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-(7^ 


MEMOIES 


CAENEGIE  MUSEUM. 

VOL.  VII.  NO.  2. 

THE  FOSSIL  TURTLES  OF  THE  UINTA  FORMATION. 

By  Charles  W.  Gilmore. 

The  finest  and  most  complete  assemblage  of  the  remains  of  fossil  turtles  as 
yet  secured  from  the  Upper  Eocene  of  the  Uinta  formation  has  been  brought  to- 
gether in  the  Carnegie  Museum  through  the  activities  of  its  various  expeditions 
to  Utah.  By  the  kindness  of  Dr.  William  J.  Holland,  the  Dh-ector  of  the  Museum, 
I  have  been  permitted  to  study  this  collection,  and  the  present  paper  presents  the 
results  of  my  investigations. 

The  collection  comprises  more  than  fifty  individuals,  and  was  made  by  field- 
parties  conducted  by  Messrs.  Earl  Douglass  and  O.  A.  Peterson  and  as  an  in- 
cidental part  of  their  search  of  the  Uinta  exposures  for  the  remains  of  extinct 
mammals.  An  important  feature  of  this  collection  is  the  determination  of  the 
exact  geological  horizons  in  which  the  specimens  were  found,  thus  establishing 
a  firm  foundation  for  future  correlative  work. 

The  chelonian  fauna  of  the  Uinta  formation  is  of  peculiar  interest,  since  it 
marks  the  last  appearance  of  several  forms  which  had  their  beginning,  so  far  as 
our  present  records  go,  in  the  Upper  Cretaceous  and  Lower  Tertiary.  Of  the  six 
genera  recognized  in  the  present  collection  from  the  Uinta  formation  only  three, 
Anosteira,  Amyda,  and  Testudo,  are  known  to  pass  upward  into  the  younger 
Tertiaries.  Anosteira  is  known  from  the  Lower  Oligocene  of  England,  Amyda 
reappears  in  the  Miocene  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  while  Testudo  is  found  in  the 
overlying  Oligocene.  It  appears  that  the  Uinta  thus  marks  an  important  stage  in 
the  history  of  the  chelonian  life  of  the  Upper  Eocene. 

The  Baenidse  make  their  last  appearance.     The  Dermatemydidse  are  rep- 

101 


102  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

resented  for  the  first  time  bj'  the  single  genus  and  species  Anosteira  ornata  Leidy. 
The  Emydidse,  suggestive  of  swampy  conditions,  in  the  number  of  species  are  the 
most  abundant  turtles  in  the  present  collection.  Seven  species  have  been  recog- 
nized and  larger  collections  will  doubtless  add  several  more  to  the  list.  The  soft- 
sheUed  river-turtles,  Trionychidse, indicative  of  flowing  water,  are  represented  by 
at  least  three  species,  one  of  which  is  as  large  as  the  existing  Asiatic  species.  The 
presence  of  true  land-tortoises,  Testudinidse,  is  represented  by  three  species  of 
the  genus  Hadrianus,  which  includes  tortoises  some  of  which  attain  a  length  of  more 
than  three  feet,  and  the  genus  Testudo  by  a  single  species,  the  first  recorded  oc- 
currence, in  North  America,  of  this  genus  below  the  Ohgocene.  The  discovery  of 
the  fossil  remains  of  the  lizard-like  reptile  Glyptosaurus  in  the  Uinta  according  to 
Osborn'  "hints  as  to  the  Floridan  or  south  temperate  conditions  of  climate." 

There  were  a  considerable  number  of  specimens  in  the  collection  which  were 
too  fragmentary  for  specific  determination,  and  in  two  instances  at  least  I  am  in- 
clined to  the  opinion,  that,  had  better  material  been  available,  distinctive  characters 
would  have  been  found  to  show  the  presence  of  additional  species  new  to  the  fauna. 

I  take  this  opportunity  to  protest  most  emphatically  against  the  establishment 
of  new  species  of  turtles  based  upon  inadequate  specimens,  for  it  certainly  cannot 
serve  any  useful  purpose  to  burden  the  literature  with  a  lot  of  useless  and  meaning- 
less names.  The  difiiculties  encountered  in  the  present  study,  in  recognizing  to 
which  species  certain  specimens  belonged,  when  almost  perfect  individuals  were 
at  hand,  shows  the  futility  of  naming  scraps  with  which  subsequent!}^  discovered 
material  can  never  with  absolute  confidence  be  identified.  There  are  perhaps 
some  few  exceptions,  for  occasionally  a  fragmentary  specimen  is  found  which 
shows  a  sculpture,  or  some  character  of  such  striking  pecufiarity,  as  to  make  it 
stand  out  distinctly  from  all  previously  described  forms.  The  present  study  has 
demonstrated  that  a  considerable  variation  within  the  limits  of  a  species  is  to  be 
expected,  and,  until  the  range  of  these  variations  is  determined,  it  is  quite  useless 
to  describe  new  forms  based  upon  some  small  part  of  the  carapace  or  plastron, 
which  shows  some  slight  difference  from  described  forms,  when  the  very  next  speci- 
men discovered  may  have  these  same  features  and  j'et  have  other  characters  to  be 
found  in  an  adequate  specimen,  which  show  it  to  belong  to  a  well-established 
species. 

I  wish  also  to  protest  against  the  practice  of  naming  species  simply  because 
the  specimen  comes  from  a  formation  from  which  the  genus  to  which  it  belongs 
has  not  previously  been  recognized.     In  other  words  it  is  assumed  that  '  it  is  not 

'  Osbom,  H.  F.,  "Age  of  Mammals,"  1910,  p.  160. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil    turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  103 

likely  that  a  species  known  from  a  lower  horizon  continues  over  into  a  higher 
horizon/  therefore  a  hunt  for  characters  to  sejDarate  it  from  the  other  species  of 
the  genus  is  instituted,  with  the  result  that  minor  differences  are  magnified  to 
represent  specific  differences,  when,  had  the  specimen  come  from  a  formation  in 
which  species  of  the  genus  were  already  known,  it  would  in  all  probability  have 
found  a  resting-place  within  one  of  the  described  species. 

In  order  to  facilitate  comparisons  of  the  descriptions  here  given  with  those  of 
other  described  forms  I  have  closely  followed  the  order  of  arrangement  used  by  Hay 
in  his  monographic  study  of  the  fossil  turtles  of  North  America. 

At  this  point  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  rendered  me  while  this 
paper  was  in  the  course  of  preparation.  First  of  all  I  express  my  gratitude  to  Dr. 
W.  J.  Holland  for  his  hearty  cooperation  at  all  times,  for  the  privilege  granted  me 
of  studying  this  fine  collection  of  fossil  turtles,  and  for  his  editorial  oversight  of 
the  work.  I  am  under  obligations  to  Dr.  W.  D.  Matthew,  of  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  New  York,  for  the  loan  of  type-specimens,  and  to  Dr.  0.  P. 
Hay,  to  whom,  because  of  his  wide  knowledge  of  the  turtles,  I  am  especially  in- 
debted for  invaluable  advice  upon  numerous  occasions.  The  text-figures  were 
made  by  the  well-known  artist,  Mr.  Rudolph  Weber,  the  photographs  are  bj'  Mr. 
Arthur  Coggeshall,  of  the  Carnegie  Museum. 

Geological  Occurrence. 

All  of  the  specimens  considered  in  the  present  paper  are  from  the  Uinta  forma- 
tion as  exposed  in  the  Uinta  Basin  at  the  southern  base  of  the  Uinta  Mountains, 
and  from  that  part  of  the  basin  which  lies  within  Uinta  County,  Utah.  The 
geological  positions  of  the  various  specimens  as  here  given  were  taken  from  the 
original  field-labels  which  accompanied  each  specimen,  so  that  these  determina- 
tions are  wholly  the  work  of  Messrs.  Earl  Douglass  and  0.  A.  Peterson,  whose  long 
experience  in  the  field  insures  the  accuracy  of  their  observations. 

In  1895  the  Uinta  formation  was  divided  by  Peterson-  into  three  levels,  or 
horizons,  designated  as  follows,  A  (Lower),  B  (Middle),  and  C  (Upper)  Uinta. 

The  remains  of  turtles  have  now  been  found  in  all  three  horizons,  though 
judging  from  the  present  collection,  individuals  occur  most  abundantl}'^  in  Horizon 
B,  but  the  number  of  species  recognized  in  the  collection  is  about  evenly  divided 
between  Horizons  B  and  C.  Up  to  the  present  time  only  one  species  is  known  from 
Horizon  A.  Douglass^  has  pointed  out  that  "the  lower  portions  of  these  deposits 
may  be,  and  probably  are,  contemporaneous  with  portions  of  deposits  in  the 

*  Peterson,  0.  A.,  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  History,  VII,  1895,  p.  74. 
»  Douglass,  Earl,  Bull.  Geo!.  Soc.  of  America,  vol.  25,  1914,  p.  418. 


10-1  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

Bridger  and  Washakie  Basins  and  with  other  deposits  elsewhere."  If  this  be  the 
true  condition,  it  may  to  some  extent  account  for  the  presence  of  many  species 
common  to  the  two  formations. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  the  identified  species  occurring  in  each  of  the  three 
subdivisions  of  the  Uinta  formation. 

Horizon  A  (Lower  Uinta). 
Baena  inflata  sp.  nov. 

Horizon  B  (Middle  Uinta). 
Baena  arenosa  Leidy,  E.  hollandi  sp.  nov., 

B.  emilice  Hay,  E.  uintensis  Hay, 

B.  inflata  sp.  nov.,  Hadrianus  utahensis  sp.  nov., 

B.  platyplastra  sp.  nov.,  Testudo  uintensis  sp.  nov., 

B.  (jigantea  sp.  nov.,  Amyda  egregia  Hay, 

Echniatemys  callopyge  Hay,  A.  scutumantiquum  (Cope). 

Horizon  C  (Upper  Uinta). 
Baena  emilice  Hay,  Hadrianus  corsoni  (Leidy), 

Echmatemys  douglassi  sp.  nov.,  H.  robustus  sp.  nov., 

E.  depressa  sp.  nov.,  Anosteira  ornata  Leidy, 

E.  obscura  sp.  nov.,  Amyda  sp., 

E.  pusilla?  Hay,  Glyptosaurus  sp.  indet. 

Six  genera  and  twenty  species  are  recognized  in  the  present  collection,  whereas 
in  1908,  at  the  time  Doctor  0.  P.  Hay  published  his  "Fossil  Turtles  of  North 
America"  only  four  genera  and  five  species  were  accredited  to  the  Uinta  formation. 
These  were  as  follows: 

Baena  emilice  Hay,  Hadrianus  tumidus  Hay, 

Echmatemys  callopyge  Hay,  Amyda  crassa  Hay. 

E.  uintensis  Hay, 

The  two  latter  species  have  not  been  recognized  in  the  present  collection, 
although  each  of  the  others  is  represented  by  from  two  to  six  individuals,  so  that 
altogether  six  genera  and  twenty-two  species  of  fossil  turtles  have  now  been 
foxmd  in  the  Uinta  formation.  The  known  geological  range  of  these  species  is 
graphically  shown  in  the  accompanying  table. 


GILMORE:   the   fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  105 

Geological  Range  of  Recognized  Species. 


Name 

Wasatch. 

Bridger. 

Uinta. 

Oligocene. 

A     1     B 

c 

v 

A 

B 

c 

Bacnidae: 

Baena  arenosa  Leidv, 

X       I X 

V 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

B.  emilice  Hay, 

1 

X 

B.  infiata  sp.  nov., 

'          '          1          ' 

X 

B.  platyplaslra  sp.  nov., 

1 

B.  gigantea  sp.  nov., 

1 

1 

Dermatemydidae: 

' 

X 

X 

X 



Emydidse: 

Echmatemys  callopyge  Hav, 



X 



X?   , 

E.  hollandi  sp.  nov., 

1 

X 

i. . 

X     

X     

X?  1 

E.  obscura  sp.  nov., 

1 

E.  pusillaf  Hay, 



X 

E.  uinlensis  Hay, 

1 

X 

Testudinidse: 

! 

X 

X 

H.  ulahensis  sp.  nov., 

X 
X 

H.  robicstus  sp.  nov., 

Testudo  uinlensis  sp.  nov., 

!            i 

X 

X 
X 
X 

Trionychidida: 

Amyda  egregia  Hay, 

1 

X 

A.  crassa  Hay, 

i 

-4.  sculumantiquum  (Cope), 

X 
X 

Lacertilia: 

Glyptosaurus  sp.  indet., 



X 

X 

Summary  of  Material  forming  the  Collection  of  Turtles  from  the  Uinta  Formation  in  : 

Museum. 

_        .  Catalog  No. 

Baemdac: 

Baena  arenosa  Leidy, 2356 

B.  emilice  Hay, 2159 

B.      "      3243 

B-      "      3253 

B'      "      3257 

B-      "      3443 

B-      "      3444 

B.  gigantea  sp.  nov., 3441 

B.  inflata  sp.  nov., 34% 

^-      "       3137 

B-      "       3442 

B.  platyplaslra  sp.  nov., 3227 

B.  sp.  indet., 2372 


B.f 
B.f 
B.  ' 


(skull) . 


.3255 
.3247 
.3271 
.2956 
.3447 


C. 

B,  or  C. 

B  lower. 

B  lower. 

B  lower. 

A. 

B. 

B  lower. 

B. 

B. 

? 
B. 

7 

B. 
C. 
B  lower. 


106  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

Dermatemydida;: 

Anosteira  ornala  Leidy, 2954  C. 

Emydidse: 

Echmakmys  callopyge  Hay, 2157  B. 

E.  "         2371  B. 

E.  douglassi  sp.  nov 3244  C? 

E.  depressa  sp.  nov., 2936  C. 

E.  hoUandi  sp.  nov., 3249  B. 

E.  obscura  sp.  nov 3252  C. 

E.  pusiUa?  Hay, 3282  C. 

E.  uintensis  Haj', 3270  B. 

E.       ••         2158  B,  orC. 

E.       "         2397  B? 

E.  sp.  indet., 2393  B. 

E.  "       "     2361  B. 

E.   "       "     (skull  and  neck) 2387  B. 

Testudinida;: 

Hadrianus  corsoni  (Leidy), 3403,  3404  C. 

H.  robustus  sp.  nov., 3342  C. 

H.  utahetisis  sp.  nov., 2343  B,  or  C. 

H.  sp.  indet., 2376  B. 

H.  "      "      3256  B,  or  C. 

Teshido  uintensis  sp.  nov., 2331  B. 

Trionychidoe: 

Amyda  egregia  Hay, 3254  B. 

A.  '•?     3258  B. 

A.  scutumaniiquum  (Cope), 3272  B. 

A.  "     '         3330        ? 

A.  sp.  indet., 3254  B. 

A.   "   "  3177  C. 

A.   "   "  2981  C. 

A.  "       "     3260  C. 

A.  "       "     3134  B. 

A.  "       "     3050  C. 

A.  "       •'     3019  B. 

A.  "       "     3245  C. 

A.  "       "     3285  C. 

IncertcE  sedis: 

Gen.  and  sp.  indet., 2394  B. 

"      "      "      "      2374  B. 

Fragments  of  Baena,  Amyda,  etc., 3250  C. 

Gen.  and  sp.  indet., 2982  C. 

"      "     "      "       2395  B. 

"      "     "      "      3445  B? 

Anguidae: 

Glyptosaurus  sp.  indet., 3405  C. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  107 

Family  BAENID.E  Cope. 

In  the  present  collection  from  the  Uinta  formation  of  Utah  nineteen  specimens 
were  sufficiently  well  preserved  to  be  identified  as  pertaining  to  the  genus  Baena. 
These  were  found  in  all  three  subdivisions  of  the  Uinta,  being  distributed  as  follows: 
one  specimen,  Baena  inflata,  from  Horizon  A;  thirteen  from  Horizon  B;  two  from 
horizon  C;  and  three  for  which  the  data  for  the  horizon  were  uncertain,  or  not  given. 

Five  species  of  this  genus  are  now  recognized  as  occurring  in  the  Uinta  forma- 
tion, three  of  which  are  here  described  as  new.  Only  one  of  the  recognized  species, 
Baena  arenosa,  is  found  to  occur  in  other  geological  epochs,  and  no  member  of  this 
family  is  known  to  range  above  the  Uinta. 

Genus  Baena  Leidj^ 
1.  Baena  arenosa  Leidy. 
Plate  XVni,  fig.  1;  text-fig.  1. 
Baena  arenosa  Leidy,  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  1870,  p.  123;  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv. 
Wyoming,  etc.,  1870  (1871),  p.  367;  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Montana,  etc.,  1871 
(1872),  p.  368;  Contrib.  Ext.  Vert.  Fauna  West.  Terrs.,  1873,  pp.  161,  343, 
pi.  13,  figs.  1-3;  ?pl.  15,  figs.  1-5;  pi.  16,  figs.  8,  9.— Cope,  ?Append.  LL  of 
Ann.  Report  Chief  of  Engineers,  1875,  p.  96;  ?Wheeler's  Surv.  100th  Merid., 
1877,  p.  52,  pi.  24,  fig.  32.— Baur,  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  1891,  p.  426. 
—Hay,  Bibhog.  and  Cat.  Foss.  Vert.  N.  A.,  1902,  p.  437;  Foss.  Turtles  of 
N.  A.,  1908,  pp.  67-71,  pi.  12;  pi.  13,  fig.  1;  pi.  14,  figs.  1-3,  text-figs.  44-51. 
Baena  affinis  Leidy,  Ann.  Report  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Wyoming,  etc.,  1870  (1871), 
p.  367. 

This  species  is  represented  in  the  collection  by  a  single  specimen.  Cat.  No.  2356. 
Collected  by  Earl  Douglass  and  party,  June  18,  1908,  from  Horizon  B,  Uinta 
formation,  Upper  Eocene,  east  of  Dragon- Vernal  road  between  White  and  Green 
Rivers,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

The  specimen  consists  of  a  fairly  complete  carapace,  lacking  the  posterior 
borders  and  the  peripherals  of  both  sides,  the  plastron  lacks  portions  of  both 
anterior  and  posterior  lobes.  It  represents  an  individual  of  approximateh'  the 
same  size  as  the  type  of  the  species  (Cat.  No.  103,  U.  S.  National  ]\Iuscum),  with 
which  it  has  been  carefully  compared.  This  comparison  shows  several  differences, 
but  such  as  exist  are  not  considered  of  sufficient  importance  to  separate  the  speci- 
mens specifically.    The  sculpture  of  the  carapace  is  rough  and  uneven,  consisting 


108 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


of  various  longitudinal,  transverse  and  oblique  ridges,  especially  within  the  areas  of 
the  vertebral  scutes,  this  part  of  the  carapace  being  fairly  smooth  in  the  type. 


Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Baena  arenosa  Leidy.    C.  M.  No.  2356.     X 
vertebral  .scutes  one  and  five. 


ns.,  neural  scute;  v.s.  1-v.s.  5, 


In  the  measurements  of  the  vertebral  scutes  it  also  differs  from  the  type,  but 
agrees  almost  exactly  with  the  type  of  Baena  affinis  Leidy,  which  is  now  regarded 
by  Hay,  following  Leidy  and  Cope,  as  being  a  synonym  of  B.  arenosa.  The  verte- 
bral areas  of  this  type  are  also  in  accord  with  the  present  specimen.  In  order 
to  show  the  close  agreement  of  the  present  individual  with  the  above-mentioned 
specimens  a  table  giving  the  comparative  measurements  of  the  vertebral  scutes 
of  each  is  herewith  appended. 

Comparative  Measurements  of  Vertebrals. 


Length. 

Width. 

No.  23.56. 

TypeofB.armom. 

Type  of  .B.a^m*. 

