Chapter 44

[736]The fragments of this jaw that were preserved are now exhibited in the British Museum, in Room V.

In the fluviatile silt of the valley of the Ouse, near Lewes (Wond.p. 63), the skull of a Porpoise and a portion of the cranium, with the socket of the long straight tooth, of a Narwhal (Monodon monoceros), were found twelve feet beneath the surface of the soil.

The bones of an herbivorous Cetacean, theManatus, a genus now peculiar to the torrid zone, have been found in the eocene strata in various parts of France, associated with those of the Palæotheria and other extinct mammalia of the Paris basin.

ZEUGLODON.

Zeuglodon cetoides.Lign.249.[737]—The remains of a very remarkable Cetacean, of an extinct genus, were first made known by Dr. Harlan, of Philadelphia, who obtained a considerable portion of the jaws with teeth, vertebræ, and other bones of an animal of enormous size, from Alabama and Arkansas, United States. These relics were discovered in tertiary (eocene) limestone, associated with a marine shelly conglomerate, from a cliff near the bed of the river Owachita. When first observed, the bones extended along the face of the rock, with intervals between them, to the extent of one hundred feet, and the animal to which they belonged must have exceeded seventy feet in length. Dr. Harlan ascribed these bones to an unknown reptile, which he called Basilosaurus (king of the lizards); but a more correct investigation, by Professor Owen, proved their cetacean character, and the peculiar form of the worn molar teeth suggested the name ofZeuglodon(yoke-tooth).

[737]Owen,Geol. Trans.2d ser. vol. vi. p. 69, &c., plates vii. viii. ix.; Harlan’sMedical and Physical Researches, p. 337, &c.; Gibbes,Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, 2d ser. 1847, vol. i. pp. 5 and 16; Bulkley,Silliman's Journal, vol. xliv. p. 409; Carus,Nova Acta Cur. Nat.vol. xxii. pt. ii. 1848.

Lign. 249.Zeuglodon cetoides.Portion of the Jaw, with Teeth, and a Vertebra.Eocene.Alabama, United Slates.Fig.1.—Portion of the Upper Jaw, with three teeth:1/8nat.a.The exposed fang of a tooth.2.—Transverse section of the base of the crown of a tooth, showing the deep constriction in the middle:1/4nat.3.—A caudal vertebra:1/12nat.

Lign. 250. Teeth of Zeuglodon:1/2nat.Eocene.France and N. America.Fig.1.—Upper tooth ofZ. squalodon; from near Bordeaux.2.—Molar tooth ofZ. cetoides; from Alabama, United States.3.—Canine tooth ofZ. cetoides.

The teeth (Lign.250) are of two kinds, some having but one fang, and others two, implanted in separate sockets and placed obliquely in the jaw; they are of a compressed, conical form, with an obtuse apex, the crown being deeply conjugate, or contracted in the middle, as shown in the transverse section,Lign.249,fig.2. They are devoid of enamel, but the dentine is coated with cement, and their structure is decidedly mammalian; and a microscopical examination, Professor Owen states, incontestably proves their cetacean character. The longitudinal diameter of the middle tooth is three inches.

The vertebræ resemble those of the large cetacean known by the name ofHyperoodon; a caudal vertebra is figuredLign.249,fig.3. The original animal was related to the Dugong and Cacholot, and appears to have held an intermediate place between the latter and the herbivorous species.

FOSSIL RUMINANTS.

Lign. 251. Teeth of a Ruminant.Pleistocene.Gibraltar.Imbedded in a mass of the "osseous breccia."

II. Fossil Ruminants.(Owen’s Brit. Foss. Mam.p. 444,et seq.)—The fossil bones of animals of this order are very numerous in the alluvial deposits, in caves, and in pleistocene deposits, in almost every part of the world. They are generally associated with the remains of the next group. The skulls of Oxen, and horns and bones of the Bison and Auroch, have been found in North Cliff, Yorkshire, at Walton in Essex, and other parts of England. The fossil oxen appear to have been one-third larger than the recent species; and the horns are relatively more massive than in the domestic race; some of the horns measure four feet across, at the widest expansion. In the immense accumulations of large mammalia in the tertiary beds of the Sub-Himalayan or Siwalik range, numerous remains of oxenoccur. The teeth of one species are often found in the Elephant-bed at Brighton.

