284 



University of California. 



[Vol. 3. 



Cornwall, Contra Costa County, California, and was presented 

 to the University by Mr. Bromley of Oakland. 



At the request of the writer, the beds in which the cranium 

 was found have been examined by Mr. V. C. Osmont, with a view 

 to determining their age. The formation was found to consist 

 mainly of rather loose gravel beds with some sand and clay. As 

 a whole, it resembles the Quaternary near Suisun Bay just north 

 of this exposure. The beds rest upon the San Pablo formation 

 and dip 10°-20° to the north. Mr. Osmont believes that this for- 

 mation is cut by Quaternary terraces and that , owing to the terrac- 

 ing and deformation which it has suffered, it may be necessary to 

 refer it to a late Pliocene epoch rather than to the Quaternary. 



Cranium. — -The cranium is that of an animal between a large 

 wolf and a hyaena in size and resembling the latter in possessing a 

 greatly abbreviated facial region. The results of this shortening 

 are most noticeable in the inferior view (PI. 30, fig. 1) where the 

 diameter of the palate between the blades of the earnassials is 

 seen to equal the length from the canine to the posterior end of 

 M-. In the lateral view (PI. 29) the forehead appears very 

 high and full, although the head shows no indications of deform- 

 ation by crushing. The brain case is very narrow and the walls 

 slope abruptly from what has evidently been a high and sharp 

 crest. Unfortunately the whole of the upper portion of the skull 

 is gone and the exact form of the crest can not be determined. 



The nasal region exhibits a characteristic structure. The 

 posterior ends of the nasals and the anterior ends of the frontals 

 enclosing them are broad and blunt, while the posterior wings 

 of the premaxillaries extend backward almost to the posterior 

 ends of the nasals and meet the frontals. 



The anterior end of the jugal did not extend to the lachrymal 

 foramen as in Canis, but ends considerably below it as in the 

 hyaena. 



In the palatine region there is again a resemblance to the 

 hyaena, in that the posterior nasal opening does not reach 

 forward to the end of the molar series. 



In the foramina of the skull a distinctive mark is found in 

 the presence of the two pairs of large posterior palatine foramina. 



Dentition. — The dentition is essentially canid. I 1 and I- 