No.  2356. 

Type  of  B.  arenosa. 

Type  of  S.  affinia. 

1 

44 

_ 

50 

57 



72 

2 

76 

77 

73 

62 

73 

61 

3 

76 

74 

73 

64 

77 

64 

4 

60 

61 

60 

68 

78 

63 

5 

- 

68 

55 

88 

96 

75 

Since  the  anterior  portion  of  the  carapace  is  missing  in  the  type  of  the  species 
and  in  all  subsequently  discovered  specimens  the  complete  anterior  margin  in  the 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  109 

present  specimen  is  therefore  worthy  of  brief  description.  The  nuchal  scute  is 
small,  ha\nng  a  length  of  12  mm.,  and  a  transverse  diameter  of  17  mm.  The 
median  part  of  the  anterior  border  projects  slightlj-  bej'ond  the  general  contour  of 
the  shell.  The  nuchal  is  flanked  on  either  side  by  small  rectangular  marginals. 
The  arrangement  and  proportions  of  the  scutes  in  front  of  the  first  vertebral  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  Baena  antiqua  Lambc. 

This  specimen  shows  many  of  the  sutures  between  the  costals,  but  on  the 
median  dorsal  surface  their  complete  coalescence  renders  it  impossible  to  differ- 
entiate the  neurals.  There  are  no  supernumerary  costal  scutes  on  either  side  of  the 
first  vertebral  such  as  found  in  many  species  of  this  genus  and  occasionally  in 
individuals  pertaining  to  the  present  species. 

The  plastron  agrees  almost  exactly  with  the  type  in  size  and  proportions,  and 
especially  in  the  sculpture  of  the  surface  and  the  course  of  the  various  sulci.  The 
accompanying  table  gives  a  comprehensive  comparison  of  the  principal  measure- 
ments of  the  plastra. 

Comparative  Meastjeements  of  Plastra. 


Type  of  ^.  arenosa.  I   Type  of  B.  affinit. 


Width  of  bridge 

Length  of  anterior  lobe . 
Width  of  anterior  lobe. 


140  125 

77  I  77 

107  104 


Width  of  posterior  lobe I 96 I 98  !  114 

The  discovery  of  the  present  specimen  in  the  Uinta  formation  of  Utah  in- 
creases somewhat  the  known  geographical  as  well  as  the  geological  range  of  Baena 
arenosa.  The  tj^pe  of  the  species  is  from  the  Bridger  deposits  at  the  junction  of 
the  Big  Sandy  and  Green  rivers  in  southeastern  Wj'oming.  Haj-^  has  identified 
this  species  from  the  Washakie,  the  uppermost  division  of  the  Bridger.  The  type 
of  B.  affinis  is  from  level  B,  of  the  Bridger,  which  represents  the  middle  of  that 
formation.  Both  Cope  and  Hay  have  identified  specimens  from  the  Wasatch  of 
New  Mexico  as  pertaining  to  this  species,  these  being  the  most  ancient  known  at 
the  present  time.  With  a  geological  range  beginning  in  the  Wasatch  and  ending 
in  the  middle  of  the  Uinta,  Baena  arenosa  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  the  widest 
geological  distribution  of  any  species  of  the  genus. 

2.  Baena  emiliae  Hay. 
Baena  emilim  Hay,  0.  P.,  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  pp.  80-81,  PI. 
XX,  fig.  1;  text-figs.  67,  68. 
Six  specimens  in  the  present  collection  are  identified  as  pertaining  to  Baena 

*  Hay,  0.  P.,  "Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,"  Pub.  Carnegie  Institution,  Washington,  190S,  pp.  67-68. 


110  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

emilice  Hay.  The  better  preserved  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3443,  consists  of  a  nearly 
complete  carapace  and  plastron,  the  former  lacking  small  portions  of  the  hinder 
borders  posterior  to  the  inguinal  notches.  The  missing  margin  of  the  right  side 
was  apparently  lost  in  life,  as  shown  by  the  healed  condition  of  the  bone  at  this 
point.  The  specimen  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass  during  the  season  of  1915  at 
Wagon-hound  Bend,  on  White  River,  Uinta  County,  Utah,  from  the  lower  part 
of  Horizon  B.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  table  of  comparative  measurements  given 
below  that  this  specimen  has  about  the  same  dimensions  as  the  type  of  the  species. 
It  differs,  however,  in  the  more  angularly  rounded  contour  of  the  front  lobe,  a 
feature  in  which  it  also  is  different  from  three  of  the  other  specimens  here  referred 
to  this  species.  Whether  this  difference  represents  a  sexual  character,  or  is  only 
an  individual  variation,  I  am  unable  to  determine. 

In  many  respects  the  present  specimen  is  very  close  to  the  type  of  Ba'ena  clara 
from  the  Bridger  formation,  but  the  great  length  of  the  third  vertebral  scute,  as 
compared  with  the  others  of  the  series,  is  regarded  by  Hay  as  one  of  the  chief  dis- 
tinguishing characters  of  the  species,  and  together  with  the  much  shorter  pos- 
terior lobe,  as  compared  with  the  longer  lobe  in  B.  clara,  appears  to  show  that  its 
closest  affinities  are  with  the  present  species. 

An  anterior  portion  of  a  carapace  and  plastron,  C.  M.  No.  3253,  on  account 
of  its  close  general  resemblance  to  the  specimen  discussed  above,  is  provisionally 
referred  to  the  same  species.  This  specimen  is  from  Horizon  C  of  the  Uinta  for- 
mation and  is  the  only  individual  in  the  collection,  referred  to  the  present  species, 
which  is  positively  known  to  have  come  from  that  horizon,  all  of  the  others  having 
been  found  in  strata  belonging  to  Horizon  B.  It  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass 
two  or  three  miles  west  of  Well  No.  2,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

A  third  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  2159,  consisting  of  a  complete  plastron  and  the 
entire  central  part  of  the  carapace,  but  lacking  portions  of  both  sides,  is  also 
referred  to  this  species.  It  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass  in  1908,  in  the  Devil's 
Playground,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah,  from  Horizon  B  (near  top)  or  C 
(near  base). 

A  fourth  individual,  C.  M.  No.  3243,  has  a  nearly  complete  carapace  and 
plastron,  the  latter  lacking  the  posterior  lobe.  It  was  collected  by  Messrs.  Earl 
Douglass  and  J.  T.  Goetschius,  October  2,  1908,  about  one  mile  northeast  of  Well 
No.  2,  "near  first  gap,"  Uinta  County,  Utah,  from  Horizon  B. 

The  fifth  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3257,  consists  of  a  carapace  and  plastron,  the 
former  lacking  some  of  the  posterior  border.  This  turtle  also  was  collected  by 
Earl  Douglass  and  J.  T.  Goetschius,  July  30,  1908,  south  of  Kennedy's  Hole  and 


GILMORE:    the    fossil    turtles   of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  111 

west  of  the  Dragon- Vernal  road,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah,  from  Horizon 
B,  or  C. 

The  sixth  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3244,  consists  of  the  greater  part  of  the  carapace 
and  plastron.  The  carapace  has  portions  of  the  rim  missing  on  both  the  anterior 
and  posterior  ends,  the  plastron  lacks  the  anterior  lobe.  The  specimen  was 
collected  by  Earl  Douglass  in  1915,  at  Wagon-hound  Bend  on  WTiite  River,  Uinta 
County,  Utah,  from  the  lower  part  of  Horizon  B. 

The  tjTDe  of  Baena  emilicB  is  in  the  American  ]\Iuseum  of  Natural  History, 
and  was  collected  by  Mr.  O.  A.  Peterson  in  1884,  from  the  middle  Uinta  of  Utah. 
Geologically  therefore  all  of  the  known  specimens,  including  the  tji^e,  two  other 
specimens  referred  to  the  species  by  Hay,  and  the  six  specimens  under  con- 
sideration, came  from  approximately  the  same  horizon,  and  from  neighboring 
localities. 

It  may  be  shown  hereafter,  when  larger  collections  shall  have  been  made,  that 
more  than  one  species  is  represented  by  the  six  specimens  here  referred  to  B.  emilioe. 
When  compared  with  one  another  there  are  differences  which  appear  to  divide 
them  into  three  groups,  as  follows:  Nos.  2159  and  3243,  having  relatively  narrower 
vertebral  scutes  and  narrower  plastral  lobes  and  bridges  than  the  tjT^e,  or  other 
specimens  here  referred  to  B.  emilioe;  Nos.  3244  and  3257,  having  wider  vertebral 
scutes  and  a  more  depressed  shell  than  the  type;  and  No.  3443  with  a  wider  and 
more  angularly  rounded  anterior  lobe,  larger  intergulars,  and  narrower  pectorals. 
The  latter  specimen  in  all  of  these  particulars  is  different  not  only  from  the  type, 
but  from  all  of  the  other  specimens  discussed  above,  with  the  exception  of  the 
fragmentary  specimen  No.  3253,  which,  in  so  far  as  the  two  can  be  compared, 
appears  to  be  very  close  to  No.  3443.  In  nearly  all  other  respects  these  specimens 
agree  closely  with  the  type  of  the  species.  The  differences  enumerated  above  are 
not  considered  important  enough  to  warrant  the  separation  of  these  turtles  into 
distinct  species.  When  the  considerable  sexual  and  individual  differences  ob- 
servable in  a  series  of  living  turtles  of  one  species  and  from  one  locality  are  con- 
sidered, it  appears  to  me  that  the  specimens  before  me  are  well  within  the  limits  of 
a  given  species.  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  specimens  Nos.  2159  and  3243 
may  be  females  of  this  species,  but  as  to  this  I  cannot  be  certain.  The  discovery  of 
more  material  may  possibl}^  show  that  more  than  one  species  is  represented  in 
these  specimens,  but  at  this  time,  especially  in  the  light  of  a  recent  examination 
of  a  large  series  of  living  turtles,  I  do  not  feel  justified  in  the  establishment  of  new 
species  on  such  slender  distinguishing  characters  as  have  been  observed.  For  the 
present,  at  least,  I  refer  all  the  six  specimens  to  Baena  emilicc  Hay. 


112 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


In  order  to  place  on  record  the  proportional  variations  within  the  species  I 
have  prepared  the  table  of  comparative  measvirements  given  below: 

CosiPAR.\TivE  Measurements  of  Vertebr.\ls. 


Length. 

Width. 

Type. 

No. 
3443. 

No. 

3244. 

No. 
3257. 

No. 
2159. 

No. 
3243. 

Type. 

No. 

3443. 

No.  3244. 

No.  3257. 

No.  2159. 

No.  3243. 

1 

55 

53 



51 

47 

38 

68 

73 



85 

65 

63 

2 

80 

81 

— 

82 

71 

77 

63 

79 

71 

87 

64 

56 

3 

92 

96 

97 

89 

87 

88 

75 

82 

80 

90 

68 

63 

4 

70 

69 

74 

72 

69 

67 

78 

77 

80 

91 

69 

65 

5 

70 

62 

52 

— 

— 

62 

98 

101 

90 

96 

COMPAKATIVB  MeaSDKEMENTS  OF  CaRAPACE  AND  PlaSTRON. 


Greatest  length  of  carapace. . . 
"        width    "        " 
"        length  of  plastron . .  . 
"  "      anterior  lobe . . 

w-idth        "         " 
"        length  posterior  lobe 
"        vndth        "  " 

Width  of  bridge 


Type. 

No.  3443. 

368 

364 

294 

292 

320 

307 

80 

76 

110 

105 

83 

84 

122 

114 

160 

150 

io.  3443.  No.  3244.  No.  3257.  No.  2159.  No.  3243, 


365e    375e 
310    310 


119 
149 


310e 
75 

105 
98e 

117 

146 


77 
102 


366 
260 

73 


105 
146 


3.  Baena  inflata  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XIX;  text-figs.  2  and  3. 

Type :  C.  M.  No.  3406,  consisting  of  a  carapace  and  plastron,  the  former  lacking 
the  posterior  end  back  of  the  middle  of  the  fourth  vertebral,  the  latter  a  small 
portion  of  the  anterior  lobe;  collected  bj^  0.  A.  Peterson  in  1912. 

Locality :  INIcCook  Canj'on,  White  River,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  A  (near  top),  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

The  type  of  this  species  is  but  little  crushed  and,  except  for  the  parts  which 
are  missing,  is  in  a  beautiful  state  of  preservation.  The  surface  of  the  carapace 
and  plastron  are  everj^where  covered  with  fine  pustular  elevations,  forming  a 
shagreened  surface.  The  pustules  on  the  carapace  are  coarser  than  those  on  the 
plastron.  The  surface  of  the  carapace  is  also  somewhat  uneven,  and  laterad  to 
the  second,  third,  and  fourth  vertebrals  there  are  some  heavy  longitudinal  wrink- 
lings. These  are  most  numerous  laterally  at  the  junction  of  the  third  and  fourth 
vertebrals.  The  pustular  ornamentation  of  the  carapace  appears  to  be  very 
similar  to  that  of  Baena  sima  Hay,  but  not  so  coarse. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  shell  is  estimated  to  have  been  about  400  mm.;  its 
greatest  width  at  the  center  is  310  mm.     In  outline  the  front  of  the  shell  is  evenly, 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  113 

but  broadly,  rounded,  resembling  in  its  general  contour  B.  sima  Hay.  The  shell 
is  flat  transversely  in  the  region  of  the  vertebral  scutes,  but  from  one  border  to  the 
other  it  is  broadly  convex.  One  of  the  distinctive  features  of  this  species  is  the 
decided  transverse  inflation  or  swelling  of  the  mid-costal  region,  which  gives  the 
shell  the  appearance  of  being  puffed  out  on  the  sides.  This  swelling  lies  largely 
within  the  areas  of  the  second  costal  scutes,  and  it  is  to  this  feature  that  the  specific 
name  refers. 

Over  the  posterior  legs  the  margins  of  the  shell  begin  to  flare  outward  and 
slightly  upward,  and  at  this  point  the  border  is  heavy  and  rounded  but  becomes 
thinner  posteriorly.  In  front  of  the  axillary  notches  the  border  has  a  thickness  of 
31  mm.,  but  rapidly  thins  toward  the  center,  where  it  measures  only  8  mm.,  the 
edge  being  obtusely  rounded.  The  bones  of  the  carapace  are  so  thoroughly  coos- 
sified  that  but  few  of  the  sutures  can  now  be  made  out.  The  sulci,  however,  can 
in  most  instances  be  clearly  traced. 


Fig.  2.  Carapace  of  Baena  injlata.  C.  M.  No.  340G,  Type.  C.S.  1,  C.S.  4,  costal  scutes  one  and 
four;  V.S.  1,  V.S.  4,  vertebral  scutes  one  and  four.    One-fourth  natural  size. 

The  vertebrals  as  in  nearly  all  Eocene  Baenidae  are  longer  than  wide.  The 
sides  of  the  vertebrals,  excepting  the  first,  which  is  hexagonal  with  a  very  narrow 
anterior  end,  are  bracket-shaped.  It  will  be  observed,  that,  as  in  Baena  emilice, 
the  third  vertebral  is  the  longest  of  the  series.    Along  the  center  of  vertebrals  two, 


114 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


three,  and  four  is  a  narrow  low  ridge,  on  eitlier  side  of  which  are  parallel  grooves 
much  as  in  B.  emiliie.  The  principal  dimensions  of  the  vertebrals  as  well  as  those 
of  a  second  individual,  C'.  M.  No.  3442,  referred  to  this  species,  are  given  in  the 
accompanying  table. 

Dimensions  op  Vbrtebeals. 


Length. 

Width  in  front. 

Greatest  width. 

Type. 

No.  3442. 

Type. 

No.  3442. 

Type.                     No.  3442. 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

61 
90 
99 

53 
92 
98 
90 

28 
62 
62 
68 

75 
63 
64 
70 
53 

72                          75 
74                         77 
78                         81 
78             1            81 

The  nuchal  scute  is  rectangular,  being  about  17  mm.  long  and  30  mm.  wide  on 
the  free  border.  It  is  bordered  on  either  side,  as  shown  in  specimen  No.  3442, 
by  small  triangular  first  marginals.     The  second  marginal  has  its  greatest  width 


Fig.  3.     Plastron  of  Baiina  inflala  C.  M.  No.  3406,  Type,  restored  after  C.  M.  No.  3442.     One-foui-th 
natural  size. 

(36  mm.)  on  the  free  border.  The  first  vertebral  is  bordered  on  either  side  by 
small  triangular  supernumerary  costal  scutes,  though  there  is  no  indication  of  these 
in  specimen  No.  3442. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  plastron  had  a  total  length  of  about  365  mm.     It  is 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    riNTA   FORMATION  115 

slightlj^  convex  transversely  throughout  its  length,  and  this  convexity  on  the  bridge 
area  continues  evenly  to  the  borders  of  the  shell,  so  that  these  borders  stand  36  mm. 
above  the  level  of  the  plastron  at  the  center.  The  anterior  lobe  has  its  greatest 
width  (135  mm.)  at  the  base;  and  at  a  point  half-way  to  the  anterior  end  it  measures 
99  mm.  The  sides  of  the  lobe  converge  gradually  from  the  base  to  the  anterior 
end,  which  appears  to  have  been  rounded.     The  width  of  the  bridge  is  175  mm. 

The  posterior  lobe  is  tongue-shaped,  shallowly,  but  broadly  notched.  Its 
lengtli  on  the  midline  is  97  mm.,  with  a  width  at  the  base  of  139  mm.  The  notch 
has  a  depth  of  6  mm.  at  the  center. 

Excepting  those  of  the  anterior  lobe  all  of  the  sulci  and  sutures  on  the  plastron 
can  be  clearly  made  out.  The  mesoplastrals  widen  rapidly  on  either  side  of  the 
midline.  At  the  center  the  right  scute  measures  51  mm.  The  width  of  the  right 
hypoplastral  at  the  center  is  104  mm. ;  of  the  left  hypoplastral  91  mm.  The  xiphi- 
plastrals  are  62  mm.  wide  on  the  midline.  The  pectorals  meet  on  the  midline  for 
a  distance  of  75  mm.;  the  abdominals  for  49  nam.;  the  femorals  for  80  mm.;  the 
anals  for  47  mm. 

On  the  right  side  are  three  inframarginal  scutes,  the  form  of  which  is  well 
shown  in  Fig.  3. 

A  second  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3442,  belonging  apparently  to  this  species,  was 
collected  by  Earl  Douglass  in  1915  from  the  lower  part  of  Horizon  B  of  the  Uinta 
formation,  at  Wagon-hound  Bend  on  White  River,  Uinta  County,  Utah.  This 
turtle  consists  of  a  carapace  and  plastron,  both  of  which  have  small  portions 
missing  from  their  posterior  ends.  In  size,  general  contour,  and  the  dimensions 
of  the  dermal  scutes,  the  specimen  closely  resembles  the  type.  The  inflation  of  the 
sides  of  the  carapace,  which  forms  such  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  tj'pe,  is  almost 
entirely  wanting  in  this  individual.  Its  absence  may  be  attributed  in  part,  at  least, 
to  crushing,  for  both  sides  in  this  respect  have  somewhat  suffered.  There  are  also 
no  supernumerary  costal  scutes  at  either  side  of  the  first  vertebral,  and  in  their 
absence  the  first  vertebral  is  tetragonal,  whereas  in  the  tj'pe  it  is  hexagonal  with 
the  narrow  end  in  front.  This  specimen  shows  small  triangular  first  marginals 
on  either  side  of  the  nuchal,  and  in  the  drawing  of  the  type  (Fig.  2),  this  region, 
which  is  missing,  has  been  restored  after  this  specimen.  It  also  gives  the  complete 
form  of  the  anterior  lobe  (See  Fig.  3),  which  in  its  general  contour  closely  resembles 
Baena  sima  Hay. 

