, inferior diastema short, symphysis deep and extending be- 

 low the inferior border of the horizontal ramus of the mandible. 



Material. — The material available consists of an almost com- 

 plete skull, and considerable fragments of several others. The 

 mandible is represented by the left rami of two individuals, and 

 by the fragments of three others. There is also the posterior half 

 of the left ramus of a kitten. The limb bones are fragmentary. 

 They consist of the distal end of the humerus, the proximal end 

 of the tibia, and numerous podial bones. Of the teeth we have 

 the superior incisors, several sabers and the superior sectorial, 

 also specimens representing the complete dentition of the lower 

 jaw. A kitten jaw shows the milk molars, and the permanent 

 sectorial just coming through. 



Occurrence. — The type specimen is a mandible (No. 10210. 

 Univ. of Cal. Col. Vert. Palae.) from the asphaltum beds nine 

 miles west of Los Angeles, California. 



Some of the material was found on a dump where excavations 

 had been made to get out the asphaltum, but the larger part was 

 found in place. Along with the cat bones were those of the horse, 

 wolf, bison, camel, and ground-sloth. The deposits are of Quat- 

 ernary age. 



Mandible. — The lower jaw belongs distinctly to the Smilodon 

 type. The horizontal ramus is rounded, smooth, and slender. 

 The anterior surface is strongly concave, clue to a wide ridge 

 which extends forward and downward, and separates the anterior 

 surface from the lateral surface. This ridge is continuous with 

 a rudimentary flange which has an anteroposterior diameter of 