Of the Deer family the relics of several kinds have been discovered in Drift and Caverns. The cave of Kirkdale alone contained the remains of three species.[738]The bones of a species that cannot be distinguished from the common Bed Deer are found in the modern shell-marls of Scotland, associated with the remains of oxen, horse, boar, dog, wolf, and beaver. The bones and antlers of the Reindeer have been found at Brentford and other places (Brit. Foss. Mam.p. 479; andRep. Brit. Assoc.1851. Sect. p. 69). The ossiferous caverns, which contain bones of Carnivora, also yield those of Deer; as the caves of Kirkdale and Banwell, &c. in England, and the celebrated caverns of Muggendorf, on the Continent. A species of Musk-deer has been found at Epplesheim; and bones of deer are associated with those of the Dinotherium, in Rhenish Hesse, in late Tertiary deposits. The teeth and a lower jaw, with other bones, of a species of deer, were obtained from the Brighton Elephant bed (Wond.p. 114).

[738]The Rev. Dr. Buckland’sReliquiæ Diluvianæ; or, Observations on the Organic Remains found in Caves, Fissures, and Gravel; 1 vol. 4to. 1823, pl. viii. and ix.

The most celebrated fossil animal of this family is the Gigantic Stag or Deer of Ireland (seePetrif.p. 455;Wond.p. 132), whose bones and antlers are found in immense quantities in superficial marl, in Ireland, in the Isle of Man, and occasionally in England. (Geol. Journ. vol. iv. p. 42.) A skeleton that was found, almost entire, in marl abounding in fresh-water shells, at the depth of twenty feet, is six feet high, nine feet long, and nine and a half feet in height, to the top of the right horn. Some antlers are so large, that the interspace from one point to the other exceeds twelve feet.[739]

[739]SeePict. Atlas, pl. lxxi.; a good figure of the skeleton of the fossil Irish Deer is given in the Penny Cyclopædia, vol. viii. p. 364; for a detailed account of this gigantic animal, see Owen’sFoss. Brit. Mammalia, p. 444, andCharlesworth’s Journal, p. 87.

TheGiraffe, the tallest of known quadrupeds, and now restricted to the deserts of Africa, was once a native of Europe and Asia, for fossil bones of a species of this remarkable ruminant have been found at Issoudun, in France, and in the Siwalik mountains, with several varieties of Elk and Deer.

Of theCamel, the only ruminant with incisor teeth in the upper jaw, a gigantic species has been discovered by Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley, in the Siwalik range.

Lign. 252. Bones of the Feet of Horse, Deer, and Anoplotherium.Fig.1.—Fore-foot of theHorse.2.—Deer.3.—Anoplotherium gracile.m, m.Metacarpal bones ("canon-bone" in the Horse.)s,in fig. 1, the "splint-bone," or rudimentary metacarpal.p, p.First or proximal phalangeal-bones ("pastern" in the Horse).p2, p2.Second phalangeals ("coronet" or "crown-bone" in the Horse).u, u.Unguals, or bones of the hoof ("coffin-bone" in the Horse).

In this category we must notice another most interesting discovery of the indefatigable and eminent naturalists abovementioned, namely, theSivatherium(seeWond.p. 163), an extinct animal, which forms, as it were, a link between the ruminants and the large pachydermata. The skull has four persistent horns, and was furnished with a nasal proboscis. The living creature must have resembled an immense Antelope or Gnu, with a short thick head and an elevated cranium, crested with two pairs of horns. A splendid specimen of the skull of theSivatheriumhas been placed in the palæontological collection of the British Museum by Dr. Falconer (Petrif.p. 456,Lign.98).

ELEPHANT. MASTODON.

III. Pachydermata.[740]—The fossil remains of this order of mammalia are most abundant, and belong to numerous species, comprising many extinct genera of a highly interesting character. See Pictet’sPaléontologie, new edit. 1853, vol. i. p. 127,et seq.