The  greater  part  of  an  anterior  lobe,  C.  ]\I.  No.  3137,  which  was  collected  by 
Earl  Douglass  in  the  strata  of  Horizon  B  of  the  Uinta  formation,  near  Well  No.  2, 
Uinta  Basin,  Utah,  in  1908,  is  regarded  as  belonging  to  Baena  inflata.     It  is  from 


116  MEMOIRS    OF   the' CARNEGIE    MrSEtiM 

an  individual  having  the  same  proportions  as  the  type,  and  shows  on  the  dorsal 
surface  the  triradiate  shape  of  the  entoplastron  (See  Fig.  4,  1).     The  entoplastron 


Fig.  4.  Anterior  lobes  of  Baena  inflala.  1,  and  ,?,  superior  and  inferior  views  of  C.  M.  No.  3137,  enl., 
entoplastron;  hum.,  humeral  scute.  S,  inferior  view  of  anterior  lobe  of  C.  M.  No.  3442.  All  figures  one-fourth 
natural  size. 

has  a  length  of  at  least  50  mm. ;  a  width  of  44  mm.  Transversely  the  lower  surface 
of  the  lobe  is  broadly  convex.  On  the  dorsal  surface  immediately  posterior  to  the 
anterior  border  the  bone  is  scooped  out  by  a  shallow  transverse  depression.  The 
lateral  borders  are  bevelled  off  almost  perpendicularly,  while  in  front  the  border 
is  rounded.  The  bone  along  the  borders  has  a  thickness  of  13  mm.,  in  front  of  the 
center  of  only  9  mm.,  at  the  middle  on  the  posterior  broken  border  of  21  mm. 

4.   Baena  gigantea  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XX,  figs.  1  and  2;  text-figs.  5,  6,  and  7. 

Type:  C.  ]M.  No.  3441,  consisting  of  nearly  a  complete  shell.  The  carapace 
lacks  portions  of  the  posterior  margins  on  either  side  of  the  middle,  a  small  section 
of  the  right  anterior  border,  and  the  peripherals  of  the  right  side  above  the  bridge. 
The  plastron  has  the  greater  part  of  the  posterior  lobe  missing.  Collected  by 
Earl  Douglass,  in  1915. 

Locality :  Wagon-hound  Bend,  on  White  River,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon :  Lower  part  of  Horizon  B,  Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene. 

The  type  of  the  present  species  is  the  largest  species  of  the  genus  as  yet  dis- 
covered. It  is  estimated  that  the  carapace  had  an  axial  length  of  about  535  mm. 
The  greatest  width,  which  is  near  the  center,  is  about  420  mm.  The  bones  of  the 
carapace  are  all  thoroughly  coossified  and  only  the  sutures  defining  the  right  half 
of  the  mesoplastron  can  be  detected  and  then  only  with  difficulty.  The  shell  is 
oval  in  outline,  in  this  respect  resembling  Baena  clara  Hay,  though  the  oval  is 
somewhat  more  elongate  than  in  that  species.  The  carapace  has  been  slightly 
crushed  on  the  right  side,  as  may  be  seen  by  examining  Plate  XX,  fig.  1. 

The  front  of  the  carapace  is  decidedly  projecting.     The  missing  posterior 


gilmore:  the  fossil  turtles  of  the  uixta  formation 


117 


borders  render  it  impossible  to  determine  the  character  of  the  scallops  on  the 
hinder  end.  The  surfaces  of  both  the  carapace  and  plastron  are  roughened  with 
coarse  pustular  elevations,  though  these  are  more  sparsely  placed  than  in  either 
Baena  sima  or  B  inflata.  With  the  exception  of  this  pustular  roughening  the 
surfaces  are  comparatively  smooth,  there  being  no  longitudinal  ridges  or  grooves, 
such  as  are  commonly  found  in  many  species  of  this  genus  from  the  Eocene.  The 
vertebral  areas  are  a^so  free  from  median  ridges  and  channels. 

The  nuchal  scute  resembles  in  outline  that  of  Baena  hatcheri.     It  has  a  fore- 
and-aft  diameter  of  about  58  mm.,  and  a  transverse  diameter  of  88  mm.     The 


Fig.  5.    Baena  gigantea,  carapace  of  C.  jM.  No  3441,  Tyi)e.    About  one-fifth  natural  size. 

unusual  length  of  the  nuchal  appears  to  be  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  this 
species.  All  of  the  sulci  are  distinctly  impressed.  At  the  left  side  of  the  nuchal 
is  a  subrectangular  first  marginal,  which  has  a  length  on  the  free  border  of  43  mm. 
The  total  number  of  peripherals  cannot  be  determined  from  this  specimen. 

There  are  the  usual  five  vertebrals  and  these  are  relatively'  wide,  and  differ 
from  those  of  all  other  Eocene  Baenidse,  except  B.  emilice,  in  having  the  fourth 
considerably  wider  than  long.     The  sides  of  the  vertebrals  posterior  to  the  first  are 


118 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


onlj'  slightly  bracket-shaped.  The  first  is  hexagonal,  verj^  narrow  in  front,  in  this 
respect  closelj'^  resembling  the  first  in  Baena  inflata.  The  surfaces  within  the  first, 
second,  and  third  vertebral  areas  are  flattened,  but  the  fourth  and  fifth  are  trans- 
versely broadly  convex.  The  principal  dimensions  of  the  vertebrals  are  given 
in  the  accompanying  table. 

Dimensions  of  Vertebrals. 


Length. 

1        Width  in  front. 

Greatest  width. 

1 

58 

!                34 

98 

2 

122 

!                87 

105 

3 

126 

96 

113 

4 

88 

94 

106 

5 

102e 

88 

152e 

e,  estimated. 

As  in  Baena  riparia  Hay  and  B.  hatcheri  Hay,  there  are  five  costal  scutes.  A 
small  supernumerary  scute  is  situated  on  each  side  of  the  first  vertebral,  showing  a 
difference  from  the  former  species  by  bordering  on  the  nuchal,  whereas  in  B. 
riparia  these  scutes  are  not  in  juxtaposition. 

On  the  plastron  only  the  sutures  defining  the  mesoplastron  on  the  right  side 


Fig.  6.    Bama  giganlea,  plastron.     Tjiie,  C.  M.  No.  3441.     About  one-fifth  natural : 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  119 

are  traceable,  and  these  show  them  to  be  narrow  at  the  micUine  (18  mm.),  but 
expanding  toward  their  outer  extremities  where  the  width  is  112  mm.  The  an- 
terior lobe  is  elongated  antero-posteriorly,  and  turns  upward  with  a  well-defined 
sweep  toward  the  carapace,  as  shown  in  Fig.  7.  Its  greatest  length  is  137  mm.; 
its  greatest  width  170  mm.  at  the  base;  at  a  point  half-way  to  the  tip  measuring 
117  mm.  in  width.  The  sides  of  this  lobe  gradually  converge  from  the  base  to 
near  the  anterior  end,  which  rounds  in  with  a  shallow  but  broad  median  emargina- 
tion  on  the  anterior  end.  The  posterior  lobe  is  largely  missing,  though  enough  of 
the  base  remains  to  show  that  it  had  a  width  of  160  mm.  The  width  of  the  bridge 
is  190  mm. 


Fig.  7.  Baena  gigantea,  lateral  view  of  the  carapace  and  plastron,  C.  M.  No.  3441.  T3'pe  specimen, 
one-fifth  natural  size. 

The  sulci  defining  the  intergular  scutes  cannot  be  traced.  The  intergulars 
meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  29  mm.;  the  humerals  112  mm.;  the  pectorals 
97  mm.;  the  abdominals  55  mm.  The  number  of  inframarginals  on  the  bridge 
cannot  be  determined  in  this  specimen. 

This  species  may  be  distinguished  from  all  others  of  the  genus  by  its  larger  size, 
the  great  length  of  the  nuchal  scute,  and  differences  in  the  relative  dimensions  of 
the  vertebral  scutes.  The  contour  of  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  plastron,  its  greater 
relative  length,  and  especially  its  decided  upward  curvature  are  all  features  which 
serve  to  distinguish  this  species.  In  the  presence  of  five  costal  scutes  the  type  of 
this  species  agrees  with  several  species  of  the  genus,  especially  Baena  riparia  and 
B.  hatcheri,  but  it  differs  from  those  forms  by  the  decidedly  longer  nuchal  scute  and 
in  the  apparent  absence  of  marginal  scutella.  In  the  greater  length  of  the  third 
vertebral  this  specimen  is  like  B.  emiliai  from  the  same  formation,  but  the  greater 
relative  widths  of  all  of  the  vertebrals  and  especially  the  shortness  of  the  fourth, 
together  with  other  differences  to  be  observed  in  the  plastron,  at  once  distinguish 
it  from  that  species. 


120 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


,").   Baena  platyplastra  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XVIII,  fig.  2;  text-fig.  8. 

Type:  C.  IM.  No.  3227,  consisting  of  a  plastron  lacking  the  anterior  portion 
of  the  anterior  lobe,  matrix  cast  of  the  carapace,  at  either  end  of  which  remain  a 
few  fragmentary  parts  of  the  carapace.  Collected  by  Earl  Douglass  and  J.  F. 
Goetschius,  August  5,  1908. 

Locality:  Northeast  of  Well  No.  2,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon :  Horizon  B,  Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene. 

The  type  specimen  represents  one  of  the  larger  species  of  the  genus.  It  is 
distinguished  from  all  other  described  species  of  Baena  by  the  extremely  flat  and 
thin  plastral  bones  with  sculptured  inferior  surfaces.  Its  large  size  and  the  absence 
of  a  median  emargination  on  the  posterior  lobe  are  features  which  also  assist  in 
distinguishing  this  species. 

The  ornamentation  of  the  plastron  consists  of  low  ridges  and  shallow  furrows, 
the  former  being  short,  sometimes  straight,  but  usually  bent  or  anastomosing. 
The  effect  of  the  whole  may  be  best  expressed  as  resembling  a  coarse,  shagreened 


Fig.  S.     Plastron  of  Duma  plalyplaslra,  C.  M.  No.  3227.     Type,  one-fourth  natural  size. 

leather.  The  sutures  in  the  tjpe  have  all  coalesced,  but  their  courses  are  indi- 
cated by  ridges  crossing  them  at  right  angles.  These  cross-ridges  are  especially 
pronounced  on  the  median  suture  between  the  axillary  notches. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  121 

It  is  estimated  that  the  entire  shell  had  a  length  of  about  495  mm.,  and  a  height 
at  the  center  of  about  170  mm.  The  plastron  had  a  length  of  about  420  mm.  The 
anterior  lobe  at  the  base  is  156  mm.  wide.     The  bridge  is  180  mm.  wide. 

The  posterior  lobe  has  a  width  at  the  base  of  152  mm.,  and  a  length  of  128  mm. 
The  lateral  borders  of  the  lobe  are  nearly  straight  and  converge  nearly  the  entire 
length  of  the  lobe,  there  being  a  slight  constriction  at  the  anal-femoral  sulcus.  The 
posterior  end  of  this  lobe  is  broadly  but  evenly  rounded  and  without  median  emar- 
gination.     At  the  anal-femoral  sulcus  the  transverse  measurement  is  107  mm. 

The  mesoplastrals  are  solidly  coossified  with  the  contiguous  bones  and  their 
boundaries  can  only  be  determined  by  the  ridges  which  cut  them  at  right  angles. 
At  the  midline  these  bones  have  a  width  of  33  mm.,  at  their  outer  ends  thej^  expand 
to  55  mm.  in  width. 

As  in  Baena  sima  Hay,  the  median  sulcus  runs  a  very  tortuous  course,  as  is  well 
shown  in  Fig.  8.  The  pectorals  meet  on  the  median  line  for  a  distance  of  77  mm. ; 
the  abdominals  for  70  mm.;  the  femorals  for  68  mm.;  the  anals  for  85  mm.  The 
anal-femoral  sulcus  runs  in  from  the  border  a  short  distance,  then  turns  abrupth' 
forward,  then  again  turns  at  right  angles  toward  the  median  line  to  meet  the  scute 
of  the  opposite  side.  In  the  shape  of  the  anal  scutes  it  resembles  Baena  arenosa 
and  more  especially  B.  clara. 

Owing  to  the  damaged  condition  of  the  bridges  the  number  of  inframarginal 
scutes  cannot  be  determined. 

Family  DERMATEMYDID.E  Gray. 

The  family  Dermatemydida3  is  represented  now  for  the  first  time  in  the  Uinta 
formation  by  the  single  genus  and  species,  Anosieira  ornata  Leidy.  This  is  the 
latest  recorded  occurrence  of  this  genus  for  North  America,  although  in  England 
it  is  known  to  range  upward  into  the  Lower  Oligocene. 

Genus  Anosteira  Leidy. 

6.  Anosteira  ornata  Leidy. 

Anosteira  ornata  Leidy,  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  1871,  p.  102;  Ann.  Report 
U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Montana,  etc.,  1871  (1872),  p.  370;  Contrib.  Ext.  Fauna 
West.  Terrs.,  1873,  pp.  174,  341,  pi.  XVI,  figs.  1-6.— Hay,  Bibliog.  and  Cat. 
Foss.  Vert.  N.  A.,  1902,  p.  447;  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  XXII,  1906, 
p.  157,  figs.  2,  3;  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  pp.  279-281,  PI.  XLIII, 
figs.  1,  2;  text-figs.  352-354. 


122  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

Anostira  ornnta  Cope,  Ann.  Report  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Wyoming,  etc.,  1872  (1873), 

p.  621;  Amer.  Naturalist,  vol.  XVI,  1882,  p.  989,  fig.  7;  Vert.  Tert.  Form. 

West,  1884,  p.  128.— DoLLO,  Bull.  Mus.  Roy.  Belgique,  IV,  1886,  p.  93,  PI. 

XI,  figs.  7,  8. 

A  fragmentan-  specimen,  Xo.  295-4,  collected  by  0.  A.  Peterson  August  24, 
1912,  from  Horizon  C,  Uinta  formation,  on  White  River  near  Ouray,  Uinta  County, 
Utah,  is  provisionally  identified  as  pertaining  to  the  above  genus  and  species. 
This  specimen  consists  of  the  articulated  nuchal,  first  and  second  neurals,  with 
portions  of  the  abutting  costals  of  both  sides,  parts  of  several  disarticulated  costals, 
eleven  peripherals,  several  of  which  are  complete.  The  plastron  is  represented 
by  the  right  hj'poplastron  lacking  a  portion  of  its  outer  extremity  and  many  frag- 
mentary parts. 

The  specimen  has  been  carefully  compared  with  the  figures  and  descriptions 
given  by  Leid}'  and  Hay,  and  especialh'  ynth  one  of  Leidj-'s  cotj-pes  Xo.  4062, 
now  in  the  U.  S.  National  ]\Iuseum,  and,  with  the  exception  of  slight  differences  in 
size,  it  agrees  closely  in  nearly  all  respects.  The  present  specimen  is  of  about  the 
same  size  as  one  individual  in  the  American  ^lusevun  of  Xatural  Historj^  described 
and  figured  b}'  Hay  in  his  Turtles  of  Xorth  America,  but  is  considerably  smaller 
than  the  cotype  of  Leidy  mentioned  above. 

All  of  the  specimens  described  by  Leidy  are  supposed  to  have  come  from 
the  lower  portion  of  Horizon  B  in  the  Bridger  as  exposed  in  the  neighborhood  of 
old  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming.  The  specimen  described  by  Hay  in  the  publication 
cited  is  from  the  third  division  of  Horizon  C  of  the  Bridger  on  Henry's  Fork,  Wj'o- 
ming.  The  discovery  of  the  specimen  considered  here  now  extends  the  geological 
range  of  this  species  into  the  uppermost  horizon  of  the  Uinta  formation. 

The  nuchal  has  a  length  of  15  mm.,  a  width  on  the  free  border  of  23  mm. 
The  free  border  is  subacute  and  is  not  so  deeply  excavated  in  front  as  in  the  specimen 
figured  by  Leidy.     The  thickness  of  the  nuchal  at  the  midline  is  5  mm. 

The  first  neural  has  a  length  of  13  mm.,  and  a  greatest  width  of  6  mm.  The 
bone  is  coffin-shaped  with  the  widest  end  forward.  The  second  neural  is  9  mm. 
long,  and  only  4  mm.  wide. 

All  of  the  bones  of  the  carapace  are  delicately  sculptured,  though  those  of  the 
anterior  part  of  the  shell  appear  less  distinct  than  in  most  of  the  described  specimens. 
The  few  costals  present  show  the  usual  low  undulating  ridges  crossing  them  at 
right  angles  to  their  shorter  diameters.  This  sculpture  is  most  distinct  toward 
their  outer  ends.  The  peripherals  have  their  upper  and  lower  surfaces  ornamented 
by  the  usual  sharp  ridges  and  pustular  elevations. 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  123 

The  few  sulci  discernible  are  narrow  and  delicately  impressed.  As  in  pre- 
viously described  specimens  the  intramarginal  sulci  on  the  nuchal  and  anterior 
peripherals  cannot  be  traced.  The  first  vertebral  has  a  greatest  width  of  26  mm., 
whereas  in  the  specimen  described  by  Hay  it  is  only  18  mm.  The  sulcus  forming 
the  posterior  boundary  of  the  first  vertebral  crosses  the  first  neural  as  in  other 
described  specimens.  The  costal  sulcus  on  the  second  costal  is  near  the  center  of 
that  bone,  while  in  the  specimen  described  by  Hay  it  is  very  close  to  the  posterior 
border. 

The  right  hypoplastron  is  21  mm.  long  on  the  midline,  and  has  a  thickness  of 
5.5  mm.  The  sculpture  on  the  lower  surface  of  this  bone  is  made  up  of  fine  ridges 
arranged  in  a  radiating  pattern.  There  is  no  evidence  of  epidermal  scutes  on  any 
of  the  plastral  bones  found  with  this  specimen. 

Cope  has  recognized  this  species  from  the  Upper  Green  River  beds,  so  that  the 
evidence  at  hand  shows  that  this  species  ranges  from  the  lowest  horizon  in  the 
Bridger  deposits  to  the  highest  horizon  in  the  Uinta  formation,  the  uppermost 
Eocene. 

Family  EMYDID.E  Gray. 

Genus  Echmatemys  Hay. 

In  1908  Hay^  recognized  nineteen  species  as  pertaining  to  the  genus  Ech- 
matemys. Since  that  time  he  has  described  one  new  form,^  so  that  with  the  four 
new  species  described  in  the  present  paper,  twenty-four  species  have  been  recog- 
nized from  the  fossiliferous  deposits  of  North  America.  Seven  of  these  have  now 
been  found  in  the  Uinta  formation  and  increased  collections  will  doubtless  show  the 
presence  of  several  more.  The  discovery  in  the  present  collection  of  Echmatemys 
septaria  (Cope)  leads  to  the  belief  that  still  other  species  known  in  the  older 
Wasatch  and  Bridger  beds,  will  sooner  or  later  be  found  to  continue  into  the  upper- 
most Eocene. 

6.  Echmatemys  callopyge  Hay. 

Plate  XXI;   text-figs.  9  and  10. 

Echmatemys  callopyge  Hay,  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  340-342,  PI. 

LIT,  figs.  1,  2;  text-figs.  447,  448. 

Two  specimens  in  the  Carnegie  Museum  are  identified  as  belonging  to  this 
species.  The  better  preserved  specimen.  No.  2371,  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass 
in  1908,  from  Horizon  B,   "above  second  sandstone  with  small  artiodactyls," 

' "  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,"  1908,  p.  298. 

« Proc.  U.  S.  National  Museum,  XXXV,  1908,  pp.  164-166. 


