ee of CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell ial Library a 43.C17 18 Min olin GAYLORD PRINTEDINU.S.A Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024535522 THE CAMBRIDGE NATURAL HISTORY EDITED BY S. F. HARMER, Sc.D., F.R.S., Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge ; Superintendent of the University Museum of Zoology AND A. E. SHIPLEY, M.A., Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge ; University Lecturer on the Morphology of Invertebrates VOLUME X MAMMALIA By FRANK Evers BEpDDARD, M.A. (Oxon.), F.R.S., Vice- Secretary and Prosector of the Zoological Society of London. London MACMILLAN AND CO, LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1902 ay All rights reserved Sb “« And also as it come vnto my mynde, Off bestis sawe I mony diuerss kynde. The lyoun king, and his fere lyonesse, The pantere, like vnto the smaragdyne, The lytill sqerell, full of besynesse, The slawe ass, the druggar-beste of pyne, The nyce ape, the werely porpapyne, The pereyng lynx, the lufar vnicorne The fery tigere, full of felonye, The dromydare, the standar oliphant.” From The Kingis Quhair, JAMEs I. (of Scotland). PREFACE INasMucH as Sir W. H. Flower and Mr. Lydekker could not profess to treat the Mammalia exhaustively within the limits of nearly 800 pages, in their Introduction to the Study of Mammals, it is obvious that the present volume, which appears ten years later and is of rather less size, can contain but a selec- tion of the enormous mass of facts at the disposal of the student of this group. Thus the chief question for myself was what to select and what to leave aside. It will be observed that I have reduced the pages of this book to conformity with those of other volumes of the series by treating some groups more brietly than others. It has appeared to me to be desirable to treat fully such groups as the Edentata and the Marsupialia, and permissible to be more brief in dealing with such huge Orders as those of the Rodentia and Chiroptera. Lengthy disquisitions upon such familiar and comparatively uninteresting animals as the Lion and Leopard have been curtailed, and the space thus saved has been devoted to shorter and more numerous accounts of other creatures. As there are nearly six hundred genera of living Mammals known to science, omission as well as compression became an absolute necessity. I have given, I hope, adequate treatment from the standpoint of a necessarily limited treatise to the majority of the more important genera of Mammals both living and extinct; but the length of this part of the book had to be increased by the dis- coveries, which give me at once an advantage and a disadvantage as compared with the two authors whose names I have quoted, of a considerable number of important new types in the last ten years. vi PREFACE Such forms as Notoryctes, Romerolagus, Cuenolestes, “ Neomylodon,” and Ocapia could not possibly have been omitted. In preparing my accounts of both living and extinct forms T have nearly invariably consulted the original authorities, and have often supplemented or verified these accounts by my own dissections at the Zoological