vious to the publication of any of his Western material he contributed some important papers upon the fossil birds and reptiles from the Cretaceous of the East. In 1869 appeared 'Notice of some New Mosasauroid Reptiles from the Greensand of New Jersey,' 'Description of a New Gigantic Fossil Serpent (Dinophis grandis) from the Tertiary of New Jersey' and Notice of some Fossil Birds from the Cretaceous and Tertiary Formations of the United States.' In 1871 he gave a description of his trip through the Uinta Mountains and the Discovery of the Uinta Tertiary Formation, the uppermost member of the Eocene series. In May of this year he published a description of some new fossil serpents from the Tertiary deposits of Wyoming, and in June of the same year he gave notice of the discovery of the first remains of Pterodactyles that had ever been found in America. July of the same year he also published the first notice of Tertiary Mammals from the Western beds. In the following year, 1872, he was very active, and some of the most important discoveries of the long list to his credit followed in rapid succession.

In

It is quite impossible to give more than a brief list of his remarkable finds published during this and the succeeding years; the more important only must suffice. It appears astonishing, however, in the light of our present knowledge of the subject what a keen insight into their meaning and importance he possessed and of which he gave such distinctive evidence in his descriptions. In this year (1872) he proved beyond all doubt the existence of the Pterodactyles in this country, a group which hitherto had been regarded as entirely wanting in the western hemisphere; he described the first remains of the now famous toothed bird Hesperornis, although at this time, May, 1872, he did not know of its having possessed teeth. Among the Mosasauroid Reptiles he determined for the first time the following important points

in their structure: (1) position of the quadrate bone, (2) presence of the stapes, (3) presence of the collumella, (4) presence of the quadratoparietal arch, (5) presence of the malar arch, (6) the nature of the pterotic bone, (7) nature of the anterior limbs, (8) presence and nature of the posterior limbs and pelvis and (9) the number of the cervical vertebræ. He also announced in September of this year the discovery of Ichthyornis, the curious Cretaceous bird with biconcave vertebra. Just previous to this came a long list of new genera and species of fossil mammalia from the Bridger Eocene horizon of Wyoming, which, although briefly described, are of the most intense interest and the highest importance in tracing the ancestry of many living mammalian groups. One of the most important of these discoveries among the fossil mammals was the demonstration of the existence of Lemurs, or Primitive Primates, on this continent.

Of scarcely less importance were his contributions of the following year; early in February, 1873, he announced the discovery of teeth, in both jaws, of Ichthyornis dispar and established for it, on this account, a sub-class, Odontornithes. This discovery was of far-reaching importance and satisfactorily established the fact that many of the Cretaceous birds are transitional between living birds and reptiles. In this year he devoted much time and space to the consideration of the gigantic mammals of the Eocene, of which the first notices had been given by Leidy from a few fragmentary remains. To Marsh, however, belongs the credit of the final determination of their structure and affinities; he classified them in a separate and distinct order, Dinocerata, a name which has been very widely adopted by naturalists.

In March, 1874, came the discovery which has tended to give Professor Marsh a greater reputation than any other single piece of

work in his entire career. Various futile attempts had been previously made to trace the ancestry of the Modern Horse. Huxley and Kowalewsky in Europe had established the fact that mammals belonging to the equine stem were found in Europe in the early Pliocene and late Miocene, but their attempt to trace the line into any older formations signally failed. Shortly after this Professor Marsh pointed out the equine nature of his Bridger genus Orohippus, and was the first to show that the fossil forms of the American Continent furnished every conceivable link between the small polydactyle species of the Eocene and the modern horse. So strong, indeed, is the evidence of this descent that were there no other evidences of evolution to be found among the fossils this would be quite sufficient of itself to establish its truth. In May of this year he published an important paper setting forth these discoveries on the 'Fossil Horses in America.'