124 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARXEGIE   MUSEUM 


Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene,  east  of  Dragon- Vernal  road  lietwccn  White  and 
Green  rivers,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah.  The  second  specimen,  Xo.  2157, 
was  also  collected  b\'  Douglass  from  the  same  geological  horizon  near  Well  No.  2, 
in  the  Uinta  Basin.  Like  the  tj-pe,  both  of  these  specimens  have  the  carapace 
somewhat  crushed  over  toward  the  left  side.  The  type  of  the  species  is  said  by 
Hay  to  have  come  from  the  middle  Uinta,  and  it  appears  probable  that  all  of 
these  specimens  were  found  at  about  the  same  geological  level. 

Hay  considered  the  very  narrow  first  vertebral  as  the  chief  distinguishing 
character  for  separating  this  species  from  the  others  of  the  genus,  but  both  of  the 


Fig.  9.    Echmaletnys  callopyge  Hay.    Carapace  of  C.  M.  Xo.  2371.    One-fourth  natural  size.    c.  8, 
costal  plate;  cs.  /,  first  costal  scute;  n.  /,  and  n.  8,  neurals  one  and  eight;  n.p.,  nuchal  plate;  s.p.,  suprapygal. 

specimens  before  me  have  this  scute  relatively  wider  than  in  the  type,  although  in 
nearly  all  other  respects,  as  is  shown  by  the  table  of  comparative  measurements, 
the  specimens  are  remarkably  similar.  So  far  as  the  width  of  the  first  vertebral  is 
concerned  these  specimens  are  intermediate  between  the  tj'pe  of  the  present  speci'is 
and  the  figured  specimen  of  Echmatemys  septaria  (Cope),  as  illustrated  by  Hay, 
Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  Fig.  415,  p.  320.  The  t\-pe  of  the  latter  species 
is  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (No.  4088),  and  consists  of  a  fairly  complete 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the   UINTA    FORMATION  125 

plastron,  a  portion  of  the  central  part  of  the  carapace,  including  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  neurals  with  portions  of  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  costals:  and  a  small 
piece  of  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  costals  with  abutting  peripherals.  It  was 
collected  in  the  badlands  of  South  Bitter  Creek,  Wyoming,  from  the  beds  of  the 
Washakie  Basin. 

I  have  carefully  compared  the  specimens  before  me  with  the  above  mentioned 
type  and  except  for  differences  in  size,  find  them,  so  far  as  they  can  be  contrasted, 
remarkably  similar.  The  broad,  hatchet-shaped  anterior  lobe  so  characteristic  of 
Echmatemys  septaria  is  duplicated  in  these  specimens. 

In  the  type  of  Echmatemys  callopyge  the  front  two-thirds  of  the  first  vertebral 
lies  wholly  within  the  lateral  borders  of  the  nuchal  plate,  and,  although  relatively 
wider,  this  is  also  true  of  specimen  C.  M.  No.  2157,  but  specimen  C.  M.  No.  2371 
has  the  antero-lateral  angles  of  the  first  vertebral  extending  across  the  lateral 
sutures  of  the  nuchal.  In  a  specimen  identified  by  Hay  as  pertaining  to  Ech- 
matemys septaria  (See  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  Fig.  415,  p.  320)  the  first 
vertebral  extends  entirely  over  the  lateral  boundaries  of  this  plate.  From  the 
intermediate  condition  observed  in  the  present  specimens,  the  first  vertebral 
would  appear  to  be  subject  to  considerable  variation  and  therefore  its  narrowness 
cannot  be  relied  upon  as  a  constant  specific  difference.     Specimen  C.  JNI.  No.  2371 


Fig.  10.    Echrnatemys  cdlopyye  Haj'.     Plastron  of  C.  M.  No.  2371.    One-fourth  natural  size. 


126 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


has  the  surface  of  the  carapace  smooth,  with  the  exception  that,  as  in  the  type  of 
E.  septaria,  it  is  relieved  by  faint  striations  and  growth  lines,  these  being  especially 
apparent  within  the  areas  of  the  vertebral  scutes. 


Measukements  of  Neurals. 


No. 

Length. 

Width. 

Type. 

No.  2157. 

No.  2371. 

Type. 

No.  2157. 

No.  2371. 

1 

52 

50 

50 

33 

35 

36 

2 

43 

40 

39 



41 

3 

58 

— 

43 

43 

— 

39 

4 

41 

41 

38 

37 

38 

34 

5 

41 

26 

35 

44 



41 

6 

30 

29 

40 

— 

39 

7 

29 

25 

25 

45 

— 

40 

^8 

28 

— 

23 

34 

— 

35 

Measurements  of  Veutebrals. 


No. 

Length. 

Width. 

Type. 

No.  2157. 

No.  2371. 

Type. 

No.  2157. 

No.  2371. 

1 

75 

81 

77 

52 

71 

77 

2 

90± 

85 

85 

87 

86 

3 

88 

96 

87 

82 

95 

76 

4 

96 

86 

87 

100 

84 

5 

74 

— 

— 

100  ± 

— 

Principal  Measurements  Carapace  and  Plastron. 


No.  2157.      I     No.  2371. 


Greatest  length  of  carapace 

Greatest  width  of  carapace 

Greatest  height  of  carapace 

Nuchal,  greatest  length 

Nuchal,  greatest  width 

First  marginal,  greatest  length .  .  . 
First  marginal,  greatest  height .  .  . 

Plastron,  greatest  length 

Anterior  lobe,  greatest  length. .  . . 

Anterior  lobe,  width  at  base 

Posterior  lobe,  greatest  length.  .  . 
Posterior  lobe,  width  at  base .... 

Bridge,  width 

Lip,  width 

Entoplastron,  width 

Gulars,  meet  on  the  midhne 

numerals,  meet  on  the  midline .  . 
Pectorals,  meet  on  the  midline .  .  , 
Abdominals,  meet  on  the  midline 
Femorals,  meet  on  the  midline .  . 
Anals,  meet  on  the  midhne 


438 

4204- 

415 

270 

276 

279 

153 

160 

133 

69 

66 

90 

86 

80 

40, 

43 

40e 

32 

34 

28 

410 

422 

370 

116 

125 

107 

174 

180 

176 

135 

140 

— 

198 

205 

195 

155 

165 

162 

38 

44 

45 

62 

66 

75 

72 

67 

58 

35 

34 

36 

74 

76 

73 

110 

114 

102 

38 

41 

33 

66 

'    62 

— 

Had  E.  callopyge  not  been  established,  I  should  have  unhesitatingly  referred 
both  of  the  specimens  discussed  above  to  Echmatemys  septaria  (Cope).     For  the 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  127 

present,  however,  it  will  serve  all  purposes  to  assign  them  to  the  established  Uinta 
species,  until  the  discovery  of  additional  Bridger  material  shall  definitely  determine 
whether  two  distinct  species  are  represented  by  this  material,  or  whether  E.  cal- 
lopyge  Hay  shall  become  a  sjmonym  of  the  earlier  described  E.  septaria  (Cope). 

In  order  to  place  on  record  the  variation  within  the  species,  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal measurements  of  the  two  specimens  here  considered  as  compared  with  those 
of  the  type  of  the  species  are  given  in  the  preceding  table. 

7.  Echmatemys    uintensis  Hay. 

Echmatemys  uintensis  Hay,  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  pp.  342,  343. 

PI.  LIII,  figs.  1,  2. 

The  above  species  is  represented  in  the  Carnegie  ^Museum  collections  by  three 
specimens.  The  better  preserved  specimen,  C.  IVI.  No.  3270,  consists  of  a  carapace 
and  plastron,  the  former  lacking  a  portion  of  the  posterior  end  and  a  considerable 
part  of  the  costals  and  peripherals  of  the  right  side.  The  plastron  is  complete. 
This  specimen  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass,  May  25,  1908,  from  Red  Bluff  Wash, 
on  the  road  from  Bonanza  to  Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  Basin,  Utah,  from  Horizon  B, 
"transition  beds.  First  sandstone  above  red  layer,"  Uinta  formation.  Upper 
Eocene. 

The  second  specimen,  No.  2158,  consists  of  a  carapace  lacking  most  of  the 
costals  and  peripherals  of  the  left  side,  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass,  August  22, 
1908,  two  or  three  miles  below  Well  No.  2,  from  Horizon  B,  Uinta  formation,  as 
exposed  in  the  Uinta  Basin,  Utah. 

The  third  specimen.  No.  2397,  consists  of  considerable  portions  of  the  carapace 
and  plastron  of  a  large  individual,  both  of  which  are  rather  fragmentarj'.  This 
specimen  was  collected  by  Messrs.  Earl  Douglass  and  J.  F.  Goetschius,  August  17, 
1908,  from  Horizon  B,  "grey  beds  below  red  and  grey  beds,"  Badlands  south  of 
Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

This  species  is  based  upon  a  beautifully  preserved  specimen,  No.  11,198,  in 
the  paleontological  collection  of  Princeton  University.  It  was  collected  in  1891  from 
the  middle  Uinta,  on  White  River,  Utah,  and  until  the  discovery  of  the  present 
specimens  was  the  only  known  representative  of  the  species. 

The  specimens  before  me  add  but  little  to  our  knowledge  of  the  species,  but 
I  believe  it  important  to  give  at  this  time  their  principal  dimensions  as  compared 
with  the  type  in  order  to  show  the  variations  within  the  species. 


128 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


COMPAEATIVE  MeASTTHEMENTS  OF  NeuRALS. 

No. 

Greatest  length. 

Greatest  width. 

Type. 

No.  3270.     1     No.  2158. 

No.  2397. 

Type. 

No.  3270. 

No.  2158. 

No.  2397. 

1 

60 

59                  57 



45 

43 

47 

_ 

2 

43 

55                  45 



42 

48 

56 



3 

50 

55                 61 

69 

42 

44 

54 

55 

4 

50 

47                 48 

59 

43 

44 

45 

52 

5 

34 

-                  45 

53 

47 

41 

48 

60 

6 

30 

. 

38 

42 

45 

59 

7 

20 

j      •  . . 

28 

50 



64 

8 

25 

—         1         — 

37 

30 

— 

— 

Comparative  Measurements  of  Vertebrals. 


No. 

Greatest  length. 

1 

Greatest  width. 

Type. 

No.  3270. 

No.  2158. 

No.  2397. 

Type. 

No.  3270. 

No.  2158. 

No.  2397. 

1 

70 

1          88 

81 



1        112 

82 

100 



2 

115 

t        111 

99 

120 

102 

77 

88 

114 

3 

91 

102                100 

117 

81 

80 

80 

94 

4 

78 

.        i        

110 

94 

. 

98 

120 

5 

86 

'        

— 

132 

— 

Comparative  Measurements  of  the  Plastron. 


Type. 


Greatest  length,  plastron 

Greatest  width,  pIa.stron 

Length,  anterior  lobe 

Width,  anterior  lobe  at  base .... 

Width  of  lip 

Length  of  entoplastron 

Greatest  width  of  entoplastron .  . 

Length  of  posterior  lobe 

Width  of  posterior  lobe  at  base .  . 
Depth  of  posterior  median  notch . 

Width  of  notch 

Epiplastrals  meet  on  midline .  .  .  . 
Hyoplastrals  meet  on  midline .  .  . 
Hypoplastrals  meet  on  midline .  . 
Xipliiplastrals  meet  on  midline  .  . 

Gulars  meet  on  midline 

Humerals  meet  on  midhne 

Pectorals  meet  on  midhne 

Abdominals  meet  on  midline.  .  .  . 

Femorals  meet  on  midline 

Anals  meet  on  midline 


295 
120 
200 
65 
70 
95 
150 
200 
16 
55 
44 
125 
120 


73 
115 
70 
52 


390e 
135 
240 
90 


154 
230 
19 
55 
43 
108 
136 
95 
68 
47 
90 
110 
82 
65 


185 
240 


114 
160e 
100 


8.  Echmatemys  douglassi  sp.  nov. 

Plate  XXII;  text-figs.  11  and  12. 

T3rpe:  C.  M.  No.  3244,  consisting  of  a  somewhat  damaged  carapace  with  a 

complete  plastron.     The  carapace  lacks  portions  of  the  peripheral  borders  of  the 

front  and  sides  in  addition  to  several  small  areas  out  of  the  costal  and  neural 

regions.     Collected  by  Earl  Douglass,  May  25,  1908. 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA    FORMATION 


129 


Locality:  South  Branch  of  Red  Bluff  Wash,  above  the  well  on  the  road  between 
Bonanza  and  Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Lower  portion  Horizon  B,  "Transition  Beds"  (Peterson),  "in 
sandstone  same  as  No.  28,"'  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

The  carapace,  although  crushed  over  toward  the  left  side,  shows  the  shell  to  be 
elongated  with  the  median  portion  high  and  vaulted.  The  surface  of  the  shell  is 
smooth.  The  peripherals  behind  the  inguinal  notches  are  moderately  thin  with 
acute  edges  and  with  a  tendencj-  to  flare  upward.     The  sulci  are  narrow,  but 


Fig.  U.  Echmatemt/s  dotiglassi.  Carapace  of  the  tj-pe,  C.  M.  No.  3244.  One-fourth  natural  size. 
c.s.  J,  c.s.  8,  costab  one  and  eight;  n.  2,  n.  S,  neurals  two  and  eight;  sp.,  suprapygal;  sp.  2,  second  suprapygal. 

deeply  impressed.     The  total  length  of  the  carapace  in  a  straight  line  is  about  470 
mm.     Its  width  is  300  mm.,  its  height  at  the  center  is  about  186  mm. 

The  nuchal  scute  is  wedge-shaped  with  the  narrow  end  forward.  Some  of 
the  anterior  margin  of  this  bone  is  missing  so  its  length  cannot  be  given.  The 
posterior  end  has  a  greatest  width  of  22  mm. 

'  No.  28  is  C.  M.  catalog  No.  3270  and  is  identified  as  Echmatemys  uintcnsis  Hny. 


130  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

The  first  neural  is  represented  bj^  the  posterior  end  onlj^,  the  second  to  the 
sixth  inclusive  are  complete,  the  seventh  and  eight  are  only  partially  preserved. 
In  general  the  neurals  are  hexagonal  with  their  broadest  ends  forward.  The  an- 
terior ends  of  the  second  to  the  fifth  are  concave.  There  is  no  indication  of  a 
carina  on  any  of  the  neurals.  Their  principal  dimensions  are  given  in  the  table 
below: 

No.                                                     Length.                                                    Width. 
2 40 45 

3 45 42 

4 48 35 

6 47 41 

6 32 44 

7 24 44e 

29 — 


Fig.  12.     Echmatemijs  dov^lassi.    Plastron  of  tj^pe,  C.  M.  No.  3244.     One-fourth  natural  size 


There  are  as  usual  eight  costals.  These  vary  but  little  in  the  width  of  their 
proximal  and  distal  ends.  The  fifth  on  the  right  side  has  a  length  of  144  mm.; 
the  first  at  the  suture  with  the  second  a  length  of  123  mm. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA   FORMATION 


131 


The  peripherals  are  high.  On  the  right  side  immediately  posterior  to  the  in- 
guinal notch  they  extend  upward  74  mm.  above  the  margin  of  the  shell;  the  most 
posterior  one  45  mm. ;  the  most  anterior  one  56  mm.  above  the  margin. 

The  suprapygal  is  41  mm.  long.  The  second  suprapygal  is  52  mm.  long,  and 
93  mm.  across  the  middle,  and  42  mm.  where  it  joins  the  pygal.  The  pygal  has  a 
length  of  32  mm.,  a  width  of  55  mm.  The  posterior  boundary  of  the  fifth  vertebral 
crosses  the  second  suprapygal  20  mm.  anterior  to  its  posterior  margin.  Both  the 
pygal  and  second  suprapygal  are  strongly  arched  above  the  tail. 

The  vertebral  scutes  are  long.  The  sides  of  the  median  three  are  slightly 
bracket-shaped,  the  fourth,  as  in  Echmatemys  uintensis  Hay,  is  strongly  urn-shaped. 
The  dimensions  of  the  vertebrals  are  given  in  the  accompanying  table. 

Dimensions  of  Vertebr.\ls. 


No. 

Length. 

Width  in  Front. 

Greatest  Width. 

1 

80e 

97 

97 

2 

93 

77e 

3 

98 

53 

69 

4 

90 

66 

92 

5 

63 

117 

e,  estimated. 

There  appear  to  be  twelve  marginals  in  the  complete  series  of  one  side,  and 
some  rise  to  the  proximal  ends  of  the  peripherals.  On  the  right  side  the  eighth 
peripheral  is  crossed  by  the  marginal  sulcus  21  mm.  below  the  costo-peripheral 
suture.  The  most  posterior  marginal  scute  is  53  mm.  high  from  the  margin  of  the 
sheU. 

The  plastron  is  perfectly  preserved  and  characters  observed  in  the  plastron 
show  the  distinctness  of  Echmatemys  douglassi  from  all  other  described  forms.  The 
plastron  has  a  maximum  length  of  407  mm.  At  the  center  it  measures  374  mm.  in 
length.  The  front  of  the  anterior  lobe  is  broadly  and  deeply  emarginated,  the 
emargination  lying  between  two  toothed  projections  which  extend  forward  at  either 
side,  as  is  well  shown  in  Fig.  12.  On  account  of  this  emargination  there  is  no  well- 
defined  lip.  The  anterior  lobe  is  broad  and  at  its  base  measures  190  mm.  with  a 
length  at  the  center  of  95  mm.  The  length  therefore  is  exactly  50  per  cent,  of  the 
width.  The  lateral  borders  of  the  lobe  in  front  of  the  axillary  notches  are  slightly 
concave,  then  expanding  a  little  to  the  posterior  ends  of  the  epiplastra,  then  turning 
inward  to  the  toothed  projections  at  either  side  of  the  lip.  The  latter  is  wide, 
measuring  94  mm.,  which  is  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  width  of  the  lobe. 

The  posterior  lobe  has  a  greatest  length  at  the  center  of  130  mm.;  a  width  at 
the  base  of  about  199  mm.    The  hinder  lobe  is  considerably  constricted  at  the  anal- 


132  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

femoral  sulcus,  and  from  this  point  posteriorly  the  lateral  borders  converge  quite 
rapidly  to  the  posterior  end,  which  is  deeply  notched.  The  great  breadth  of  the 
lobes  in  E.  douglassi  leaves  but  little  space  for  the  exit  of  the  limbs,  and  in  front  the 
exit  is  still  further  closed  by  the  upward  curve  of  the  anterior  lobe  as  in  E.  caUopyge 
Hay.  Transversely  the  plastron  is  angularlj'  concave,  but  how  much  of  this  de- 
pression may  be  attributed  to  postmortem  causes  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  It 
may  be  largely  sexual,  and  in  that  case  this  specimen  would  represent  a  male. 

The  entoplastron  is  pear-shaped  and  extends  forward  to  within  11  mm.  of 
the  anterior  margin  of  the  lobe,  a  most  unusual  position  in  the  Emydidse.  The 
length  of  the  entoplastron  is  79  mm.;  its  width  71  mm.  The  bridge  has  a  width  of 
167  mm.  In  this  specimen,  as  shown  in  Fig.  12,  there  are  intergular  scutes,  which 
overlap  the  entoplastron.  On  the  left  side  the  gular-humcral  sulcus  follows  the 
usual  course,  reaching  the  margin  of  the  lobe  immediately  posterior  to  the  toothed 
projection  marking  the  external  boundary  of  the  lip.  On  the  right  side,  however, 
there  is  no  trace  of  this  sulcus.  Intergulars  are  not  known  in  any  other  member  of 
the  Emydidse,  and  it  may  be  that  the  scutes  here  designated  as  intergulars  are  the 
gulars,  and  that  the  extra  scute  on  the  left  side  is  supernumerary.  Even  should 
that  be  the  case,  the  position  of  the  sulcus  crossing  the  border  on  the  mesiad  side 
of  the  toothed  projection  is  unusual,  and  probably  constitutes  an  individual  vari- 
ation, the  true  condition  of  which  can  only  be  cleared  up  by  the  discovery  of  ad- 
ditional specimens  pertaining  to  this  species. 

