1921] 



Merriam-Stoek: Notes on Peccary Remains 



L3 



form. The comparisons of basioccipital and basisphenoid have been 

 made, however, with only a single specimen of P. leptorhinus in the 

 collections of the University of California. 



Dentition 



The shape of the superior premolar teeth, subject to some variation 

 in P. compressus, does not seem to offer a suitable character for diag- 

 nostic purposes. In the more fundamental characters relating to 

 structures of the tooth crown, the teeth in the Rancho La Brea skull 

 resemble closely those of P. leptorhinus and of P. compressus. The 

 superior premolar-molar series in no. 4400 from Rancho La Brea is 

 longer than in specimens of P. compressus and P. leptorhinus, although 

 this difference is slight. The cheek teeth approximate very 



Fig. 4. Platygonus, possibly n. sp. or n. subsp. Superior cheek-tooth series, 

 no. 4400, L. A. Mus. Hist. Sci. and Art Coll. X 1. Lateral and occlusal views. 

 Eancho La Brea beds. 



closely in length the upper series of P. alemani from Mexico. The 

 first and second molars in the California specimen are slightly larger 

 than in the Kansas skulls, while measurements of M- may be exceeded 

 by those in the latter. P- is slightly larger than the corresponding 

 tooth in the Kansas specimen. All the teeth in the California skull are 

 smaller than those of Platygonus vetus when comparison is made with 

 the measurements given by Williston. With the exception of the an- 

 teroposterior diameter of M-, the teeth are slightly larger than in P. 

 compressus from Kentucky. 6 



o Leidy, J., op cit., 1853. 



