Leidy, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc., 1872, p. 169.--Cont. to Ext. Vert. Faun.
of Western Territories, p. 93.--Cope, Hayden's Survey, 1872, p.
580, etc.
Skull broader proportionally than in the other genera of the order,
ridged and possessing several concavities on the upper surface;
zygomas slender and but little curved; temporal fossæ comparatively
short and have well-defined superciliary margins. The cervical
vertebræ are rather long; the sacrum has four vertebræ; and the tail
is quite long, very flat and broad. The tibia has its proximal face
divided by a prominent ridge into two parts. The dental formula
for the upper jaw is: I. 0, C. 1, M. 6. The molars are small, and
increase from first to sixth. The last is much the largest; in it the
anterior lobe considerably exceeds the posterior in size, and there
may or may not be a tubercle at the entrance of the valley between
the lobes; but there is always one developed from the cingulum at the
posterior part of the tooth.
Uintatherium leidianum, _sp. nov._[3]
[Footnote 3: This species is respectfully dedicated to Dr. Joseph
Leidy, of Philadelphia. The specimens upon which it is established
were found on Dry Creek plateau.]
Established upon a head and nearly perfect skeleton of one
individual, and parts of two more.
In this species, as in most others of the sub-order, the nasals are
of immense length and thickness; they overhang the anterior nares,
and project considerably beyond the premaxillaries; they form more
than half of the entire length of the skull, articulating with the
frontals somewhat behind the orbits; the median suture is distinct
throughout. Instead of having an expanding shovel-shaped forward
projection, as in _Loxolophodon_, they narrow from the median osseous
projections (horn cores?) anteriorly. Above the muzzle they are
strongly curved from side to side, on their upper surface forming
a continuous arch; on the under surface of each bone is a deep
concavity, separated from its fellow by the sutural ridge, which
disappears forwards, near the extremity. On the upper surface of each
nasal, near the forward end, is a large osseous tuberosity which is
directed forwards and outwards; these processes are much smaller than
the corresponding ones in the _Loxolophodon_, while they are larger,
of different shape and direction from those in _Dinoceras_. In this
species they are divided throughout by a deep median groove, which
anteriorly becomes a fissure, and separates the extremities of the
nasals completely. In front of these tuberosities, the nasals taper
very rapidly, and end in sharp points which project downwards and
forwards; this portion of the bones is shorter, sharper, and projects
more decidedly downwards than in _Dinoceras_. Above and slightly
behind the sockets of the cranium, the nasals and maxillaries give
rise to the median pair of osseous projections. These are very
large, subtrihedral at the base, and project upwards, outwards, and
strongly forwards.
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