The  pectorals  do  not  reach  the  entop'astron,  but  at  the  center  pass  6  mm. 
behind  it.  Thej'  have  their  greatest  width  of  60  mm.  at  the  center.  The  humerals 
meet  along  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  65  mm.;  the  abdominals  for  98  mm.;  the 
femorals  for  08  mm.;  and  the  anals  for  55  mm. 

The  hy;  plastrals  are  85  mm.  wide  anteio-poster!orly  at  the  midline,  the  left 
being  slightly  more.  Each  extends  laterally  about  132  mm.  The  hypoplastrals 
meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  122  mm.;  the  xiphiplastrals  for  a  distance  of 
83  mm.  The  notch  between  their  h'nder  ends  is  20  mm.  deep,  with  a  greatest 
width  of  50  mm. 

In  the  general  shape  and  contour  of  the  shell  this  species  closely  resembles 
Echmatemys  stevensoniana  (Leidy),  from  the  Bridger  beds  of  Wyoming.  It  differs 
from  that  species,  however,  in  the  deep  emargination  of  the  anterior  lobe  and  the 
failure  of  the  pectoral  scutes  to  reach  the  entoplastron. 

Echmatemys  douglassi  is  distinguished  from  all  described  species  of  the  genus 
by  the  deep  emargination  of  the  anterior  median  border  of  the  anterior  lobe;  by  the 
short  and  wide  anterior  lobe,  the  length  of  which  at  the  center  is  only  fifty  per  cent. 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  133 

of  the  width  at  the  base,  and  by  the  close  proximity  of  the  anterior  end  of  the  cnto- 
plastron  to  the  border  of  the  Hp.  In  the  unusual  proportions  of  the  anterior  lobe 
it  most  nearly  resembles  E.  arethusa  Hay  from  the  Bridger  beds,  but  is  at  once  dis- 
tinguished from  it  by  the  concave  lip,  as  contrasted  with  the  projecting  lip  of  the 
former  species.  In  having  the  humero-pectoral  sulcus  pass  behind  the  entoplastron 
this  species  is  distinguished  from  all  other  species  of  the  genus  with  the  exception 
of  E.  lativertebralis  (Cope),  E.  megaulax  (Cope),  and  E.  rivalis  Hay. 

This  species  is  dedicated  to  Mr.  Earl  Douglass,  who  collected  the  type  speci- 
men, as  well  as  the  greater  number  of  specimens  comprised  in  this  collection  of 

turtles. 

9.  Echmatemys  hollandi  sp.  nov. 

Plate  XXIII,  fig.  1;  text-fig.  13. 

Type:  C.  M.  No.  3249,  consisting  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  carapace, 

lacking  the  posterior  and  the  greater  part  of  the  j^eripherals  and  costals  of  the 

left  side  and  the  outer  halves  of  most  of  the  remaining  peripheral  and  marginal 


Fig.  13.    Echmakmys  hollandi.    Carapace  of  the  type,  C.  M.  No.  3249.    One-third  natural  size, 
c.  6,  sixth  costal;  c.s.  1,  supernumerary  or  first  costal  scute;  n.  1,  n.  6,  first  and  sixth  neural."!. 

bones.  A  considerable  part  of  the  plastron  is  present  but  the  under  surface  is  so 
badly  shattered  that  nearly  all  traces  of  the  sutures  and  sulci  ha^e  been  obliterated. 
The  impression  remaining  in  the  matrix,  however,  gives  some  idea  of  the  shape  and 
dimensions  of  the  anterior  and  posterior  lobes.     Collected  by  Earl  Douglass,  1908. 


134 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


Locality:  Skull  Butte,  southwest  of  Well  No.  2,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County, 
Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  B,  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

The  carapace  is  elongated  oval  being  more  broadly  rounded  in  front  than 
Echmateniys  caUopyge  Hay.  The  median  portion  is  high  and  vaulted.  The 
length  of  the  carapace  is  estimated  to  have  been  about  360  mm. ;  its  width  about 
260  mm.  The  height  at  the  center  is  133  mm.  The  surface  of  the  shell  is  smooth. 
The  sulci  are  narrow,  but  well  impressed. 

The  nuchal  plate  has  the  anterior  border  missing,  so  that  its  greatest  length 
cannot  be  determined.  It  has  a  greatest  width  of  82  mm.,  and  where  the  lateral 
sutures  cross  the  costo-marginal  sulcus  it  is  57  mm.  wide. 

The  neurals  back  of  the  first  are  all  hexagonal  with  the  anterior  ends  concave. 
Those  preserved  are  all  longer  than  broad.  On  either  side  of  the  anterior  end  of 
the  first  neural  are  hollowed  out  depressions  which  give  this  bone  the  appearance  of 
being  bluntly  ridged  anteriorly,  but  otherwise  there  is  no  indication  of  carinae. 


Dimensions  of  Neurals. 

Dimensions  of  Vertebral  Scutes. 

No. 

No. 

Length.            |            Width. 

Length. 

Width  in  Front. 

Greatest  Width. 

1 

45 

30 

1 

65 

46 

55 

2 

40 

36 

2 

80 

50 

77 

3 

41 

35 

3 

87 

40 

72 

4 

38 

35 

4 

49 

73 

5 

38 

36 

6 

36 

The  peripherals  appear  to  have  been  high,  but  on  account  of  the  damaged 
condition  of  the  borders  it  is  not  possible  to  give  their  extent. 

Six  costals  are  present  in  this  specimen,  the  first  having  a  greatest  antero- 
posterior diameter  of  63  mm.;  a  greatest  length  of  96  mm.  On  the  upper  anterior 
half  of  the  first  costal  there  is  a  low,  rounded,  obtuse  elevation  or  horn-like  pro- 
jection, which  at  once  distinguishes  this  species  from  all  other  described  forms.  The 
other  costals  show  nothing  unusual.  The  third  has  a  greatest  length  of  106  mm. 
The  costo-peripheral  suture  between  the  third  and  fourth  passes  about  17  mm. 
mesiad  of  the  costo-marginal  sulcus. 

The  first  vertebral  scute  is  unusually  narrow,  in  this  respect  resembling 
E.  callopyge  Hay.  The  sides  of  those  posterior  to  the  first  are  strongly  urn-shaped. 
The  anterior  end  of  the  third  is  especially  narrow  and  pointed,  and  extends  well 
forward  into  the  second.  The  dimensions  of  the  vertebrals  are  given  in  the  table. 
On  either  side  of  the  first  vertebral  are  supcrnumerarj^  costal  scutes,  and  it  is 
largely  within  their  boundaries  that  the  horn-like  elevations,  described  above,  arise. 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  135 

The  area  of  the  first  costal  scute  is  much  reduced,  but  it  is  still  in  contact  with  the 
first  vertebral.  Supernumerary  costals  are  not  unusual  in  the  Baenidse,  though 
I  am  not  aware  of  their  having  been  found  before  in  the  genus  Echmatemys.  When 
present,  they  are  usually  confined  to  one  side,  seldom  are  thej'  sj^mmetricalh^  paired 
as  in  the  present  specimen. 

The  plastron  is  exceedingly  thick  and  heavy.  At  the  center  it  measures  30 
mm.  in  thickness.  Though  much  of  the  anterior  and  posterior  lobes  are  missing 
the  impressions  remaining  in  the  matrix  show  the  plastron  to  have  had  a  greatest 
length  of  about  315  mm. 

The  entoplastron  though  only  partiallj^  preserved,  has  a  greatest  width  of  50 
mm.     Its  length  cannot  be  determined. 

The  bridge  has  a  width  of  about  145  mm. 

There  is  no  suggestion  of  a  notch  in  the  posterior  lobe,  shown  by  the  im- 
pression in  the  matrix,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  state  positively  that  such  did  not 
exist.  Judging  from  the  impression  left  by  the  anterior  lobe  the  lip  was  thick  and 
broad,  with  an  abrupt  depression  on  the  dorsal  surface  some  35  mm.  posterior  to 
the  anterior  border.  The  anterior  end  of  this  lobe  was  probably  within  the  forward 
end  of  the  carapace. 

The  pair  of  horn-like  protuberances  on  the  front  of  the  carapace,  the  presence 
of  a  pair  of  supernumerary  costal  scutes  on  either  side  of  the  first  vertebral  serve  to 
distinguish  this  specimen  from  all  other  described  species  of  the  genus,  and  I 
therefore  take  great  pleasure  in  naming  it  Echmatemys  hollandi  for  Dr.  W'illiam  J. 
Holland,  Director  of  the  Carnegie  Museum,  in  recognition  of  his  activities  in  the 
field  of  vertebrate  paleontology. 

10.  Echmatemys  obscura  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XXIV;  text-figs.  14  and  15. 

Type:  C.  M.  No.  3252,  consisting  of  a  carapace,  lacking  the  posterior  end 
back  of  the  sixth  neural;  and  the  plastron,  lacking  the  lip  and  a  small  portion  of 
the  extremity  of  the  posterior  lobe.     Collected  by  Earl  Douglass,  August  17,  1908. 

Locality:  Devil's  Play  Ground,  south  of  Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta 
County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  C,  "gray  beds  below  red  and  gray  beds,"  Uinta  formation, 
Upper  Eocene. 

Except  for  the  parts  missing  from  the  posterior  end  of  the  carapace,  the  type 
specimen  is  well  preserved  and  all  of  the  sutures  and  sulci  are  clearly  displayed. 
The  carapace  is  broadly  rounded  in  front  with  a  wide,  but  shallow,  emargination  of 


136  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNECilE    MUSEUM 

the  nuchal  border.  The  median  portion  is  high  and  vaulted.  The  length  of  the 
carapace  is  estimated  to  have  been  about  390  mm.,  its  breadth  is  286  mm.,  its  height 
at  the  center  is  130  mm.  The  plastron  is  broad,  and,  like  many  other  species  of  the 
genus  Echmatemys,  there  is  but  little  space  in  front  of  the  axillary  notches  for  the 
exit  of  the  limbs.  The  margins  of  the  carapace  forward  of  the  axillary  notches 
are  thickened  and  rounded,  but  forward  it  thins  rapidly,  coming  to  an  obtuse  edge 
along  the  median  anterior  border.  The  peripherals  of  this  region  do  not  flare  up- 
ward, though  those  immediately  posterior  to  the  inguinal  notches  show  a  tendency 
to  do  so. 

The  carapace  is  smooth,  except  that  the  median  costal  areas  are  crossed  antero- 
posteriorly  by  a  series  of  wide,  parallel,  wavy,  flattened  ridges.  In  a  line  12  mm. 
long  three  of  these  ridges  may  be  counted.  This  ornamentation  is  inconspicuous 
unless  the  light  strikes  the  surfaces  at  the  proper  angle.  It  is  the  obscure  nature  of 
this  ornamentation  which  has  suggested  the  specific  name. 

The  nuchal  i^late  is  unusually  long  and  narrow.  At  the  point  of  its  greatest 
transverse  diameter  the  sides  are  considerably  within  the  boundaries  of  the  first 
vertebral.  The  length  of  the  nuchal  is  65  mm.;  its  greatest  transverse  diameter 
is  51  mm. ;  the  free  border  measures  40  mm.  The  nuchal  surface  is  without  median 
elevation.  Echmatemys  obscura  is  the  only  species  of  the  genus  which  has  the 
nuchal  plate  longer  than  wide. 

All  of  the  neurals  posterior  to  the  first  are  broadly  hexagonal,  and  all  posterior 
to  the  first  are  broader  than  long.  The  second  and  third  have  the  anterior  end 
concave,  those  posterior  being  straight.  Their  principal  measurements  are  given 
in  the  accompanying  table. 

Dimensions  of  Neurals. 

No.  Length.  Width. 

1 47 35 

2 38 40 

3 43 43e 

4 39 47 

5 31 41 

6 — 44 

e,  estimated. 

The  costals  posterior  to  the  first  alternate  in  having  the  distal  ends  slightly 
wider  and  narrower  than  the  proximal  ends. 

The  peripherals  are  moderately  high,  the  first  extending  inward  from  the 
border  50  mm.,  the  seventh  58  mm.;  the  eighth  55  mm.  The  border  above  the 
bridge  is  heavy  and  rounded,  but  posterior  to  the  inguinal  and  anterior  to  the 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the   UINTA    FOR^L\TIO^' 


137 


axillary  notches  the  borders  thin  rapidlj^  toward  the  center.  The  costoperipheral 
sutures  pass  along  the  median  sides  of  the  shell  on  an  average  of  about  17  mm. 
mesiad  of  the  marginal  sulcus.     Beyond  the  bridges  the  sutures  and  sulci  in  some 


Fig.  14.  Eckmatemys  obscura.  Carapace  of  tj-pe,  C.  M.  Xo.  3252.  One-fourth  natural  size.  Ji.  /, 
n.  6,  neurals  one  and  six;  n.p.,  nuchal  plate;  v.s.  4,  fourth  vertebral  scute;  c.  6,  sixth  costal. 

places  approach  one  another  as  close  as  4  nmi.,  and  in  other  places  are  distant  as 
much  as  30  mm. 

The  nuchal  scute  is  narrow,  measuring  8  mm.  on  the  free  border.  It  is  15  mm. 
long  antero-posteriorly. 

The  vertebral  scutes  are  wider  than  long,  the  second  being  especially  wide. 
The  sides  of  those  back  of  the  first  are  bracket-shaped.  Their  dimensions  are 
given  in  the  accompanying  table. 


Dimensions  of  Vertebil\ls 

No. 

Length. 

Width  in  Front. 

Greatest  Width. 

1 

75 

87 

87 

2 

83 

58 

102 

3 

79 

60 

81 

4 

— 

58 

The  costo-marginal  sulci  run  below  the  costo-periphcral  sutures.     The  sulci 
on  both  carapace  and  plastron  are  narrow  and  moderately  impressed. 

The  plastron  in  life  had  a  length  of  about  372  mm.     The  posterior  end  is 


138 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


narrow,  but  deeply  notched.  The  length  of  the  anterior  lobe  is  about  100  mm.; 
its  width  at  the  base  is  about  162  mm.  The  length  is  therefore  onh'  61  per  cent, 
of  the  width.  From  the  axillarj^  notch  the  free  border  runs  straight  forward  for  a 
short  distance  then  curves  in  regularly  to  the  epiplastral  lip,  which  is  missing  in 


Fig.  15.     Echmatcmys  obscura.     Tj-pe,  C.  IM.  No.  3252.     Plastron.     One-fourth  natural  size. 

this  specimen.  This  free  border  is  relatively  thin  and  acute,  thickening  somewhat 
as  it  approaches  the  lip.     The  lip  appears  to  have  been  about  50  mm.  wide. 

The  entoplastron  has  a  length  of  about  60  mm.  and  a  width  of  55  mm.  It  is 
crossed  by  the  humero-pectoral  sulcus,  and  is  also  overlapped  by  the  gular  scutes. 
It  is  pear-shaped  in  outline,  in  this  respect  resembling  the  entoplastron  of  Ech- 
matcmys douglassi.     The  bridge  is  150  mm.  in  width. 

The  length  of  the  posterior  lobe  is  120  mm.  Its  width  at  the  base  is  191  mm. 
The  length  is  therefore  62  per  cent,  of  the  width.  The  free  borders  are  slightly 
contracted  at  the  femoral-abdominal  sulcus,  and  again  at  the  femoral-anal  sulcus; 
from  which  point  the  border  turns  in  rapidly  toward  the  center.  The  posterior 
lobe  is  terminated  posteriorly  by  rather  sharp  projecting  points  on  either  side  of 
the  narrow,  but  rather  deep,  median  notch.  It  is  estimated  that  the  notch  had  a 
depth  of  30  mm.  The  posterior  borders  of  the  lobe  are  acute.  At  the  center  of 
the  notch  the  bone  has  a  thickness  of  5  mm. 

The  anterior  lobe  curves  upward  toward  the  carapace  much  as  in  Echmatemys 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles   of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  139 

septaria.  The  plastron  is  flat,  but  in  an  uncrushed  specimen  the  bridges  would 
doubtless  curve  upward  to  the  margin  of  the  shell.  In  this  specimen  thej'  are  but 
little  above  the  level  of  the  plastron. 

The  hyoplastrals  meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  80  mm.;  the  hj-poplas- 
trals  for  97  mm.;  the  xiphiplastrals  for  66  mm. 

The  gular  scutes  along  the  midhne  are  about  52  mm.  long;  the  humerals  37 
mm.;  the  pectorals  63  mm.;  the  abdominals  101  mm.;  the  femorals  48  mm.;  and 
the  anals  53  mm. 

Echmatemys  obscura  is  distinguished  from  all  species  of  the  genus,  in  which 
the  nuchal  region  is  known,  by  the  extreme  narrowness  of  the  nuchal  plate,  it 
being  the  only  species  known,  in  which  the  nuchal  plate  is  longer  than  wide. 
From  Echmatemys  cibollensis,  E.  megaulax,  and  E.  euthneta  (the  nuchal  region  of  all 
three  being  unknown)  the  present  species  is  distinguished:  from  the  former  by 
having  the  gulars  overlapping  the  entoplastron ;  and  from  the  latter  two  by  having 
the  gular-humeral  sulcus  crossing  the  rear  portion  of  the  entoplastron.  This 
species  is  further  distinguished  by  the  greater  relative  widths  of  the  neurals  and 
especially  the  vertebrals.  The  obscure,  but  characteristic,  ornamentation  of  the 
costal  region  of  the  carapace  will  also  aid  in  recognizing  this  species. 

11.  Echmatemys  depressa  sp.  no  v. 
Plate  XXIII,  fig.  2;  text-fig.  16. 

Type:  C.  M.  No  2936,  consisting  of  the  carapace,  lacking  much  of  the  anterior 
margin,  the  peripherals,  and  outer  halves  of  the  costals  of  the  left  side,  and  most 
of  the  peripherals  posterior  to  the  inguinal  notch  of  the  right  side.  The  plastron 
is  represented  by  a  few  fragments  only,  though  the  impression  in  the  matrix  gives 
some  idea  of  its  proportions.     Collected  by  O.  A.  Peterson,  August  5,  1912. 

Locality:  Six  miles  east  of  Myton,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  C,  Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene. 

Although  the  open  sutures  of  the  type  specimen  give  evidence  of  the  im- 
maturity of  the  individual,  it  appears  to  represent  one  of  the  smaller  species  of  the 
genus  Echmatemys.  I  was  first  inclined  to  regard  it  as  referable  to  the  genus 
Palceotheca  on  account  of  its  small  size  and  the  presence  of  a  dorsal  keel,  but  a 
comparison  with  the  types  of  the  two  species  pertaining  to  that  genus  {Palwotlieca 
terrestris  Cope,  and  P.  polycypha  Cope)  both  of  which  are  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  shows  differences  which  lead  me  to  believe  that  it  can  with  greater 
propriety  be  referred  to  the  genus  Echmatemys.  The  aj^parent  absence  of  a  second 
suprapygal  and  the  extremely  wide  vertebrals  may  with  other  characters  to  be 
observed  in  a  more  perfect  specimen  show  its  distinctness  from  that  genus. 


140  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

In  a  straiji;ht  lino  the  shell  has  a  greatest  estimated  length  of  135  mm.;  at  the 
center  a  greatest  width  of  115  mm.  Though  depressed,  the  upper  shell  is  broadly 
convex  in  all  directions,  dropping  off  rather  more  rapidlj'  toward  the  back  than 
toward  the  front.  The  upper  surface  of  the  carapace  is  smooth,  the  sulci  lightly 
impressed,  and  nowhere  are  scutal  growth  lines  to  be  observed. 