In 1875 he published additional discoveries among the Cretaceous birds, and determined for the first time that Hesperornis possessed teeth in both jaws. In the succeeding year a series of important papers appeared, giving the principal characters of the Dinocerata, Tillodontia, Brontotheridæ and Coryphodontia. Of this latter group he was the first to point out that they were very closely allied to a genus that was described by Owen as early as 1846 from a few fragmentary remains found in the Eocene of Europe, thus giving the first secure basis for a comparison of the older Eocene deposits of the two countries. In this year he was elected Vice-President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in the following year succeeded to the Presidency of the body. His address as the Vice-President upon the 'Introduction and Succession of Vertebrate Life in America' is a notable production and shows the wonderful knowledge he

possessed of the organization of the Vertebrates.

Some notable discoveries which marked the beginning of his extensive and important contributions to the knowledge of the extinct reptiles of the group Dinosauria from the Rocky Mountain region were published early in 1877. From this time on, almost up to the time of his death, one discovery after another pertaining to these weird gigantic creatures followed in rapid succession. This subject came to engross his attention more and more, and at the time of his death was the one in which he was the most deeply interested. In 1879 the first discovery of fossil Mammals from the Western Mesozoic was announced, and within the next few years a large number of genera and species were added to the list. His contributions to the subject constitute practically all we know of the American Jurassic Mammalia. In 1880 appeared his first important Monograph on the 'Extinct Toothed Birds of North America,' an important and beautifully illustrated volume published by the United States Geological Survey. In 1886 followed his second Monograph on the 'Dinocerata, An Extinct Order of Gigantic Mammals,' which served to bring together and present in extended form his many discoveries on this subject, a work which was likewise published by the Government Survey. In 1889 two discoveries of more than usual importance were made; one was the finding of a very extensive Cretaceous Mammalian fauna in the Laramie Beds of Wyoming, and the other the discovery of those curious horned Dinosaurs, the Ceratopsia, in the same deposits.

It would be impossible to give here even a list of his papers which have contributed so immensely to our knowledge of the extinct Reptilia. It is in this difficult group especially that his splendid knowledge will be so sadly missed, and it will, indeed, be

many years before any of the younger generation of paleontologists who survive him can hope to acquire the information of these various groups which he possessed. It was his intention and special desire to embody this knowledge in separate monographs, to be published by the eological

Survey, several of which were in an advanced state of completion at the time of his death. He had also projected extended works upon other groups. The volumes which he had mapped out and already done a considerable amount of work upon were as follows: The Sauropoda, Theropoda and Ornithopoda, to be in three separate volumes representing the three great divisions of the Dinosauria. Last year the Geological Survey issued a preliminary volume from him on the North American Dinosaurs. He also had a volume projected upon the Mesozoic Mammalia and one upon the Brontotheridæ.

The scientific world at large had a just appreciation of his merits, and he was largely. rewarded by many marks of distinguished consideration. He was elected a member of nearly every scientific society of note in Europe and America. In 1875 he was elected Vice-President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in the year following he became President. In 1877 he received the Bigsby Medal from the Geological Society of London for the most distinguished researches in geology and paleontology. In 1882 he was chosen President of the National Academy of Sciences, a position which he held for two terms of six years each. In the same year he was chosen Paleontologist of the U. S. Geological Survey, a position which he held for ten years. He was also made honorary Curator of Paleontology in the U. S. National Museum, and held this position at his death. In 1886 the University of Heidelberg conferred on him the degree of Ph.D., and in the same year Harvard gave him an

LL.D. Last year he was made a corresponding member of the French Academy, and later he was announced as the winner of the Cuvier prize, one of the most distinguished honors ever conferred upon an American professor.