[740]See Owen on the Classification of the Pachydermata,Quart. Geol. Journ.vol. iv. p. 127, &c.

Lign. 253. Elephas Ganesa.Front view of the Cranium and Tusks.(The original is 14 feet long.)

Fossil Elephants and Mastodons.Lign.253, 254, 258-260.Owen’s Hist. Brit. Foss. Mam.p. 217, &c.;Wond.pp. 147, 157.—The bones,teeth, and tusks of Elephants, equal in magnitude to, and distinct from the existing African and Asiatic species, are scattered throughout the superficial alluvial and pleistocene accumulations of Europe.

Lign. 254. Mastodon giganteus.Unworn Molar Tooth:1/3nat. size.Upper Tertiary.Banks of the Hudson, N. America.

The fossil bones and teeth (Pict. Atlas, pl. lxxi. lxxiv.) of these gigantic animals are so abundant, that examples may be found in all the provincial, and in most private collections; and the British Museum possesses an unrivalled series of specimens of both groups of these colossal herbivorous mammalia, namely, the Elephants properly so called and the Mastodons (Petrif.pp. 463, 471). It contains an invaluable series of specimens from the Siwalik hills, presented by Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer (Petrif.p. 469); amongst which are remains in which the dental organs present every modification of structure, from that of the mastoid tubercles of the tooth of the Mastodon, to the vertical laminæ of cement, enamel, and dentine of the Elephant. The Museum also possesses the entire skeleton of the Mastodon (Petrif.Lign.107) formerly exhibited by M. Koch,as well as the fine suite of jaws and teeth obtained by the same indefatigable collector. This collection demonstrates that all the bones and teeth, apparently of several species, and, as some have supposed, of distinct genera, belong but to the one grand Mastodon—theM. giganteusof Cuvier; it also clearly proves that the young mastodon had a pair of tusks placed horizontally in the lower jaw; and that but one of these tusks became developed in the adult, and that only in the male.[741]

[741]This remarkable circumstance, in the infancy of palæontological science, gave rise to a very venial error; it was made to constitute the character of a new genus, to which the nameTetracaulodonwas applied.

It is therefore unnecessary to enlarge upon this subject, for an inspection of a few specimens will afford the student a clearer insight into the structure of the skeletons and teeth of these animals than any description. The form of the teeth, and the disposition of the dental elements, are illustrated inWond.p. 143, andLy.p. 159.

DINOTHERIUM.

Dinotherium.Petrif.p. 474;Wond.p. 173;Bd.i. p. 135, pl. ii.—At Epplesheim, forty miles north-east of Darmstadt, in beds of sand and marl of the median Tertiary formations, the jaws, teeth, skull, and other remains of the Dinothere, one of the most gigantic of terrestrial mammalians, have been discovered; they are preserved in the museum at Darmstadt. The length of the largest species is estimated at eighteen feet. The teeth had previously been found in France, Bavaria, and Austria; and, from their close analogy to those of the Tapir, were described by Cuvier as belonging to an extinct colossal animal of that genus. But subsequent discoveries have shown that theDinotheriumwas probably a proboscideal animal, and had two large curved tusks directed downwards in the anterior extremity of the lower jaw.[742]

[742]There are some fine specimens, and good models of the Darmstadt specimens, in the British Museum (Petrif.p. 474).

Lign. 255. Anoplotherium Commune.Eocene Tertiary. Montmartre.Restored outline of the animal; after Cuvier.(The original was about the size of an Ass.)

CUVIERIAN PACHYDERMS.

Cuvierian Pachyderms.Lign.255,256.Owen’s Brit. Foss. Mam.p. 299, &c.;Wond.p. 254;Bd.i. p. 81;Petrif.p. 475.—A large proportion of the numerous bones and teeth which are found in the Tertiary gypseous deposits at Montmartre, near Paris, are referable to the several extinct genera of Pachydermata, which the genius of Cuvier first made known. ThePalæotheriaandAnoplotheriamust be familiar to the intelligent reader, for the restored outlines of several species are appended to almost every work that treats of the ancient inhabitants of our globe. The details of their anatomical characters are given at length inOss. Foss.tom. iii., illustrated with numerous plates.