Fig.  IG.  Carapace  of  Eclimalenujs  depressa.  Type.  C.  M.  No.  2936.  One-half  natural  size,  c.p.', 
c.p.  S,  costal  plates  one  and  eight;  n2,  n7,  neurals  two  and  seven;  nu.p.,  portion  of  nuchal  plate;  pij,  pygal; 
spy,  suprapygal;  v.s.  2,  second  vertebral  scute. 

The  nuchal  is  only  partially  preserved,  but  this  portion  shows  that  it  had  a 
greatest  width  of  26  mm.  and  was  obtusely  keeled  at  the  center.  The  anterior 
border,  as  shown  in  Fig.  16,  is  missing. 

There  are  eight  neurals,  all  of  which  are  hexagonal,  with  the  exception  of  the 
first  and  eighth,  the  latter  being  subrectangular  in  outline.  All  have  their  antero- 
lateral angles  truncated,  which  serves  at  once  to  distinguish  this  form  from  Ech- 
matemys  pusilla  Hay,  which  has  the  postero-lateral  angles  of  the  neurals  truncated. 
The  neurals  graduallj'  decrease  in  size  from  front  to  back,  and,  excepting  the  first 
and  third,  all  are  broader  than  long,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  table.  The 
second  and  third  neurals  are  sharply  keeled  on  their  posterior  and  anterior  ends 
respectively,  as  are  the  fourth  and  fifth,  while  the  sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  are 
keeled  their  entire  lengths.  The  keel  on  the  suprapygal  is  ver_y  low  and  hardly 
discernible. 

All  of  the  costals  of  the  right  side  are  present  and  perfectly  preserved.  They 
are  of  moderate  thickness  with  pointed  distal  ends  which  articulated  with  the  periph- 
erals by  gomphosis.  Portions  of  the  buttresses  preserved  in  the  matrix  indicate 
that  they  articulate  with  the  costals  considerably  above  the  costo-peripheral  suture. 


\ 


GILMORE:   the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  141 

Dimensions  of  Xeurals. 

No.  Length.  Width. 

1 17  12 

2 13  16 

3 14.5 14 

4 13.5 14 

5 13.5 14 

6 11  14 

7 10  12 

8 9  10 

The  peripherals  of  the  right  side  above  the  bridge  and  somewhat  forward  of 
the  axillarj'^  notch  are  perfectly  preserved,  and,  as  in  Echmatemys  pusilla  Hay, 
have  a  sharp  carina  beginning  on  the  third  peripheral  and  continuing  backward 
across  the  bridge  to  the  hinder  peripherals.  The  fifth  peripheral  has  a  width  of 
19  mm.;  the  sixth  of  18  mm.;  the  seventh  of  20  mm.;  the  eighth  of  18  mm.  The 
lateral  peripherals  from  the  edge  of  the  carapace  to  their  proximal  extremities  have 
a  length  of  14  mm.,  becoming  narrower  tow^ard  the  front  of  the  shell. 

The  sulci  on  most  parts  of  the  carapace  are  very  obscure,  being  traceable 
only  here  and  there,  though  w'here  they  cross  the  neurals  somew^hat  plainer  than 
elsewhere.  The  boundaries  of  the  second  vertebral  can  be  partiallj^  determined, 
and  these  indicate  a  very  wide  scute  having  at  the  center  angularly  pointed  outer 
borders.  The  second  vertebral  has  a  greatest  width  at  the  center  of  58  mm.;  an 
estimated  length  of  about  32  mm.  There  were  four  costal  scutes.  The  costal- 
marginal  sulcus  appears  to  have  followed  closely  the  course  of  the  costo-peripheral 
suture.  The  supracaudal  scute  is  divided.  The  second  suprapj'gal  is  absent  in 
this  specimen. 

The  impression  in  the  matrix  shows  the  hypoplastron  to  have  a  greatest  width 
at  the  midline  of  41  mm.  The  width  of  the  posterior  lobe  at  the  base  is  about 
60  mm.  Its  greatest  length  was  about  47  mm.  It  cannot  be  determined  whether 
this  lobe  w^as  notched  on  the  midline.  At  the  center  the  plastron  has  a  greatest 
width  of  84  mm.  The  bridge  has  a  wudth  of  about  58  mm.  The  inguinal  buttresses 
rise  well  above  the  costo-pcripheral  sutures  and  articulate  w-ith  both  the  fifth  and 
sixth  costals. 

Echmatemys  depressa  is  distinguished  from  all  other  species  of  the  genus  by 
the  greater  relative  widths  of  the  vertebral  scutes,  the  absence  of  a  second  supra- 
pygal,  and  the  presence  of  a  dorsal  keel.  From  Echmatemys  megaulax  (Cope), 
which  also  has  a  dorsal  keel  the  present  species  is  to  be  distinguished  by  having 
the  sulci  less  deeply  impressed  and  in  having  the  costo-marginal  sulcus  follow  the 


142  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

course  of  the  costo-peripheral  suture  wliereas  in  the  former  it  crosses  the  peripherals 
on  their  upper  third. 

12.  Echmatemys  pusilla?  Haj'. 
Echmatemys  pusilla  Hay,  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  pp.  337-339, 

text-figs.  445,  446. 

A  small  turtle,  C.  M.  Xo.  3282,  collected  by  Messrs.  Earl  Douglass  and 
Clarence  Wilson,  November  1,  1911,  southeast  of  Ouray,  Uinta  Count}',  Utah, 
from  Horizon  C  of  the  Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene,  is  referred  with  some  doubt 
to  Echmatemys  pusilla  HaJ^  The  very  fragmentary  nature  of  the  present  specimen 
renders  its  generic  and  specific  affinities  difficult  of  positive  determination,  but  after 
a  careful  comparison  of  this  specimen  with  the  type  of  E.  pusilla,  kindly  loaned  me 
by  Dr.  W.  D.  Matthew,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  I  am  con- 
vinced of  the  very  close  relationships  of  the  two  specimens,  even  though  the  dis- 
covery of  more  perfect  material  may  eventuallj'^  demonstrate  their  specific  distinct- 
ness. 

/  9 


Fig.  17.  Portions  of  the  carapace  and  plastron  of  Echmatcmijs  pusilla?  Hay.  C.  jM.  No.  32S2.  (1), 
plastron;  (2),  carapace.  c2,  c3,  costals  two  and  four;  n2,  n6,  neurals  two  and  five;  v2,  vertebral  scute  two. 
Natural  size. 

This  specimen  consists  of  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  plastron  lacking  the  lip,  a 
small  portion  of  the  carapace  consisting  of  the  second  neural  complete,  and  portions 
of  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  neurals  with  the  upper  portions  of  abutting  costals, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  17.  The  second  neural  is  hexagonal  in  outline  and  measures  9.5 
mm.  in  length,  with  a  greatest  width  of  10  mm.;  the  third  is  12  mm.  long  and  13 
mm.  wide;  the  fourth  is  13  mm.  long.  The  second  vertebral  has  its  greatest  width 
of  about  35  mm.  at  the  center.  The  scutal  areas  of  the  carapace  arc  plainly  grooved 
by  the  lines  of  gro\\i:h  of  the  scutes.  These  lines  of  growth  are  also  present  in  the 
type  of  the  species. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  143 

The  entoplastron,  as  in  the  type,  is  long,  narrow,  and  pointed  in  front.  Its 
greatest  length  is  19  mm.,  its  greatest  width  16  mm.  It  is  overlapped  by  both  the 
gulars  and  pectorals.  The  specimen  before  me  also  agrees  with  the  type  in  the 
great  width  of  the  pectorals  behind  the  entoplastron.  These  scutes  reach  backward 
to  the  hypoplastral  suture,  a  condition  not  known  in  any  other  species  of  the  genus. 
At  the  point  where  the  pectoro-humeral  sulcus  crosses  the  free  borders  the  lobe 
has  a  width  of  48  mm.  The  free  border  of  the  lobe  is  thin  and  acute,  being  bevelled 
off  on  the  upper  surface. 

The  most  important  dissimilarity  between  the  two  specimens  here  discussed 
appears  to  be  in  the  wide  vertebrals  and  in  the  shape  of  the  neurals,  those  of  the 
type  having  the  posterolateral  angles  truncated,  whereas  in  the  specimen  from 
the  Uinta  formation  the  antero-lateral  angles  of  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  are 
thus  cut  off.  The  second  neural  is  octagonal  in  the  type,  hexagonal  in  No.  3282. 
In  the  shape  of  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  plastron,  the  long  pointed  entoplastron 
overlapped  by  the  gulars  and  crossed  well  forward  by  the  pectoro-humeral  sulcus 
and  the  extremely  wide  pectorals  reaching  backward  nearly  to  the  hyo-hypo- 
plastral  suture  these  specimens  show  a  remarkably  close  resemblance. 

Family  TESTUDINID.E  Gray. 
The  family  Testudinidse  is  represented  in  the  collection  of  cheloiiian  remains 
from  the  Uinta  formation  in  the  Carnegie  Museum  by  the  two  genera  Hadrianus 
Cope  and  Testudo  Linnaeus,  the  former  genus  by  three,  the  latter  by  but  one  species. 
Four  species  of  Hadrianus  are  now  recognized  as  occurring  in  the  Uinta  formation. 
The  discovery  of  Testudo  in  the  Upper  Eocene  is  of  interest  as  being  the  first  time 
this  genus  has  been  found  below  the  Oligocene  in  North  America.  In  the  Fayum 
deposits  (Upper  Eocene)  of  northern  Africa,  however,  the  genus  Testudo  has  been 
recognized  by  Andrews  from  well-preserved  specimens,  which  in  several  respects 
closely  resemble  the  species  here  described. 

Genus  Hadrianus  Cope.  "^ 

13.  Hadrianus  corsoni  (Leidy). 
Plate  XXV,  fig.  1;  text-fig.  18. 
Testudo  corsoni  Leidy,  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila.,  1871,  p.  154;  Contrib.  Extinct 
Vert.  Fauna  West.  Terrs.,  1873,  pp.  132,  339,  PI.  XI,  figs.  1,  2;  PI.  XV,  fig.  7; 
PI.  XXIX,  figs.  2-4;  PI.  XXX,  figs.  1-4. 
Hadrianus  odonarius  Cope,  Pateont.  Bull.  No.  2,  1872;  Vert.  Tort.  Form.  West., 
1884,  p.  140,  PI.  XX,  figs.  1-4. 


144  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

Hadrianus  corsoni  Cope,  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Terrs.,  6th  Ann.  Kept.,  1872  (1873), 

p.  631;  Hay,  Bibliog.  and  Cat.  Foss.  Vert.  N.  A.,  1902,  p.  450;  Fossil  Turtles 

of  North  America,  1908,  pp.  376-380,  PI.  LX,  LXI;  text-figs.  473-479. 

A  large  specimen  in  the  present  collection  is  identified  as  belonging  to  the 
above  genus  and  species,  and  represents  the  first  recorded  occurrence  of  Hadrianus 
corsoni  in  the  Uinta  formation.  This  speciinen  consists  of  a  complete  plastron, 
the  peripherals  of  the  right  side  above  the  bridge,  and  a  few  fragments  of  the  cara- 
pace. It  was  collected  by  0.  A.  Peterson,  August  5,  1912,  six  miles  east  of  Myton, 
Uinta  County,  Utah,  from  Horizon  C  of  the  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene.  It 
bears  the  C.  M.  Catalog  No.  3403. 

The  length  of  the  plastron  at  the  center  is  740  mm.;  the  greatest  length  over 
all  775  mm.;  the  greatest  breadth  about  490  mm.  The  posterior  lobe  is  deeply 
and  widely  notched  and  the  anterior  lobe  is  terminated  in  front  by  a  wide  spade- 
like lip  which  projects  prominently  from  the  general  contour  of  the  lobe. 

Hadrianus  corsoni  was  based  upon  the  anterior  portion  of  a  plastron  consisting 
of  the  complete  lip  and  lobe  back  to  and  including  a  small  portion  of  the  anterior 
end  of  the  entoplastron.  A  comparison  of  the  specimen  before  me  with  the  type 
shows  striking  similarities  in  the  contour  of  the  lobe  and  lip,  and  especially  of  the 
wide  anterior  end  of  the  entoplastron,  which  appears  peculiar  to  this  species.  The 
lip  has  a  transverse  width  at  the  base  of  162  mm.,  which  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
type,  or  of  any  subsequently  discovered  representative  of  this  species.  It  projects 
45  mm.  beyond  the  point  where  the  gular-humeral  sulcus  crosses  the  free  border. 
This  measurement  is  slightly  greater  than  in  the  type,  but  less  than  in  the  type  of 
Hadrianus  octonarius  Cope,  now  regarded  by  Hay  as  being  a  synonym  of  the 
present  species.  The  anterior  border  of  the  lip  is  subacute,  nearly  straight,  but 
slightly  notched  on  the  midline  as  in  the  type.  The  upper  surface  of  the  lip  is 
slightly  convex  along  the  midline,  with  shallow  longitudinal  depressions  on  either 
side.  The  lower  surface  is  flat,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  would  have  been 
broadly  convex  in  life. 

The  anterior  lobe  is  345  mm.  wide  at  the  base,  with  a  length  of  252  mm.  Along 
the  free  borders  on  the  upper  surface  the  bone  is  bevelled  off  to  an  acute  edge  that 
becomes  obtusely  rounded  in  front  of  the  axillary  notches.  The  lip  on  the  superior 
surface  extends  backward  67  mm. 

The  entoplastron  is  unusually  broad  and  angular  in  front.  In  the  figures  of 
the  type  the  suture  limiting  the  anterior  border  of  the  entoplastron  runs  nearly 
straight  across  the  median  line,  then  turns  abruptly  backward  and  outward.  In 
the  specimen  here  considered  the  anterior  border  is  inclined  more  posteriorly,  as 


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145 


in  the  type  of  H.  odonarius,  but  it  has  the  same  angular  turn  backward  and  out- 
ward as  in  the  type  of  the  genus  and  species.     The  length  of  the  entoplastron  on  the 


Fig.  18.    Hadrianus  corsoni  (Leidy).    Plastron  of  C.  ]M.  Xo.  3403.     One-eighth  natural  size. 

midline  is  155  mm.;  its  width  184  mm.  It  is  overlapped  slightly  by  the  gular 
scutes,  but  is  not  crossed  by  the  humero-pectoral  sulcus. 

The  bridge  is  290  mm.  wide. 

The  length  of  the  posterior  lobe  is  234  mm.;  its  width  at  the  inguinal  notches 
386  mm.  The  free  edges  of  the  lobe  are  subacute,  except  in  front  of  the  notches, 
where  it  is  rounded.  The  width  of  the  posterior  notch  is  about  135  mm.;  its  depth 
about  35  mm.  There  is  no  perceptible  ridge  leading  back  from  the  inguinal  but- 
tresses until  a  point  midway  between  the  buttress  and  the  posterior  end  of  the  lobe 
is  reached,  where  the  surface  is  concave  mesiad,  thus  causing  the  ridge  to  stand 
out  quite  prominently.  On  the  outside  of  this  ridge  the  surface  is  bevelled  off 
steeply  near  the  buttress,  but  less  and  less  so  posteriorly,  until  on  the  posterior 
outer  angle  of  the  xiphiplastral  projections  the  slope  is  very  gentle.  The  surfaces 
of  these  projections  are  rugosely  roughened  as  in  the  type  of  H.  odonarius  (No. 
2186,  U.  S.  National  Museum),  which  they  resemble  in  shape  and  size. 

The  hyoplastron  on  the  midline  has  a  width  of  195  mm.     The  arrangement  of 


146 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 


the  plastral  scutes  is  not  greatly  different  from  that  of  other  Testudinidse.  The 
gulars  have  a  length  on  the  midline  of  90  mm.;  pectorals  of  60  mm.;  abdominals  of 
255  mm.;  femorals  of  95  mm.;  anals  of  86  mm.  The  principal  dimensions  and 
proportions  of  specimen  C.  M.  No.  3403,  as  compared  with  other  specimens  iden- 
tified as  pertaining  to  Hadrianus  corsoni  Leidy,  are  given  in  the  table  below. 


Hadrianus  cor- 

Type of  JT.  octo- 

C.  M.  No.  3403. 

soni  A.  M.S.  B.. 

narius  U.  S. 

No.  6027. 

N.  M.  No.  2186. 

778 

550 

740 

252 

175 

247 

345 

246 

360 

290 

215 

285 

234 

157 

240 

386 

240 

330 

155 

115 
134 

125 

184 

160 

162 

118 

135 

81% 

87% 

79% 

72% 

71% 

68% 

80% 

73% 

84% 

Greatest  length  of  plastron 

Greatest  length  anterior  lobe 

Greatest  width  anterior  lobe 

Width  of  bridge 

Greatest  length  posterior  lobe 

Greatest  width  posterior  lobe 

Length  of  entoplastron 

Width  of  entoplastron 

Width  of  Up 

Width  of  bridge  to  width  of  anterior  lobe .  . 

Width  of  anterior  lobe  to  its  length 

Width  of  bridge  to  length  of  posterior  lobe . 


14.  Hadrianus  robustus  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XXV,  fig.  2;  text-fig.  19. 

Type:  C  M.  No.  3342,  consisting  of  the  anterior  half  of  the  plastron,  collected 
by  Earl  Douglass,  July  30,  1908. 

Locality:  Near  Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  C,  Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene. 

The  specimen  upon  which  the  present  species  is  based  represents  one  of  the 
larger  species  of  the  genus.  Those  parts  present  are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
and  all  of  the  sutures  and  sulci  can  be  clearly  traced.  It  is  assigned  provisionally 
to  the  genus  Hadrianus,  until  such  time  as  the  discovery  of  a  more  perfect  specimen 
makes  it  possible  to  determine  its  true  generic  affinities. 

The  anterior  lobe  is  220  mm.  long,  and  at  the  base  285  mm.  wide.  The  length 
thus  being  77  per  cent,  of  the  width,  whereas  in  Hadrianus  corsoni  it  is  only  71  and 
in  H.  majusculus  68  per  cent.  The  lip  in  this  species  is  especially  prominent  and 
exceedingly  heavy,  having  a  thickness  at  the  center  of  46  mm.  At  the  base  it 
measures  123  mm.  in  width,  and  near  the  anterior  end  117  mm.  From  the  point 
where  the  gular-humeral  sulcus  crosses  the  free  border  the  lip  extends  forward  52 
mm.  The  anterior  border  of  the  lip  is  transversely  broadly  convex,  and  bluntly 
bevelled  dorso-ventrally,  the  longer  bevel  being  on  the  lower  side.  On  the  superior 
surface  the  lip  extends  posteriorly  100  mm.,  at  this  point  the  surface  descends 
perpendicularly,  decreasing  by  one-half  the  total  thickness  of  the  plastron.    Slightly 


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147 


posterior  to  this  drop  on  the  visceral  surface  there  is  a  sharp  median  ridge  on  the 
midhne  which  measures  longitudinally  65  mm.  The  free  borders  of  the  anterior 
lobe  are  bevelled  off  from  the  superior  surface  to  a  sharp  edge,  which  becomes 
obtusel}^  rounded  at  the  base  of  the  lip. 


Fig.  19.    Hadrianus  robmtus. 
tural  size. 


Anterior  half  of  the  plastron.    Tj^je,  C.  M.  No.  3342.    One-sLxth    na- 


The  entoplastron  is  pointed  in  front  and  wide  behind.  It  is  134  mm.  long, 
and  147  mm.  wide.     The  gular  scutes  overlap  the  anterior  end. 

