60,049 research outputs found
Sloth tracks in the Carson prison
In much the same manner that a print of man's hand or foot
leads to individual identification, so fossil footprints reveal
the kinds of creatures who unwittingly have left their mark
on the sands of time. Some four-footed animals, whose tracks
have been uncovered in ancient rock formations, furnish for
posterity only this evidence of a former existence. On the other
hand, tracks like those of a dinosaur convey something more
tangible. Scientific fact and popular fancy have done much these
days to make the layman dinosaur-conscious. But realization that
particular tracks were left by reptiles now long extinct comes
largely from demonstration that the skeletal parts and bodily
form of these animals correspond exactly to those surmised from
the imprints
Ice Age Elephants of the Channel Islands
Of the small company of land mammals native to the Channel Islands of Southern California none reaches large size, and, if we exclude aboriginal man and his dog, the largest is the fox. This interesting creature, once more numerous than it now is, exists under a variety of conditions on the several islands and may be seen occasionally searching for food along the seashore or living in cactus patches, brushy ravines, and on the open slopes of hills to an elevation of more than 2,000 feet. It seems to lead at present a solitary life. The island species was long ago recognized by biologists as a distinctive type, related to the mainland gray fox rather than to the kit fox and red fox. Six races have now been identified, one for each of the principal islands comprising the Channel Island group
Eocene Amynodonts from Southern California
Introduction.-Since the description [1] of a skull of Amynodontopsis bodei and of a lower jaw referred to this species from the uppermost Eocene, further dental parts have become available for study from localities in the Sespe. These furnish additional characters of value in recognizing the species represented in western Eocene deposits. Now also available is a fragment of skull with cheek-teeth from the Poway Eocene of San Diego County, California. This specimen possesses special significance because it permits a comparison with related forms in America and China. It is likewise of interest because it differs from the amynodonts of the Sespe and is clearly an earlier type
A further study of the Quaternary antelopes of Shelter Cave, New Mexico
Since the preliminary description of Tetrameryx? conklingi from Quaternary deposits in Shelter Cave, New Mexico, additional
materials of this interesting antilocaprid species have been obtained in the course of further excavations in the cavern by Mr. R. P. Conkling and by members of an expedition from the Los Angeles Museum. The collections include, moreover, the cranial portion of the skull to which the horn-cores of the holotype belong. Definite association of these specimens permits therefore a fuller description of the type
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