ThePalæotheria(Brit. Foss. Mam.p. 316,et seq.) resembled the Tapirs in their head and short proboscis, while their molar teeth approached those of the Rhinoceros, and their feet were divided into three toes, instead of four, as in the Tapirs. Upwards of eleven species have been discovered, varying from the size of the Rhinoceros to that of the Hog. Their remains are extensively diffused in the Upper Eocene strata in various parts of France; and have been found in the Isle of Wight.

TheLophiodon(crested-tooth), a genus distinguished from the former by the characters of the teeth, which more nearly resemble those of the Tapirs, comprehends twelve species, all found in the fresh-water Tertiary marls of France. A canine tooth of a species ofLophiodonwas found in the London Clay, in sinking a well on Sydenham Common, near the railway.[743]

[743]See Mr. Douglas Allport’s interestingHistory of Camberwell, p. 17, and Owen’sBrit. Foss. Mam.p. 306.

TheAnoplotheriahave two characters not observed in any other animal, namely feet with two toes (seeLign.252), the metacarpal and metatarsal bones of which do not unite into a single piece, as is the case in the ruminants; and teeth placed in a continued series without any intervalbetween them (Petrif.Lign.111); man alone has the teeth arranged in the same manner. I subjoin figures of molar teeth ofPalæotheriumandAnoplotherium(Lign.256).

Lign. 256. Teeth of Palæotherium and Anoplotherium.Upper Eocene.Isle of Wight and Montmartre.Fig.1.—Upper molar tooth (external surface) ofPalæotherium magnum.Binstead.2.—Lower molar ofPalæotherium magnum.3.—Grinding surface of first upper molar ofAnoplotherium secundarium.Binstead.4.—Inner side view of right upper canine ofAnoplotherium commune.5.—Upper molar ofAnoplotherium commune.Montmartre.6.—Lower molar of the same animal.

There are also sub-genera, as for example,XiphodonandDichobune, characterized by peculiarities of dental and osteological structure; andAnthracotherium(so named from two species having been found in a bed of Anthracite or Lignite, near Savone), a genus intermediate between the Palæotheria and Hogs. The skeletons of these remarkableanimals are imbedded with the remains of carnivora, marsupialia, bats, birds, crocodiles, tortoises, and fishes.

In England, no remains of the extinct Pachydermata of the Paris Tertiary strata were discovered until a few years since, and they are still exceedingly rare. There have been found in the fresh-water limestone at Binstead, near Ryde, and at Seafield, Isle of Wight, (seeGeol. I. Wight, 1854, Prefat. Note,) teeth and portions of the jaws of two species of Anoplotherium, four of Palæotherium, and one ofChæropotamus, an animal allied to the Hog Tribe (Geol. Trans.2d ser. vol. vi. pl. iv.; andBrit. Foss. Mam.p. 413, &c.).

TheHyopotamus(Lign.257) is a genus of Anthracotherioid pachyderms, two species of which have been determined by Prof. Owen (Quart. Geol. Journ.vol. iv. p. 103, &c.), from specimens of teeth found in the upper eocene of the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, by the Marchioness of Hastings.

ThePalæotherium,Dichobune,Dichodon,Paloplotherium, and others occur in the upper eocene fresh-water deposits of Hordwell Cliff (seeCharlesworth’s Journal, No. 1, p. 5, and pl. ii.;Quart. Geol. Journ.vol. iv. p. 17, and pl. iii.; andRep. Brit. Assoc.1851,sect.p. 67).

Two species of a new genus, intermediate between the Hog and the Hyrax, named by Professor OwenHyracotherium, have been discovered in the eocene sands at Kyson, in Suffolk, and in the London Clay of the cliffs at Studd Hill, about a mile to the west of Herne Bay.[744]The latter specimen consists of a mutilated skull, about the size of that of a Hare, with the molar teeth perfect.

[744]Geol. Trans. 2d ser. vol. vi. pl. xxi. p. 203; andBrit. Foss. Mam.p. 419, &c.