In  front  of  the  axillary  notch  the  plastron  has  a  thickness  of  29  mm.;  im- 
mediately posterior  to  the  entoplastron  of  16  mm.;  and  at  the  junction  of  the 
hyo-hypoplastron  at  the  center,  of  15  mm.  This  latter  measurement  in  the  type 
of  Hadrianus  tumidus  Hay  is  only  9  mm.  The  gular  scutes  have  their  greatest 
extent  of  114  mm.  antero-posteriorty.  Within  the  area  of  the  gular  scutes  the 
surface  of  the  lip  is  swollen  out  somewhat  below  the  level  of  the  epiplastral  areas 
bordering  it.  The  superior  surface  of  the  lip  anteriorly  is  broadly  convex,  but 
flattens  toward  the  posterior  end. 

The  humerals  meet  on  the  midline  for  105  mm.;  the  pectorals  for  40  mm.;  the 
abdominals  for  at  least  205  mm.  The  sulci  are  broad  and  deeply  impressed.  The 
humero-pectoral  sulcus  begins  just  in  front  of  the  axillary  notch  and  extends  inward 
and  backward  for  a  short  distance,  then  curves  forward  to  the  entoplastron,  again 
turning  backward  to  the  midline,  skirting,  but  not  crossing,  the  entoplastron. 

The  pectoral  scutes  have  quite  a  different  shape  from  any  of  the  described 
species  of  the  genus.     They  are  narrow  (28  mm.)  mcsiad  of  the  axillary  notch 


148  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

gradually  widening  to  a  jjoint  a  little  bej'ond  where  the  sulcus  first  reaches  the 
cntoplastron,  which  measures  63  mm.  antero-postcriorly,  then  again  narrowing 
to  the  midline,  where  it  has  a  fore-and-aft  extent  of  40  mm.  The  pectoro-abdominal 
sulcus  runs  straight  across  the  plastron  as  in  Hadrianus  corsoni. 

The  hyo-hypoplastral  suture  runs  a  very  tortuous  course  across  the  plastron. 
The  hyoplastrals  meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  136  mm.  The  hypoplastrals 
at  the  center  have  a  transverse  width  of  400  mm. 

Tlie  pectoral  scutes  on  the  midline  are  less  than  one-fifth  the  width  of  the  ab- 
dominals, and  following  Hay's  analysis  of  the  various  species  of  the  genus  this 
proportion  would  be  sufficient  to  show  the  specific  distinctness  of  the  present  speci- 
men. In  the  proportions  of  these  scutes  the  present  species  is  nearest  Hadrianus 
tumidus  Hay,  which  is  also  from  the  Uinta  formation,  and  in  which  the  pectoral 
scutes  are  less  than  one-third  as  wide  as  the  abdominals  at  the  center,  but  it  is 
distinguished  from  that  species  by  having  a  thicker  plastron  and  by  the  different 
form  of  the  pectoral  scutes,  and  the  greater  width  posteriorly  of  the  entoplastron. 
From  H.  majusculus  and  H.  corsoni  the  difference  in  the  proportions  of  the  length 
to  the  breadth  of  the  anterior  lobe  will  help  to  separate  the  present  form;  that 
is  to  say  in  Hadrianus  robustus  the  length  is  77  per  cent,  of  the  width  at  the  base, 
while  it  is  68  and  71  per  cent,  respectively  in  the  other  two  species  mentioned  above. 

15.  Hadrianus  utahensis  sp.  nov. 
Plate  XXVI,  fig.  1;  text-fig.  20. 

Type:  C.  M.  No.  2343,  consisting  of  the  plastron  and  portions  of  the  periph- 
erals above  the  bridge  on  the  right  side.  The  anterior  portion  of  the  lip,  and 
parts  of  the  margins  of  both  anterior  and  posterior  lobes  are  missing.  Collected 
by  Earl  Douglass,  July  30,  1908. 

Locality :  South  of  Kennedy's  Hole,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  B  or  C,  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

The  plastron  of  the  type  specimen  is  estimated  to  have  had  a  greatest  length 
of  about  520  mm.,  and  a  greatest  width  at  the  center  of  320  mm.  The  anterior 
lobe  is  about  175  mm.  long  and  300  mm.  wide  at  the  base.  The  width  of  the  lip, 
where  the  gular  sulci  cross  the  free  border,  is  110  mm.  The  plastron  is  quite 
concave,  indicating  that  the  specimen  was  in  all  probability  a  male. 

While  every  thing  indicates  that  the  lip  extended  well  forward,  it  probably 
continued  the  general  contour  of  the  lobe.  The  free  borders  of  the  lobe  are  sub- 
acute, being  bevelled  off  from  the  upper  surface,  so  that  the  edge  is  nearly  on  a 
level  with  the  ventral  surface  of  the  plastron.    At  the  center  on  the  broken  border 


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149 


the  lip  is  22  mm.  thick,  but  posteriorly  it  increases  to  27  mm.,  behind  which  the 
plastron  is  deeply  excavated.  On  the  upper  surface  of  the  lip  there  is  a  slight 
median  elevation.  Transversely  the  whole  lip  is  broadly  convex  rounding  down 
at  the  sides  to  a  subacute  edge. 


Fig.  20.    Plastron  of  Hadriamts  nlahensis.    Type.    C.  M.  No.  2343.    One-fourth  natural  size. 

The  entoplastron  is  rhombic  in  form,  being  97  mm.  long  and  95  mm.  wide. 
The  gular  scutes  reach,  but  do  not  overlap,  this  bone.  In  this  respect  this  specimen 
differs  from  all  of  the  described  species  of  the  genus.  The  bridge  has  a  greatest 
width  of  210  mm. 

The  posterior  lobe  has  a  greatest  length  of  about  140  mm.;  a  greatest  width 
of  230  mm.  at  the  inguinal  notches.  The  posterior  lobe  is  shallowly  notched  on 
the  midline.  This  notch  has  a  greatest  depth  of  10  mm.  Immediately  behind  the 
inguinal  notches  the  borders  of  the  lobe  have  a  thickness  of  27  mm.  and  are  rounded 
dorso-ventrally.  The  border  at  the  anal  sulcus  is  18  mm.  thick.  The  free  border 
of  the  entire  lobe  a  short  distance  posterior  to  the  inguinal  notches  is  bevelled  off 


150  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

from  the  dorsal  surface  to  a  subacute  edge.  There  is  no  ridge  leading  back  from 
the  buttresses  as  in  H.  tumid  us  Hay.  In  front  of  the  notch  on  the  dorsal  surface 
the  plastron  is  transversely  shallowly  concave.  The  plastral  buttresses  are  rela- 
tively heavy. 

The  hyoplastrals  meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  108  mm.;  hypoplastrala 
for  120  mm.;  xiphiplastrals  for  107  mm. 

The  sulci  on  the  plastron  are  relatively  narrow  but  well  impressed.  The 
gular  sulci  run  forward  and  outward  from  the  center,  but,  as  they  approach  the 
border,  suddenly  turn  outward  and  then  backward  continuing  in  this  direction 
over  the  border  upon  the  dorsal  surface  and  fading  out  at  the  base  of  the  lip.  The 
sulcus  limiting  the  humerals  behind  runs  backward  and  slighth^  inward  from  the 
border  in  front  of  the  axillary  notch  for  a  short  distance,  then  turns  inward  and 
forward  to  the  posterior  boundary  of  the  entoplastron,  but  does  not  cross  it.  The 
pectorals  occupy  41  mm.  of  the  midline,  and  have  a  least  diameter  antero-poste- 
riorly  of  29  mm.  The  abdominals  meet  on  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  155  mm.; 
the  femorals  for  75  mm.;  anals  for  58  mm.  The  plastron  at  the  center  has  a 
thickness  of  only  7  mm. 

The  peripherals  turn  abrupth'  upwards  at  the  sides  of  the  shell.  The  sulci 
between  the  plastron  and  peripheral  bones  on  the  bridge,  although  broadly  inter- 
digitative,  run  quite  a  straight  course  antero-posteriorly.  The  fifth  and  sixth 
peripherals  have  a  width  of  64  mm.  Their  length  on  account  of  the  missing  upper 
extremities  cannot  be  determined. 

The  present  specimen  is  assigned  provisionallj'  to  the  genus  Hadrianus, 
though  later  it  may  be  found,  when  more  perfect  specimens  are  available,  that  it 
belongs  to  Testudo.  It  is  distinguished  from  the  described  species  of  the  genus 
bj'  the  narrow  and  relatively  shallow  notch  on  the  posterior  lobe;  the  rounded  and 
thickened  ends  of  the  xiphiplastrals,  and  by  having  the  bridge  longer  relative  to 
the  length  of  the  hinder  lobe.  In  Hadriaiius  majuscidus  the  posterior  lobe  is  85 
per  cent,  of  the  length  of  the  bridge;  in  H.  tumidus  77  per  cent.;  in  H.  corsoni 
73  per  cent.;  and  in  the  present  specimen  only  66  per  cent. 

Genus  Testudo  Linnaeus. 

16.  Testudo  uintensis  sp.  nov. 

Plate  XXVII;  text-figs.  21  and  22. 

Type:  C.  M.  No.  2331,  consisting  of  a  carapace  and  plastron,  the  latter  almost 
perfectly  preserved,  the  former  lacking  the  peripherals  of  the  right  side,  and  the 


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151 


anterior  portion  of  the  nuchal  plate.  Collected  by  Earl  Douglass  and  party, 
July  30,  1908. 

Locality:  South  of  Kennedy's  Hole,  and  about  one  hundred  rods  west  of 
Dragon- Vernal  road,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

Horizon:  Horizon  B  or  C,  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

In  form  the  carapace  of  this  tortoise  is  broad,  of  moderate  height  and  strongly 
arched  in  all  directions.  As  now  preserved  the  shell  is  somewhat  more  flattened 
than  it  would  have  been  in  life.  The  posterior  end  is  not  so  broad  as  in  Hadrianus 
but  is  more  evenly  rounded  as  in  many  species  of  Testudo.  The  areas  covered  by 
the  vertebral  scutes  are  decidedly  convex.  The  few  anterior  peripherals  present 
suggest  that  the  front  was  Uttle,  if  at  all,  emarginated  on  the  median  line.  All  of 
the  sutures  remain  distinct  and  the  sulci  can  be  clearly  traced,  so  there  can  be  no 
question  raised  as  to  their  proper  interpretation  in  the  figures.  The  carapace  has 
a  length  of  about  360  mm. ;  a  breadth  of  300  mm. 

The  neurals  and  costals  are  highly  differentiated.  In  this  species  there  are 
only  seven  neurals,  as  in  Testudo  ammon  Andrews,  but  whether  this  represents  a 
constant  character  in  this  species  or  only  an  individual  variation,  as  in  T.  ammon, 
must  await  the  discovery  of  additional  specimens.  The  first  neural  is  especially 
elongated  and  oval;  the  second  and  sixth  octagonal;  the  third  tetragonal;  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  seventh  being  hexagonal.  All  of  the  neurals  are  longer  than  wide,  whereas 
in  Hadrianus,  Stylemys  and  most  of  the  species  of  Testudo  the  neurals  are  wider 
than  long.  The  dimensions  of  the  neurals  and  costals  are  given  in  the  accompanj'- 
ing  table. 


No. 

Dimensions  of  Neurals. 

No. 

Dimensions  of  Costals. 

Length. 

Width. 

Width  of  Proximal  End.      ,         Width  of  Distal  End. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

44 
39 
33 
31 
34 
39 
31 

23 
30 
25 
29 
28 
32 
24 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

44 
28 
43 
30 

iS 

68 
47 
30 
60 
14 
49 
22 
35 

There  are  two  suprapygals,  the  anterior  being  bifurcate  and  enclosing  between 
its  right  and  left  limbs  the  lozenge-shaped  second  suprapygal.  The  first  has  a 
diameter  antero-posteriorly  at  the  center  of  32  mm.,  a  breadth  of  88  mm.;  the 
second  is  30  mm.  in  length  and  48  mm.  in  width. 

The  pygal  is  wedge-shaped,  the  narrower  truncated  end  being  posterior,  the 
anterior  end  is  notched  for  the  second  suprapygal.     The  under  side  is  transversely 


152 


MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


concave,  the  upper  slightly  convex  in  the  same  direction.  The  free  edge  is  acute 
with  a  faint  median  projection,  the  whole  forming  a  convex  covering  for  the  tail 
that  apparently  projected  but  little  below  the  level  of  the  carapace. 


Fig.  21.  Tesludo  uintensis.  Carapace  of  the  type,  C.  M.  No.  2331.  One-fourth  natural  size,  n.p., 
nuchal  plate;  nlowdn/,  first  andseventhneurals;pZos.,  lip  of  plastron;  sp.,suprapygal;sp^.,  second  suprapygal. 

The  costal  plates  are  alternately  wide  and  narrow,  reaching  as  high  a  degree 
of  differentiation  in  this  respect  as  any  species  of  the  genus.  The  diameters  of 
their  proximal  and  distal  ends  are  given  in  the  accompanying  table. 

The  nuchal  plate  is  largely  missing,  as  well  as  nearly  all  of  the  peripherals  of 
the  right  side.  Those  of  the  left  side  have  suffered  some  damage,  so  that  their 
exact  dimensions  can  not  always  be  determined.  They  are  however  of  moderate 
length  with  thin  acute  edges  on  front  and  back,  becoming  slightly  obtuse  along 
the  sides.  There  are  eleven  peripherals  in  the  complete  series.  The  greatest 
thickness  of  the  ninth  peripheral,  the  thickest  of  any  of  the  posterior  members,  is 
16  mm.     The  second,  measured  at  the  suture  with  the  first,  is  16  mm.  thick. 

The  plastron  has  a  total  length  of  332  mm.  The  width  of  the  anterior  lobe 
at  its  base  is  150  mm.  It  has  a  length  of  104  mm.  The  lip  does  not  extend  beyond 
the  border  of  the  carapace,  and  it  projects  but  little  beyond  the  general  contour 
of  the  lobe.  The  lower  surface  of  the  lobe  is  flat,  while  the  upper  is  bevelled  off 
from  back  toward  the  front,  forming  rather  a  sharp  anterior  border.     On  the  upper 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION 


153 


surface  of  the  lip  on  either  side  of  the  low  median  ridge  there  are  shallow  longitudinal 
depressions,  which  run  forward  to  the  slight  emarginations  at  either  side  of  the 
center.  At  the  gular-humeral  sulcus  the  lateral  border  of  the  lobe  is  shghtly 
emarginate.  The  upper  surface,  57  mm.  back  from  the  front  of  the  lip,  is  almost 
perpendicularlj'  excavated,  thus  reducing  the  plastron  from  21  mm.  to  10  mm.  in 
thickness.  The  posterior  lobe  is  90  mm.  long;  and  is  163  mm.  wide  at  the  base. 
The  posterior  notch  is  50  mm.  wide  and  23  mm.  deep.     At  the  inguinal  notch  the 


Fig.  22.     Testudo  uintensis.    Plastron  of  tj^e,  C.  M.  No.  2331.    One-fourth  natural  size. 

edge  of  the  lobe  forms  a  wall  22  mm.  high.  This  wall  diminishes  in  height  poste- 
riorly, so  that  at  the  anal-femoral  sulcus  it  measures  15  mm.  in  height.  The  outer 
face  of  this  wall  slopes  off  rather  gradually  to  the  subacute  lateral  edge,  while  the 
inner  edge  slopes  abruptl}'  to  the  inner  level  of  the  floor  of  the  carapace.  The  ento- 
plastron  is  rhombic  in  form,  68  mm.  long  on  the  midline,  and  69  mm.  wide.  The 
hj^oplastra  meet  along  the  midline  for  a  distance  of  74  mm.;  the  hypoplastra  for 
69  mm.;  and  the  xiphiplastra  for  55  mm. 

The  bridge  is  135  mm.  wide.  The  plastron  is  quite  concave  and  at  least 
suggests  that  this  individual  was  a  male. 

The  gular  scutes  overlap  the  entoplastron  and  on  the  midline  have  a  length 
of  57  mm.  The  humerals  at  the  middle  are  53  mm.  long;  the  pectorals  46  mm.; 
abdominals  80  mm.;  femorals  42  mm.;  and  anals  28  mm. 


154  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

The  vertebral  scutes  are  longer  than  wide,  their  dimensions  are  given  in  the 
table. 

Dimensions  of  Vertebr.\l  Scutes. 

No.  Length.  W'idtli. 

1 64 100 

2 74 62 

3 66 63 

4 68 57 

5 66 116 

The  costal  scutes  are  wide,  their  outer  ends  joining  the  marginals  at  the  costo- 
peripheral  suture.  The  costo-marginal  sulcus  appears  to  follow  closely  the  course 
of  the  costo-peripheral  suture.  The  humcro-pectoral  sulcus  touches  the  ento- 
plastron,  but  does  not  cross  it. 

The  supracaudal  scute  is  divided  as  in  Hadrianus. 

A  comparison  of  the  type  of  the  present  species  with  the  upper  Eocene  tortoise, 
Testudo  ammon  Andrews,  from  the  Fayum  deposits  of  Egypt,  shows  some  striking 
resemblances.  Both  Testudo  uintensis  and  T.  ammon  are  distinguished  from  all 
other  species  of  the  genus  by  the  octagonal  shape  of  the  second  and  sixth  neurals, 
whereas  the  usual  arrangement  is  for  the  second  and  fourth  neurals  to  be  octagonal. 
Both  types  agree  in  having  seven  neurals,  although  other  specimens  referred  to 
T.  ammon  by  Andrews  have  the  normal  number  of  eight,  and  it  may  be  found  that 
there  is  a  similar  variation  in  the  present  species. 

Hay^  comments  upon  Testudo  ammon  as  follows:  "Dr.  A.[C]E.[W]  Andrews 
(Surv.  Dept.,  Pub.  Works  Ministry,  Geol.  Survey,  Egypt,  1903;  Tert.  Vert.  Fayum, 
Egypt,  1906,  p.  278,  pi.  24)  has  described  a  land-tortoise  from  the  Upper  Eocene  of 
Egypt  to  which  he  has  given  the  name  Testudo  ammon.  If  a  true  Testudo,  it  is  the 
oldest  known.  The  published  figures  show  that  the  neurals  are  variable  in  form, 
but  the  relationships  to  typical  Testudo  are  so  lose  that  it  may  be  accepted  as 
belonging  to  this  genus.  In  some  respects  it  appears  to  be  intermediate  between 
Testudo  and  Hadrianus." 

The  above  remarks  would  apply  equally  well  to  the  species  here  described. 
Up  to  this  time  the  oldest  known  Testudo  found  in  North  America  is  from  the 
Lower  Oligocene.  Two  species  having  been  described,  Testudo  hrontops  Marsh, 
and  T.  exornata  Lambe. 

If,  as  has  been  inferred,  Testudo  has  derived  its  ancestry  from  Hadrianus,  the 
intermediate  characters  observed  in  the  present  specimen  are  fully  in  accord  with 
its  geological  position.    The  axillary  and  inguinal  buttresses  rising  but  little  above 

»  "  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,"  1908,  p.  368. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  155 

the  costo-peripheral  suture,  and  the  presence  of  a  divided  supracaudal  scute,  in- 
dicate its  relationship  with  the  genus  Hadrianus,  as  now  understood  and  defined. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  greatly  reduced  heads  of  the  ribs,  and  especially  the  high 
degree  of  differentiation  reached  by  the  neural  and  costal  bones  show  its  affinities 
to  Testudo. 

