The Deseado Formation of PatagoniaLoomis, Frederic Brewster
Science
The Deseado Formation of Patagonia
Loomis, Frederic Brewster
Paleontology -- Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)
Lower dentition, total length 114 mm.
incisors, length 20 mm.
canine, length 8 mm.
premolar 2 to 4 35 mm.
molar 1 to 3 42 mm.
Mandible, total length 188 mm.
height under molar 1 24 mm.
height to top of coronoid 95 mm.
The dorsal vertebrae have short, wide, and somewhat depressed centra
(in this individual the epiphyses are free, though this is the only
indication of youth). The lower rib facets are small, that on the
posterior margin of the centrum being a mere streak, while the one
on the anterior margin is narrow. The upper rib facet is a rounded
convex surface on the end of a short stout transverse process. The
prezygapophyses are convex surfaces, wide transversely, but narrow
in the antero-posterior direction, while the postzygapophyses are
correspondingly narrow concave facets under the rear of the spines. The
spines are thin and high, and the neural canal is nearly circular in
section.
The lumbar vertebrae have laterally compressed, deep centra, with very
long transverse processes, shorting spines, and zygapophyses of the
subcylindrical interlocking type. In all their features the vertebrae
resemble those of _Theosodon_, being nearly as highly specialized and
in the same manner.
MEASUREMENTS OF TYPICAL VERTEBRAE
Dorsal vertebra No. 7, length 23 mm.
width of centrum 22 mm.
Dorsal vertebra No. 9, length 28 mm.
Lumbar vertebra No. 2, length 29 mm.
Lumbar vertebra No. 2, width of centrum 24 mm.
Lumbar vertebra No. 2, width across transverse processes 160 mm.
The femur is short and very stocky. The rounded head is carried
on a short neck, and does not rise nearly as high as the greater
trochanter, the sulcus for the round ligament being a broad, deep
notch on the posterior margin. The greater trochanter is rugose, heavy,
and high, but not incurved at the top. The lesser trochanter is a
small, thin ridge well below the head. The third trochanter is a large,
thin process, projecting almost directly backward, though curved inward
at the end, and is situated well below the middle of the bone. The
shaft of the femur is flattened above, but thick, and changes in the
lower part to subcylindrical. The condyles are small, subequal in size,
and widely separated, while the rotular trochlea is relatively wide and
shallow.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Left femur anterior side—½ natural size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Tibia and fibula (right)—½ natural size.]
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