On the Affinities of Leptarctus primus of Leidy.
By J. L. Wortman.
AUTHOR’S EDITION, extracted from
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History,
Vol. VI, Article VIII, pp. 229–231.
New York, July 30, 1894.
Article VIII.—ON THE AFFINITIES OF LEPTARCTUS PRIMUS OF LEIDY.
By J. L. Wortman.
Up to the present time but very little has been known of the existence of the peculiarly American family Procyonidæ in any deposits older than the very latest Quaternary. Leidy has described and figured[1] an isolated last upper tooth, from the Loup Fork deposits of Nebraska, under the name of Leptarctus primus, which has been referred to this family. The Museum Expedition of last year into this region was successful in obtaining additional material, which we provisionally refer to Leidy’s species.
Leptarctus primus Leidy.
The specimen consists of the right ramus of the lower jaw, carrying the third and fourth premolars and the canine. The condyle is broken away, but the coronoid process and the angle are preserved. The specimen is from a young individual in which the last premolar had just cut the gum. The alveoli of all the other teeth are present and in a good state of preservation.