In  an  attempt  to  find  characters  other  than  those  used  to  separate  the  three 
important  genera  constituting  the  family  Testudinidse  I  have  determined  the  width 
of  the  bridge  as  compared  to  the  total  length  of  the  plastron  in  all  available  speci- 
mens pertaining  to  the  genera  Hadrianus,  Stylemys,  and  Testudo,  and  find  the 
average  to  be  as  follows:  In  Hadrianus  the  bridge  is  thirty-eight  per  cent,  of  the 
length  of  the  plastron;  in  Stylemys  it  is  forty-nine  per  cent.,  and  in  Testudo  forty-four 
per  cent.  In  Testudo  uintensis  it  is  forty  per  cent,  thus  again  demonstrating  its 
intermediate  stage  of  development  between  Hadrianus  and  Testudo. 

Cope  assigned  as  the  principal  character  distinguishing  Hadrianus  from  the 
other  genera  of  the  Testudinidse,  "a  divided  supracaudal  scute,"  and  this  would 
perhaps  appear  a  good  reason  for  assigning  the  present  specimen  to  that  genus  if  it 
were  not  known  that  three  living  species  of  the  genus  Testudo  as  recognized  by 
Boulenger,  also  have  this  scute  divided.  In  the  definition  of  the  genus  Testudo 
the  lip  is  "usually  projecting  abruptly  from  the  general  contour  of  the  lobe." 
The  present  specimen,  however,  is  one  of  the  exceptions,  resembling  the  Oligocene 
Testudo  amphithorax  in  this  respect. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  discussion  that  the  present  means  of  separating 
the  genera  Hadrianus  and  Testudo  is  very  unsatisfactory,  and  it  would  perhaps  be 
best  to  combine  them  until  clean  cut  characters  are  found,  to  show  that  there  are 
two  distinct  genera. 

Family  TRIONYCHID.E  Bell. 

The  soft  shelled  Trionychidse  are  represented  in  the  present  collection  by 
thirteen  specimens  of  the  genus  A  my  da,  four  of  which  have  been  identified  specif- 
ically. These  pertain  to  two  species,  hitherto  kno\vn  only  from  the  Bridger 
formation.  Two  fragmentary  specimens,  C.  M.  Nos.  2396  and  3285,  judging 
largely  from  the  character  of  the  sculpturing  of  the  parts  of  the  carapace  present, 
appear  to  represent  undescribed  species,  but  on  account  of  their  inadequate  nature 
I  refrain  from  naming  them.  The  genus  Amyda  is  now  represented  in  the  Uinta 
formation  by  the  following  species,  Amyda  crassa  Hay,  A.  egregia  Hay  and  A. 
scutmnantiquum  (Cope). 


156  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

Genus  Am  yd  a  Oken. 
17.  Amyda  egregia  Haj-. 

Amyda  egregia  Hay,  Fossil  Turtles  of  North  America,  1908,  p.  531,  plate  107, 

figs.  1-3,  text-fig.  691. 

A  specimen  (C.  M.  No.  3254),  collected  by  Earl  Douglass  from  Horizon  B,  of 
the  Uinta  formation,  three  or  four  miles  northeast  of  Well  2,  Uinta  Basin,  Utah,  in 
1908,  is  identified  as  belonging  to  Amyda  egregia  Hay.  This  specimen  consists  of 
the  articulated  nuchal,  the  greater  portion  of  the  first  neural,  the  first,  second, 
third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  costals,  all,  excepting  the  first,  lacking  portions  of 
their  upper  extremities.  In  the  matrix  on  the  left  side  are  the  free  ends  of  the 
second,  third  and  fourth  costal  ribs.  These  appear  to  be  in  their  proper  positions 
in  relation  to  the  other  parts  of  the  shell  which  are  preserved,  and  serve  to  give 
some  idea  of  the  width  and  general  contour  of  the  carapace.  The  shell  is  broadly 
rounded  in  front  and  considerably  arched  transversely.  The  width  is  estimated  to 
have  been  about  465  mm.  The  nuchal  has  a  transverse  extent  of  255  mm.  and 
measures  52  mm.  antero-posteriorly.  Hay  states  that  the  latter  measurement  in 
the  type  of  the  species  is  but  22  mm.,  although  the  figure  published  by  him  shows 
it  to  be  at  least  42  mm.  As  in  the  type  specimen  the  outer  end  of  the  nuchal  over- 
laps the  free  end  of  the  rib  of  the  first  costal.  The  first  neural  at  the  anterior  end 
is  40  mm.  wide.  The  sculpture  of  the  carapace  is  coarse.  On  the  inner  ends  of  the 
costals  the  pits  and  ridges  form  a  honeycomb  arrangement,  but  on  their  outer 
fourths  the  ridges  and  pits  are  arranged  in  rows  across  the  costals,  toward  their 
ends  on  some  of  the  costals  the  honeycomb  pattern  again  prevails,  on  others  the 
rows  persist  to  the  smooth  bevelled  border. 

In  the  form  of  the  anterior  end  of  the  carapace,  with  slight  emargination  of 
the  border  at  the  sutural  junction  of  the  nuchal,  and  the  close  resemblance  of  the 
sculpture  of  the  carapace,  this  specimen  is  in  close  agreement  with  the  type  of  the 
species.  The  chief  differences  observed  are  the  considerably  larger  size  of  the 
present  specimen  and  the  sloping  bevel  of  the  smooth  ends  of  the  costals,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  abrupt  bevel  of  the  type. 

A  second  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3255,  in  this  collection  consisting  of  many  frag- 
ments of  the  neurals  and  costals  is  provisionally  referred  to  this  species.  This 
specimen  is  from  Horizon  B,  Uinta  formation,  and  from  the  same  locality  as  the 
individual  previously  discussed.  It  was  collected  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland,  and  Earl 
Douglass  in  1908. 

The  type  of  Amyda  egregia  Hay  is  from  the  lower  Washakie  beds  south  of  Hay- 


GILMORE:    the    fossil    turtles    of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  157 

stack  Mountain,  Wyoming,  so  that  the  discovery  of  the  present  specimens  in  the 
Uinta  formation  of  Utah,  considerably  extends  the  geological  as  well  as  the  geo- 
graphical range  of  this  species. 

18.  Amyda  scutumantiquum  (Cope). 
Plate  XXVI,  fig.  2. 

Trionyx  scutumantiquum  Cope,  6th  Ann.  Report  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Terr.,  1872 
(1873),  p.  617;  Amer.  Naturalist,  XVI,  1882,  p.  988,  fig.  6;  Vert.  Tert.  Form. 
West.,  1884,  pp.  118,  121,  PL  XVI,  figs.  1,  la;  Hay,  Bibliog.  and  Cat.  Foss. 
Vert.  N.  A.,  1902,  p.  454. 
Amyda  scutumantiquum  Hay,  Amer.  Geologist,  35,  1905,  p.  336;  Fossil  Turtles  of 
North  America,  1908,  pp.  521,  522,  plate  100,  figs.  2^,  plate  101,  fig.  1;  text- 
figs.  676,  677. 

A  very  large  specimen  C.  M.  No.  3272  (see  plate  XXVI,  fig.  2),  consisting  of  a 
considerable  part  of  the  anterior  two-thirds  of  the  carapace,  is  identified  as  per- 
taining to  the  above  genus  and  species.  This  specimen  was  collected  by  Earl 
Douglass  May  25,  1908,  from  the  lower  portion  of  Horizon  B,  "transition  beds 
sandstone,"  Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene,  as  exposed  on  the  south  branch  of 
Red  Bluff  Wash,  above  the  well  on  the  stage-road  between  Bonanza  and  Kennedy's 
Hole,  Uinta  County,  Utah. 

This  specimen  lacks  all  of  the  carapace  posterior  to  the  fifth  costals,  the 
anterior  border  and  left  end  of  the  nuchal,  and  small  portions  here  and  there  of  the 
costals  forward  of  the  sixth.  The  sandstone  matrix  containing  the  impressions  of 
the  seventh  and  eighth  costals  fortunately  is  preserved  and  serves  to  give  a  fairly 
accurate  idea  of  the  dimensions  of  the  entire  shell. 

In  form  the  carapace  is  broadly  oval  with  the  length  slightly  exceeding  the 
breadth.  The  greatest  width,  as  in  the  type,  appears  to  have  been  at  the  middle. 
The  extreme  width  is  about  530  mm.;  the  length,  at  the  very  least,  was  570  mm. 
The  shell  is  broadly  arched  from  the  lateral  borders  to  bej'ond  the  middle  of  the 
costal  plates.  Along  the  middle  of  the  back  there  is  a  pronounced  longitudinal 
depression  which  is  deepest  at  about  the  middle  of  the  shell. 

The  nuchal  extends  on  each  side  of  the  midline  about  180  mm.;  its  width  on 
account  of  the  missing  anterior  border  cannot  be  given.  At  the  center  on  the 
broken  border  the  nuchal  has  a  thickness  of  23  mm.  Its  outer  end  is  bevelled  off 
toward  the  front  and  outer  extremity.  The  length  of  the  nuchal  is  .74  the  width  of 
the  shell,  whereas  the  type  of  the  species  is  .76  (not  .80  as  stated  by  Hay). 


158  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

The  first  neural  is  exceedingly  large,  lioing  93  nnn.  long  and  50  mm.  wide  toward 
the  front.  The  others  present  diminish  in  size  posteriorly.  The  second,  third, 
and  fourth  are  coffin-shaped,  with  the  widest  end  posterior,  as  is  usual  in  the  species 
of  this  genus.     The  principal  dimensions  of  the  neurals  are  given  in  the  table. 

No.  Length.  Width. 

1 93 50 

2 62 41 

3 59 38 

4 58 34 

All  of  the  costal  plates  except  the  first  grow  wider  toward  their  outer  ends. 
The  expansion  of  the  outer  end  of  the  second,  as  in  the  type,  is  especially  pronounced. 
In  the  angulation  of  the  free  border  of  the  second  costal  it  resembles  that  of  Amyda 
salebrosa  Hay,  more  nearly  than  the  type  of  the  present  species.  At  their  free  ends 
all  of  the  costals  preserved  are  bevelled  off  to  a  sharp  edge,  except  at  the  point 
where  the  rib  projects.  None  of  the  projecting  ribs  are  preserved,  so  that  the 
distance  they  extend  beyond  the  free  border  cannot  be  determined.  Near  their 
outer  ends  at  the  sutural  borders  the  costals  have  a  thickness  of  from  5  to  9  mm. 
The  width  of  the  proximal  and  distal  ends  of  the  costals  are  given  in  the  table. 

No.  Width  of  Proximal  End.  Width  of  Distal  End. 

1 91 62 

2 58 103 

3 63 79 

4 58 79 

5 59 84e 

e,  estimated. 

The  surface  of  the  carapace  is  ornamented  with  the  usual  pits  and  ridges,  there 
being  two  pits  in  a  fine  10  mm.  long,  and  occasionally  three.  They  are  large  and 
distinct,  forming  a  honeycomb  arrangement  along  the  middle  and  on  the  proximal 
halves  of  the  costal  plates,  becoming  smaller  and  less  deeply  impressed  toward  the 
front.  In  small  areas  here  and  there  at  points  about  the  middle  of  the  costals  the 
pits  are  arranged  in  rows  across  the  short  diameters  of  the  plates.  On  the  distal 
portions  of  the  costals  the  pits  are  smaller  and  less  deeply  impressed,  thus  forming 
a  very  distinct  pattern,  and,  as  the  smooth  band  is  approached,  the  ridges  show  a 
tendency  to  break  up  into  tubercles.     Nowhere  are  the  ridges  wider  than  the  pits. 

Except  for  the  considerably  greater  size  of  the  specimen,  and  slight  differences 
in  the  general  distribution  of  the  large  and  small  pits  the  present  individual  agrees 
very  closely  with  the  type.     The  latter  is  from  the  Bridger  beds  on  Cottonwood 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA   FORMATION  159 

Creek,  in  Wyoming,  and  the  specimen  here  described  is  the  first  record  of  the  oc- 
currence of  this  species  in  the  Uinta  formation. 

A  second  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3330,  was  collected  by  Earl  Douglass  in  1908, 
near  the  region  of  Well  No.  2,  Uinta  Basin,  Uinta  County,  Utah.  It  comes  from 
the  Uinta  formation  (horizon  not  given)  and  consists  of  fragments  of  costal  plates 
having  sculptured  surfaces  which  are  identical  with  those  of  the  specimen  discussed 
above,  and  is  therefore  regarded  as  pertaining  to  the  present  species. 

Order  SQUAMATA. 

Suborder  SAURIA. 

Family  ANGUID.E. 

Genus  Glyptosaurus  Auct. 

19.  Glyptosaurus  sp.  indet. 

A  specimen,  C.  M.  No.  3405,  consisting  of  the  greater  part  of  the  parietal  with 
other  fragments  of  the  skull  and  lower  jaws,  and  a  few  shields,  is  identified  as  per- 
taining to  the  lizard-like  reptile  Glyptosaurus.  It  was  collected  by  0.  A.  Peterson, 
August  24,  1912,  on  White  River  near  Ouray,  Uinta  Basin,  Utah,  from  Horizon  C, 
Uinta  formation.  Upper  Eocene. 

The  few  osseous  shields  present  are  evidently  from  the  trunk  of  the  bod}\ 
These  are  oblong  quadrate,  with  a  smooth,  thinned  out  anterior  end,  which  is  over- 
lapped by  the  next  plate  of  the  series.  The  lateral  borders  are  roughened  for  sutural 
union.  The  external  surface,  excepting  the  smooth  area  mentioned  above,  is 
ornamented  with  small  rounded  tubercles  closely  arranged  in  more  or  less  con- 
centric rows.  The  cranial  shields  on  the  parietal  are  of  irregular  sizes  with  their 
surfaces  ornamented  much  in  the  same  manner  as  the  trunk-shields. 

This  specimen  may  represent  an  undescribed  species,  but  at  the  present  time, 
on  account  of  the  very  unsatisfactory  type  specimens  upon  which  the  nine  de- 
scribed species  have  been  based,  it  is  impossible  to  make  adequate  comparisons, 
so  that  the  specific  determination  of  the  present  specimen  must  await  the  thorough 
revision  of  the  species  of  the  genus.  It  is  of  interest,  however,  as  recording  for  the 
first  time  the  occurrence  of  the  genus  Glyptosaurus  in  the  Uinta  formation,  and  also 
from  the  fact  that  it  occurs  intermediate  geologically  between  the  oldest  known 
specimens  from  the  Bridger  described  by  Marsh,  and  the  youngest  specimen  dis- 
covered and  described  bj'  Douglass  from  the  Oligocene.** 

'Douglass,  Earl,  "Some  Oligoccnc  Lizards,"  Annals  of  the  Carnegie  Museum,  IV,  1908,  pp.  278-283. 


160  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    CARNEGIE    MUSEUM 

Nine  species  of  the  genus  have  been  described  from  the  deposits  of  North 
America.     Geologically  these  are  arranged  as  follows: 


Glyptosaurus  numlanus  Douglass. 

Lower  Wliite  River,  OUgocene. 

Glyptosaurus  sp.  indel. 

Uinta  formation,  Upper  Eocene. 

Glyptosaurus  sylvestris  Marsh. 

G.  nodosus  Marsh. 

G.  osceUatus  Marsh. 

G.  princeps  Marsh. 

G.  brevidens  Marsh. 

G.  rugosus  Marsh. 

G.  sphenodon  Marsh. 

G.  anceps  Marsh. 

Bridger,  Eocene. 

EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES. 

Plate  XVHI. 

Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Baena  arenosa  Leidy.     C.  M.  No.  2356.     One-half  natural  size. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  Baena  plahjplastra.     Type.     C.  M.  No.  3227.     One-third  natural  size'. 

Pl.\te  XIX. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Baena  inflata.     Tj-pe.     C.  M.  No.  3406. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-third  natural  size. 

Plate  XX. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Baena  gigantea.     Tj-pe.     C.  ]\I.  No.  3441. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-fourth  natural  size. 

Plate  XXI. 
Fig  1.     Carapace  of  Echmatemys  callopyge  Hay.     C.  M.  No.  2371. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-third  natural  size. 

Plate  XXII. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Echmatemxjs  douglassi.     Type.     C.  M.  No.  3244. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-third  natural  size. 

Plate  XXIII. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Echmatemys  hoUandi.     Type.     C.  M.  No.  3249.    Viewed  from  the 
right  side.     One-half  natural  size. 

Fig.  2.     Carapace  of  Echmatemys  depressa.     Type.     C.  'SI.  No.  2936.     Natural  size. 

Plate  XXIV. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Echmatemys  obscura.     Type.     C.  M.  No.  3252. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-third  natural  size. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII 


Plate  XVIII. 


1.  Cauai'.uk  of  Bdcna  (ircnosd  ]j:ii)v.     ( '.  M.  No.  2'.iM\.      X    '.. 

2,  Pl.vsthon  ok  Baaia  plalijpla.itrn  (iiLMOui;.     Type,  C.  M.  No.  3227.     X 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol 


Plate  XIX. 


1.  ("ahapack  of  Buciia  iiifhil, 


2.  Plasthon  ok  Do.     X  3. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII 


Plate  XX. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII 


Plate  XXI. 


1.  Carap.\ce  of  Echmatemys  callopyge  Hay.     C.  j\I.  No.  2371.     X  -3. 
2.  Plastron  of  same.     X  J. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXII. 


Erlninihiiujs  dduijUissi  (iiL.MOHi:.     Tvi-E,  ('.  M.  No.  :V2i.-i.      X 
2.  Pl.\stron  of  samk.     X  J. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXIIl. 


EchwnUmu^  holhnuli   ( ;ii,M(.iii:.      Tvi'i:.  ('.  M.  No.  3240.      X  \. 
Kchmnlrnui^  dvpn-ssa  (iiLMouK.     Tyim:,  V.  M.  No.  2930.      X  i- 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXIV. 


1.  Carapace  of  EchiiKilcnujs  obscura  Gilmokk.     Tvpk,  C.  M.  No.  3252.     X  ^■ 
2.     Plastron  of  same.     X  J. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  vil. 


Plate  XXV. 


1.  Pl.\.sti{o.\  ok  Hddridiius  corsoiti  (Lkidv).     ('.  M.  No.  o4U;i.      X  },. 

2.  Plastron  of  Hadrianus  robustus  Gilmuuk.     Type,  C.  M.  No.  3342. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII, 


Plate  XXVI. 


1.  I'l.AsTHoN  OF  Uddn'aiuts  utdhnisis  (liLMoui:.     Tvi-i:,  (".  M.  No.  2343.      X 

2.  C'AUAi'AtK  OK  Aiinjda  sciiliDiiiintiquuni  (Cope).     C.  M.  No.  3272.     X  {■ 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  VII. 


Plate  XXVII. 


1.  ('Aii.M'ALK  OF  Tctiliulo  }iinUusi.s  CiiLMOKi:.     Tvi'i;,  C.  M.  No.  SSol.     X  •'.. 
2.  Pl.\stro.\  of  same.     X  J. 


GILMORE:    the    fossil   turtles    of   the    UINTA    FORMATION  161 

Plate  XXV. 
Fig.  1.     Plastron  of  Hadrianus  corsoni  (Leidy).     C.  M.  No.  3403.     One-fifth  natural  size. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  Hadrianus  rohustus.     Type.     C.  j\I.  No.  3342.     One-third  natural  size. 

Plate  XXVI. 
Fig.  1.     Plastron  of  Hadrianus  utahensis.    Type.     C.  M.  No.  2343.     One-fourth  natural 
size. 

Fig.  2.     Carapace   of  Amyda  scutumantiquum    (Cope).     C.   M.   No.   3272.     One-fourth 
natural  size. 

Plate  XXVII. 
Fig.  1.     Carapace  of  Testudo  uintensis.    Type.     C.  M.  No.  2331. 
Fig.  2.     Plastron  of  the  same.     Both  figures  one-half  natural  size.