In the rivers and bayous of that remote period
there also lived many kinds of Unios or fresh-water clams, and other
shells, the casts of which are frequently found with Trachodon bones.
The fossil trunk of a coniferous tree was found in Wyoming, which was
filled with groups of wood-living shells similar to the living Teredo.
These also will be introduced in the ground-work.
"The skeleton mounted in a feeding posture was one of the principal
specimens in the Cope Collection, which, through the generosity of the
late President Jesup, was purchased and given to the American Museum.
It was found near the Moreau River, north of the Black Hills, South
Dakota, in 1882, by Dr. J.L. Wortman and Mr. R.S. Hill, collectors for
Professor Cope. The erect skeleton came from Crooked Creek, central
Montana, and was found by a ranchman, Mr. Oscar Hunter, while riding
through the bad lands with a companion in 1904. The specimen was
partly exposed, with backbone and ribs united in position. The parts
that were weathered out are much lighter in color than the other
bones. Their large size caused some discussion between the ranchmen
and to settle the question, Mr. Hunter dismounted and kicked off all
the tops of the vertebrae and rib-heads above ground, thereby proving
by their brittle nature that they were stone and not buffalo bones as
the other man contended. The proof was certainly conclusive, but it
was extremely exasperating to the subsequent collectors.
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