In his younger days he was a man of tremendous energy and spent much of his time in the field exploring for fossils, frequently far from the outposts of civilization. These expeditions were often attended with many hardships, and at times no small amount of risk to his personal safety, but wherever a new field offered opportunities for adding something novel, calculated to advance the knowledge of his science, no expense, hardship or danger could deter him from undertaking its exploration. The methods of collecting and preparing these fossils for study and exhibition which he has introduced in the course of his long experience forms the basis very largely of all similar work in almost every paleontological laboratory of the world, and it is a matter of common remark that nearly all the noted collectors and preparateurs have received their training under his immediate influence.

The vast collections on this subject which he has brought together are without doubt the finest and most complete of any in the world, and, when properly installed and exhibited, will make a monument in every way worthy of the greatness of the man who dedicated his life and his fortune to its formation. The influence of his work for advancement in this department of knowledge has probably had no equal in any country, and it is to be hoped that his splendid example of unselfish devotion to the cause of education will not be allowed to go unheeded.

J. L. WORTMAN.

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK.

SOME MISAPPREHENSIONS AS TO THE

SIMPLIFIED NOMENCLATURE
OF ANATOMY.*

LET it not be interpreted as indifference to the honor of election to an office held by the lamented Joseph Leidy and Harrison Allen if I express even more profound gratification in another action of this Association at its meeting a year ago, viz., the adoption, without dissent, by such of the members as were sufficiently interested to attend, of the Report of the Majority of the Committee on Anatomical Nomenclature' (Proceedings, pp. 27-55).

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It was then my hope and expectation to lay aside that matter for a year in favor of others already too long deferred. Least of all did I contemplate making it the subject of the present address. The change of plan is due to considerations which may be summarized thus: As investigators our main purpose is to comprehend; as writers and teachers our first duty is to be clear; when, therefore, we have reason to believe that in the minds of our fellows there is obscurity upon a subject of common interest to which we have given particular attention we should avail ourselves of any special opportunity of elucidation, the imperativeness of this obligation being directly proportionate to the personal, professional and official importance of those who seem to need enlightenment.

When, therefore, it is announced that at this meeting the Association will be called upon, in respect to nomenclature, to reconsider its acts from the beginning' ('Minority Report,' p. 57); when those who make this announcement are among the original members of the Association and its only surviving past Presidents; when, upon both sides of the water, there have

* Address of the President at the opening of the eleventh annual session of the Association of American Anatomists, December 28, 1898.

+ F. H. Gerrish, Geo. S. Huntington and myself.

been published reports, articles, reviews and paragraphs in books* containing, however unintentionally, statements so inadequate, exaggerated, or even inaccurate, as to mislead those not themselves acquainted with the facts; and when, finally, it is probable that the facts are more familiar to me than to any other single individual, it becomes not merely my privilege, but my duty, to share my information with the members of this Association and with others interested who may have lacked the time or opportunity to gain it hitherto.

So numerous are the misapprehensions as to the nature of the simplified nomenclature and the purposes of its advocates that it is impossible to consider them all fully upon the present occasion; some, indeed, will be merely stated in the hope that such

*1. Verhandlungen der anatomischen Gesellschaft auf der neunten Versammlung, in Basel, April, 1895. Anat. Anzeiger; Ergänzungsheft zum X. Band; p. 162.

2. His, W.-Die anatomische Nomenclatur. Nomina anatomica. Verzeichniss der von der Anatomischen Gesellschaft auf ihrer IX. Versammlung in Basel angenommennen Namen. Eingeleitet und im Einverständniss mit dem Redactionsausschuss erlaütert. Archiv für Anatomie und Physiologie. Anat. Abth., Supplement Band, 1895. O., pp. 180; 27 figs., 2 plates, 1895; [pp. 6-7].

3. Herr Burt Wilder und die Anatomische Nomenclatur. Anat. Anzeiger, XII., 446-448, Oct. 30, 1896.

4. Kölliker, A. von.-Handbuch der Gewebelehre des Menschen. Sechste Auflage. Zweiter Band. Nervensystem des Menschen und der Thiere. O., pp. 874, 845 figs. Leipzig, 1896; [p. 814].