ThePaloplotherium, an allied genus, from Hordwell Cliff, is described inGeol. Journ.vol. iv. p. 103.

The other large fossil Pachyderms, belonging to the two existing genera of Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus, are foundvery extensively distributed in alluvial debris, in the ossiferous breccia of caverns, and in other pleistocene deposits; and their remains are frequently dug up in the superficial marls, clays, gravel, and sand of England. As the teeth of these animals will occasionally be met with by the collector, a brief explanation of their form and structure may be useful.

Lign. 257. Hyopotamus.Incisor Teeth:nat. size.Upper Eocene.Isle of Wight.Fig.1.—Inner surface of an incisor ofHyopotamus.3.—Lateral view of an upper incisor ofHyopotamus.4.—Outer aspect of the crown of the same tooth.5.—Inner aspect of ditto.2.—Lateral view of the upper incisor of recent Hog (Sus scrofa).(These figures are from plate vii.Quart. Geol. Journ.vol. iv.; but the drawings have been accidentally reversed.)

TEETH OF MAMMALIA.

Teeth of Mammalia.[745]—The organization of the teeth in the herbivorous mammalia essentially consists in the adaptation of the three elements of dental structure to the peculiar conditions required by the habits and economy of the different species. Thus, in the Elephant (Lign.259, 260), Horse (Lign.263), &c., the dentine, cement, and enamel are disposed in vertical plates more or less inflected, the enamel and cement penetrating the body of the tooth, and embracing corresponding processes of dentine; an arrangement by which a grinding surface, composed of three substances of unequal densities, is produced and maintained in every state of detrition (Owen). But these teeth do not possess the symmetrical and complicated structure observable in those of many of the reptiles and fishes we have previously investigated. In the carnivorous mammalia, the enamel constitutes an external shell or case, investing the body of dentine and presenting sharp cusps or trenchant ridges, adapted for the laceration of flesh, as in the Tiger, or modified so as to form instruments for snapping and crushing bones, as in the teeth of the Hyæna. In the Mastodon, the crown of the tooth, when first emerged from the gum, presents a series of strong conical eminences (Lign.254), that become worn down by use, at first into disks (Ly.p. 157), which, by further detrition, coalesce. The tooth of the Elephant (Lign.259 and 260), on the contrary, consists of vertical plates of dentine, with an immediate investment of enamel, over which there is an external layer of cement that binds together the entire series of plates, often amounting to twenty or more; the horizontal surface produced by the detrition of such a structure, gives rise to the well-knowngrinding surface of the molars of the elephant (Lign.259, 260;Wond.pp. 143 and 160;Ly.p. 159; OwensBrit. Foss. Mam.figs. 88-90, &c.). Detached plates of the teeth of Elephants, particularly of those which belong to the back part of the posterior grinder, and have not come into use, are puzzling to the inexperienced collector of fossil remains; and the first indication I obtained of the existence of the remains of fossil Elephants in Brighton Cliffs (Wond.p. 150), was from a mass of this kind, dug up in sinking a well in Dorset Gardens, and sent to me as a "petrified cauliflower."

[745]For the minute structure of the dental organs, the modes of dentition prevalent in the mammalia, and the homologies of the teeth, we must refer to Prof. Owen’s often-quoted works, the matchlessOdontography, and the lucid and compendious Article on Teeth, in theCyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology.

Lign. 258.Tooth of Mastodon elephantoides:1/6nat. size.Upper Tertiary.Ava, Burmah.

Lign. 259.Tooth of Elephas primigenius:1/6nat. size.Upper Tertiary.Big-bone-lick. N. America.

Lign. 260. Teeth of Elephants:1/6nat. size.The grinding surfaces of the teeth exhibit the arrangement of the bands of enamel, which have an analogous, but somewhat different distribution in the teeth of the different species of Elephant.Fig.1.—The worn surface of a molar tooth of the African Elephant.2.—That of the Fossil Elephant or Mammoth (Elephas primigenius).3.—That of the Asiatic Elephant.

HIPPOPOTAMUS.

