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Wherein O. C. Marsh announces the discovery of a bird from theCretaceous of Kansas. Unfortunately, although the toothedlowerjaws were found with the rest of the skeleton, Marsh concluded that they belonged toan as-yet undescribed marine reptile. See: Marsh, O. C., 1872.Noticeof a new reptile from the Cretaceous. American Journal of Science, series 3,4(23):406. It was several months later when Marsh finally realized that the jaws were partof the bird remains (Marsh, 1873).

344 O. C. Marsh - New Fossil Bird.

Notice of a New and Remarkable Fossil Bird; by O. C. MARSH.

One of the most interesting of recent discoveries in Paleontology is the skeleton of a fossil bird, found, during the past summer, in the upper Cretaceous shale of Kansas, byProf. B. F. Mudge, who has kindly sent the specimen to me for examination. The remains indicate an aquatic bird, about as large as a pigeon, and differing widely from all known birds in havingbiconcave vertebræ.The cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebræ preserved all show this character, the ends of the centra resembling those inPlesiosaurus. The rest of the skeleton presents no marked deviation from the ordinary avian type. The wings were large in proportion to the posterior extremities. The humerus is 58.6 mm. in length, and has the radial crest strongly developed. The femur is small, and has the proximal end compressed transversely. The tibia is slender, and 44.5 mm. long. Its distal end is incurved, as in swimming birds, has no supratendinal ridge. This species may be calledIchthyornis dispar. A complete description will appear in an early number of this journal.

Yale College, Sept. 26th, 1872.

The teeth and manner of replacement was described in: Marsh, O. C., 1883.Birds with Teeth. 3rd Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior, 3: 43-88. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, D.C., page 73:

"In the lower teeth ofIchthyornis, the pulp-cavity passes well up into thebase of the crown. The fang is compressed, and directed downward and forward. It is firmlyset in a deep socket, which it nearly or quite fills. The dental succession took placevertically, as in Crocodiles and Dinosaurs; not laterally as inHesperornis andthe Mosasaurs, a fact of no little significance. The young teeth are much inclined whenthey first appear above the jaw, after the old teeth have been expelled."

Bühler, P., L. D. Martin and L. M. Witmer. 1988. Cranial kinesis inthe Late Cretaceous birdsHesperornis andParahesperornis. Auk 105 p.111-122.

Gingerich, P. D. 1973. Skull of Hesperornis and early evolution ofbirds. Nature 243: 70-73

Gregory, J. T. 1951. Convergent evolution: The jaws ofHesperornis andthe mosasaurs, Evolution, 5:345-354.

Lane, H. H. 1946, A survey of the fossil vertebrates of Kansas, PartIV, The Birds, Kansas Academy Science, Transactions 49(4):390-400.

Lucas, S. G.1982.Ichthyornis in the Late Cretaceous MancosShale (Juana Lopez Member), Northwest New Mexico. Journal of Paleontology 56(2):545-547.

Marsh, O. C.1870. [Cretaceous and Tertiary birds of the U.S.] Nature(London), 1:546.

Marsh, O. C. 1872. Preliminary description ofHesperornis regalis,with notices of four other new species of Cretaceous birds. American Journal of Science,series 3, 3(17):360-365.

Marsh, O. C. 1873. Fossil birds from the Cretaceous of North America.American Journal of Science, series 3, 5(27):229-231.

Marsh, O. C. 1875. On the Odontornithes, or birds with teeth. AmericanJournal of Science, series 3, 10(59):403-408, pl. 9-10.

Marsh, O. C. 1875. Odontornithes, or birds with teeth. AmericanNaturalist. 9(12):625-631, pl. 2-3.

Marsh, O. C. 1883. Birds with Teeth. 3rd Annual Report of theSecretary of the Interior, 3: 43-88. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Martin, J. E. 1982. The occurrence ofHesperornis in the lateCretaceous Niobrara Formation of South Dakota. Proceedings South Dakota Academy of Science

Martin, L. D. 1981. The skeleton ofBaptornis advenus fromthe Cretaceous of Kansas, Smithsonian Contributions Paleobiology 27:36-66.

Martin, L. D. 1984. A new hesperornithid and the relationships of theMesozoic birds. Kansas Academy Science, Transactions 87:141-150.

Martin, L. D., and J. D. Stewart. 1977. Teeth inIchthyornis(Class: Aves). Science, 185(4284):1331-1332.

Martin, L. D. and J. D. Stewart. 1982. An ichthyornithiform bird fromthe Campanian of Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 324-327.

Martin, L. D. and J. D. Stewart.1996. Implantation and replacement of birdteeth. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 89:295-300.

Walker, M. V. 1967. Revival of interest in the toothed birds ofKansas. Kansas Academy of Science, Transactions 70(1):60-66.

Williston, S. W. 1898.Birds. The UniversityGeological Survey of Kansas, Part II, 4:43-53, pls.5-8.

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