5. Dwight, Thomas.-Wilder's System der Nomenklatur. Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwickelungsgeschichte, 1897, pp. 471-479.

6. Baker, Frank.-Review of the foregoing. SCIENCE, VII., 715-716, May 28, 1898.

7. Baker, F., and Dwight, T.-Report of the Minority of the Committee on Anatomical Nomenclature. Proceedings of the tenth annual session of the Association of American Anatomists, December 28, 1897, pp. 55-57.

8. Reviews of Mills,' 'The Nervous System and its Diseases,' in various medical journals; 1898.

*

statements may carry their own correction. Certain points were presented two years ago. If, in a few instances, I repeat what I have previously published, precedent for so doing may be found in these words of Huxley :

"When objections are ignored without being refuted or even discussed, I suppose the best way is to emphasize them afresh." Zool. Soc. Proceedings, 1883, p. 139.

Misapprehension I. That the Majority Report' embodies the positive convictions of one member and the merely passive acquiescence of the other two.-Such an impression not only might be, but actually has been, produced by the Minority Report.' Nothing could be less accurate or just.

The members of this Association need only be reminded that the two other signers of the Majority Report' are among the more active of our associates; that they are writers, and are, or have been, practi

* Neural Terms, International and National, Journal of Comparative Neurology, VI., December, 1896, pp. 216-352, including seven tables. Parts VII.-IX. have also been reprinted under the title 'Table of Neural Terms, with Comments and Bibliography,' including also 'Suggestions to American Anatomists.' Copies of the entire paper and also of the Tables,' etc., were sent to all members of all committees on nomen

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clature, here and abroad, and to many other anatomists and neurologists. To them were also sent copies of the 'Table,' etc., and the latter was still more widely distributed to others more or less directly interested in the subject. My reprints of the entire paper are exhausted; of the Table,' etc., some copies remain that will be sent upon application. The larger part of the paper is contained in the lecture 'Some Neural Terms,' in 'Biological Lectures' [at the Marine Biological Laboratory] for 1896-7. The 'Errors and Omissions' detected in my Lists of Neural Terms have been corrected in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, VIII., pp. li-lii, July, 1898; a leaflet reprint has been inserted in copies of 'Neural Terms and of 'Table of Neural Terms' distributed since March 30, 1898, and will be sent upon request to those who received copies prior to that date.

†The succeeding misapprehensions will be designated simply by Roman numerals.

tioners; and that they are teachers of anat omy in long-established medical schools.

But even more significant in this connection is something best known to those who know them best. These men, in a notable degree, combine intellectual independence with liberality; in other words, they are conspicuously free from two qualities shared by the human species with certain other mammals, viz., uncritical imitation, on the one hand, and, on the other, hostility toward what appears to be new merely because they are personally unfamiliar with it.

With regard to the matter in question, as was expressly stated in the 'Majority Report' (p. 31, § 2, 5), port' (p. 31, § 2, 5), "with few exceptions the terms recommended had been adopted by each member individually, and prior to the conference at which joint action was taken."*

Notwithstanding the nature of their convictions, if the larger number of those in attendance at the present session decide to materially modify or even reverse the action of a year ago, the majority of your committee will offer no factious opposition. † They will, however, feel none the less proud of their work and confident of its eventual readoption. Their sentiments may be compared, although somewhat remotely, with those of the surgeon who had devised a new flap for amputation of the thigh. Upon the first trial, just as the operation was triumphantly completed, an overdose of chloroform killed the patient. "Too bad," said the surgeon, "but at any rate he'll go to heaven with the best flap that ever was made."

* For the complete appreciation of the situation it should perhaps be added that the two other signers of the Majority Report' were appointed on the Committee respectively by the two signers of the 'Minority Report' while serving as Presidents.

† At the closing session (December 30, 1898) of the eleventh meeting the second Report of the Majority of the Committee was adopted by the Association.