Lign. 261. Fossil Molar Teeth of Hippopotamus:2/3nat.Pleistocene.Fig.1.—Grinding surface of a molar tooth, with the cusps partially worn away.Kent’s Cavern, Devonshire.2.—Perfect molar tooth, seen laterally.Hertfordshire.

I subjoin (Lign.261,fig.1) a figure of the crown of a fossil molar tooth of a Hippopotamus, from Kent’s Cavern, Devonshire; in this specimen the summits of the cusps are worn down by use; and another,fig.2, representing a perfect molar, with the conical cusps of the crown entire, found in Hertfordshire by W. D. Saull, Esq. The form of the worn surfaces of the molars of the Rhinoceros,[746]is shownin two different stages in the fossil teeth representedLign.262. Sir C. Lyell has given figures of the teeth of the Horse, Ox, Deer, &c. (Ly.p. 160); but teeth of the recent species are so readily obtained, and so much more instructive, that I would recommend the student to procure teeth of the domestic herbivorous, carnivorous, and rodent animals, and preserve them in his cabinet as objects for comparison with the fossil mammalian teeth he may discover (seePict. Atlas, pl. lxxii.).

[746]See Translation of a Memoir by Giebel on the fossil remains of Rhinoceros in theQuart. Journ. Geol. Soc.vol. viii. part ii. p. 9, &c.

Lign. 262. Fossil Molar Tooth of Rhinoceros:2/3nat.Pleistocene.Fig.1.—A molar tooth much worn down by use; with the fangs nearly perfect.In gravel; Petteridge Common, Surrey.2.—Large molar, very much worn by use; the fangs broken off.

HORSE.

Fossil Horse.Lign.263; and Owen’sBrit. Foss. Mam.p. 383,et seq.—The bones and teeth of one or more species of this widely distributed genus are found in the alluvium, in osseous breccia, and in caverns in numerous localities in Europe, Asia, and America. The teeth and bones of thehorse are often met with in the Elephant-bed in Brighton cliffs; they are referable to a small species, about the size of a Shetland pony. The blue alluvial clay or silt of our existing river-valleys contains abundance of the remains of a horse not distinguishable from the recent.

Lign. 263. Teeth of Fossil Horse:nat. size.Pleistocene.England.Fig.1.—Right lower canine tooth of youngEquus plicidens; from the Cave at Oreston (Owen’sFoss. Mam.p. 394).2.—Upper molar of a fossil Horse; from theElephant-bedof Brighton Cliffs.

In the Siwalik hills, collocated with the gigantic pachydermata, ruminants, and carnivora, the remains of two or more species of Horse have been discovered. One form (Hippotherium) is remarkably distinguished from any previously known by the extreme length and slenderness of its I legs, in which respect it must have closely resembled the Antelope; it did not surpass in size the common Deer.

IV. Fossil Edentata.Petrif.p. 476.—The remains of extinct colossal mammalia, related to the existing diminutiveSlothsin the essential characters of their organization, but modified to suit the peculiar conditions in which they were placed and the enormous increase in bulk of their colossal frames, are strewn all over the vast area of those alluvial plains of South America, called thePampas(Wond.p. 164). The deposits of these regions[747]consist of—1. Beds of clay, sand, and limestone, containing marine shells and teeth of sharks; these are the lowermost strata. 2. Indurated marl. 3. Red clayey earth with calcareous concretions, in which the bones of colossal terrestrial mammalia are abundant. This vertical section demonstrates, that an extensive bay of salt-water was gradually encroached upon, and at length converted into a muddy estuary, by detritus brought down from the interior of the country, and in which carcases of land-animals floated and ultimately became engulphed in the silt. It is in these last deposits, which now form the immediate subsoil of the Pampas, that the teeth of theMegatherium,Mylodon,Glyptodon,Mastodon,Horse, &c. have been found.[748]

[747]See "Buenos Ayres," &c., by Sir Woodbine Parish, 1852, pp. 209-223.[748]See the charming volume entitled, "Journal of the Voyage of H. M. S.Beagle," by Charles Darwin, Esq; see also Prof. Owen’s descriptions in the "Zoology of theBeagle," and his Report, laid before the British Association in 1847.

[747]See "Buenos Ayres," &c., by Sir Woodbine Parish, 1852, pp. 209-223.

[748]See the charming volume entitled, "Journal of the Voyage of H. M. S.Beagle," by Charles Darwin, Esq; see also Prof. Owen’s descriptions in the "Zoology of theBeagle," and his Report, laid before the British Association in 1847.

TheMegatherium(Petrif.p. 478,Lign.112, 113;Wond.p. 167;Bd.p. 139, and pl. v.) is the best known to the general reader, from the graphic exposition of its configuration and habits by Dr. Buckland, and the splendid remains of its skeleton presented to the Hunterian Museum by Sir Woodbine Parish; but this animal is only one of several species ofEdentata, equally interesting, and almost rivalling it in magnitude, which the labours of our own naturalists, Sir W. Parish, Mr. Darwin, and Mr. Pentland,and of Dr. Lund and other foreign savants, have brought to light. I can only advert to two other genera, namely, theGlyptodonandMylodon.[749]

[749]An able memoir in the Penny Cyclopædia, Art.Megatheridæ, and another under the title "Unau," will present the student with an epitome of all that is at present known of these extinct beings.

GLYPTODON.

Glyptodon(sculptured-tooth)clavipes.Lign.264.—The bony tesselated carapace, or shield, which was formerly assigned to the Megatherium (Bd.i. p. 159) has been proved,[750]by the discovery of other specimens, to belong to a gigantic animal, whose bones are occasionally found associated with those of the Megatherium, and which is closely allied to the Armadillo. This discovery was made by my friend, Sir Woodbine Parish, to whose indefatigable exertions the Hunterian Museum is indebted for its most splendid relics of fossil Edentata.[751]The bony dermal coat of the Glyptodon (a fine specimen of which is in the Hunterian Museum) was not disposed in rings as in the Armadillo, but is made up of polygonal pieces, accurately articulating with each other, and continuous over the whole of the upper part of the body and part of the tail; the tail also is enclosed in a case of this kind, like a sword in its scabbard (Petrif.p. 359,Lign.75).

[750]SeeGeol. Trans.1835, p. 438, &c.; and Prof. Owen’s elaborate Memoir on the Glyptodon inGeol. Trans.2d ser. p. 81, pl. x. xiii.[751]A restored figure of the Glyptodon, together with the skeletons of the Megathere and the Mylodon, are beautifully illustrated in the interesting volume on "Buenos Ayres and the Provinces of Rio de la Plata." 2d Edit. By Sir Woodbine Parish, K. C. H. &c.

[750]SeeGeol. Trans.1835, p. 438, &c.; and Prof. Owen’s elaborate Memoir on the Glyptodon inGeol. Trans.2d ser. p. 81, pl. x. xiii.

[751]A restored figure of the Glyptodon, together with the skeletons of the Megathere and the Mylodon, are beautifully illustrated in the interesting volume on "Buenos Ayres and the Provinces of Rio de la Plata." 2d Edit. By Sir Woodbine Parish, K. C. H. &c.

The teeth of this animal, which are eight in number on each side of each jaw, are sculptured laterally, by two wide and deep channels (Lign.264,fig.1), which divide the grinding surface of the tooth into three portions (Lign.264,fig.2). The hind foot is very peculiar (seeLign.264,fig.3), presenting an extreme modification of the same general plan of structure as that of the Armadillo. Theskeleton of this animal constitutes the type of a distinct genus (Glyptodon), related to the Armadillo (Dasypus).

Lign. 264. Glyptodon clavipes.Tooth and Bones of the Left Foot of a colossal Quadruped allied to the Armadillo (reduced size).Pleistocene, near Monte Video.Fig.1.—Side view of a tooth, showing the deep lateral channels. The original four inches long.2.—Grinding surface of the same.3.—Outside view of the left hind-foot. Length of the original about fourteen inches, from the heel to the toe.(From the Geol. Trans. 2d. ser. vol. vi. pl. x.)

Back to Index Next