Society’s Gardens. My rule has not, however, been invariable in this matter, inasmuch as there exist two recent and trustworthy text-books of Mammalian Palaeontology —Professor Zittel’s Handbuch der Palaeontologic, and Dr. A. Smith Woodward’s manual, Outlines of Vertebrate Palaeontology, in the Cambridge Biological Series. Where the name of a genus only or its range, or merely one or two facts about it, are mentioned, I have not thought it necessary to go further than these two works. But a good deal-has been done even since the appear- ance of these two volumes which it will be found that I have not ignored. I have to thank my editors for the trouble which they have taken in the revision of the proofs and for many suggestions. To Professor Osborn, of Columbia University, New York, I am indebted for some kind suggestions. My daughter Iris has assisted me in various ways. Finally, I desire to express my indebtedness to Mr. Dixon and to Mr. M. P. Parker for the care which they have taken in the preparation of the figures which were drawn by them especially for this work. FRANK E. BEDDARD. Lonpon, February 28, 1902. CONTENTS PREFACE SCHEME OF THE CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED IN THIS Book CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER II STRUCTURE AND PresENr DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAMMALIA CHAPTER, III Tue PossIBLE FORERUNNERS OF THE MAMMALIA CHAPTER IV THe Dawn oF MAMMALIAN LIFE CHAPTER V THE EXISTING ORDERS OF MAMMALS: PROTOTHERIA—MONOTREMATA CHAPTER VI INTRODUCTION TO THE SuB-CLAss EUTHERIA CHAPTER VII EvuTHERIA—MARSUPIALIA PAGE ou 90 96 105 116 122 vill CONTENTS CHAPTER VIII EbDENTATA—GANODONTA CHAPTER IX UNGULATA —CONDYLARTHRA — AMBLYPODA — ANCYLOPODA — TYPOTHERIA— ToxoDoNTIA—PROBOSCIDEA—HYRACOIDEA CHAPTER X UNGULATA (CONTINUED)—PERISSODACTYLA (Opp-rorp UNGULATES)—Lrro- PTERNA : ‘ CHAPTER XI UNGULATA (CONTINUED)—ARTIODACTYLA (EVEN-TOED UNGULATES)—-SIRENIA CHAPTER XII CrvaACEA—WHALES AND DOLPHINS CHAPTER NIII CARNIVORA—FISSIPEDIA CHAPTER XIV CARNIVORA (CONTINUED)—PINNIPEDIA (SEALS AND WALRUSES)—CREODONTA CHAPTER XV RoDEeNTIA—TILLODONTIA CHAPTER XVI INsECTIVORA—CHIROPTERA CHAPTER XVII PRIMATES INDEX PAGE 161 235 269 339 386 446 458 533 591 SCHEME OF THE CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED Order. MONOTRE- MATA (p. 106) ‘ALLOTHERIA (p. 96). MARSUPI- ALIA (p. 122) EDENTATA (p. 161) GANODONTA f (p. 190) | U IN THIS BOOK Sub-Class PROTOTHERIA (p. 105). Sub-Order. Diproto- dontia (p. 128) Polyproto- dontia (p. 149) Xenarthra (p. 166) Family. Sub-Family. ORNITHORHYNCHIDAE (p. 112). {onstiinan (p. 110). Sub-Class EUTHERIA (p. 116). be eee (p. 132). Potoroinae (p. 137). SMachoRonIpAD (py 129) eee (p. 188 erence (p. 140). Phascolarctinae (D. 142). [sie tee ee te p. 144). Tarsipedinae (p. 145). PHALANGERIDAE (p. 138) EPANORTHIDAE (p. 145). DasyuniDAE (p. 149). | Bormmncenae (p. 155). PERAMELIDAE (p. 156). Noror (p. 168). BRADYPODIDAE (p. 170). DASYPODIDAE (p. 173). |) MYLODONTIDAE (p. 179). MEGALONYCHIDAE (p. 183). MnrcGaATHERIIDAE (p. 183). GiYPLTODONTIDAE (p. 184). Nomarthra / OnycTEer ner a 187). (p. 186) _ | Manmar (p. SL: ere { SUYLINODONTIDAE (p. 191). \ ConoRYCTIDAE (p. 193). x SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION Order. Sub-Order. Family. Sub-Family. Condylarthra (p. 202). Amblypoda (p. 205). Ancylopoda (p. 211). Typotheria (p. 212). Toxodontia (p. 214). ores { ELEPHANTIDAE (p. 217). (p. 216) | DiNorHEnriipak (p. 231). Hyracoidea (p. 232). EQuibak (p. 237). Peri | Estonian (p. 247). ne PALAEOTHERIIDAE (p. 247). a es ) Tarripan (p. 250). bp. 28) | Rassormnortoar (p. 253). TITANOTHERIIDAE (p. 264). Litopterna / MACRAUCHENIIDAE (p. 267) __ (p. 267). HippoporaMIDAE (p. 273). SUIDAE (p. 275). DrcoryLipak (p. 278). TRAGULIDAE (p. 282). PROCERATIDAE (p. 284). CAMELIDAE (p. 285). CERVIDAE (p. 291) UNGULATA (p. 195) f Cervinae (p. 293). \ Moschinae (p. 299). Artiodactyla 4 GIRAFFIDAE (p. 301). (p. 269) ANTILOCAPRIDAE (p. 306). Bovipak (p. 307). ANTHRACOTHERIIDAE (p. 328). CAENOTHERIIDAE (p. 329). XIPHODONTIDAE (p. 329). OREODONTIDAE (p. 330). ANOPLOTHERIIDAE (p. 332). SIRENIA (p. 333). Mystacoceti \" ca (p. 353) | BALAENIDAE (p. 358). Aled CETACEA : (ee LIDAE (p. 362) { fiphiinae Ge ae (p. 339) aa DELPHINIDAE (p. 372). ee PLATANISTIDAE (p. 380). SQUALODONTIDAE (p. 384). er if (p. 384) ZEUGLODONTIDAE (p, 384). FELIDAE (p. 390). MACHAERODONTIDAE (p. 401), CARNIVORA ee Euplerinae (p. 403). (p. 386) (p. 387) 5 Galidictiinae (p. 404). VIVERRIDAE (p. 403) Cryptoproctinae (p. 404). Viverrinae (p. 405). Herpestinae (p. 409). SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION xi Order, Sub-Order. Family. Sub-Family. HYAENIDAE (p. 411). CANIDAE (p. 413). ae P | ears (p. 426). Fissipedia Melinae (p. 432). carnivora | (Covtinwd) | \iuosppurpan (p. 431) Mustelinae (p. 433). Contininds Lutrinae (p. 439). URsIDAE (p. 442). OTARIIDAE (p. 450). TRICHECHIDAE (p. 451). PHOCIDAE (p. 452). Pinnipedia (p. 446) CREODONTA (p. 455), ( ANOMALURIDAE (p. 462). ScIuRIDAE (p. 463). CASTORIDAE (p. 467). HAPLODONTIDAE (p. 469). GLIRIDAE (p. 470). Murinae (p. 471). Phlaeomyinae (p. 473). Hydromyinae (p. 474). Rhynchomyinae (p. 474). Gerbillinae (p. 475). MuRIDAE (p. 471) Otomyinae (p. 475). Dendromyinae (p. 476). Lophiomyinae (p. 476). Microtinae (p. 477). Sigmodontinae (p. 479). Simpliciden. Neotominae (p. 480). tata ; BATHYERGIDAE (p. 480) ae tp: 282) SPALACIDAE (p. 482). GEOMYIDAE (p. 483). HETEROMYIDAE (p. 484). DIPoDIDAE (p. 484). PEDETIDAE (p. 486). Octodontinae (p. 487). OcTODONTIDAE (p. 487) {Honea (p. 488). Caproniyinae (p. 489). CTENODACTYLIDAE (p.490). CAVIIDAE (p. 491). DASYPROCTIDAE (p. 493). DINoMYIDAE (p. 495). CHINCHILLIDAE (p. 496). CERCOLABIDAE (p. 497). HYSTRICIDAE (p. 499). LEPORIDAE (p. 502). Taba LAGOMYIDAE (p. 505). \ (p. 502) Dupliciden- { TILLODONTIA (p. 506). ERINACEIDAE (p. 509). TUPAIIDAE (p. 511). CENTETIDAE (p. 511). Insectivora POTAMOGALIDAE (p. fies Vera SoLENODONTIDAE (p. 513). INSECTIVORA | (p. 509) CuRmORERORInAR Gs 514). (p- 508) MAcROSCELIDAE (p. 515). TALPIDAE (p. 516). \ SorICcIDAR (p. 518). Dermoptera f iss (p. 520) | GALEOPITHECIDAE (p. 520). Xil SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION Order. CHIROPTERA (p. 521) PRIMATES (p. 533) Sub-Order. Family. Sub-Family. Megachiro- f 7 ptera , PTEROPODIDAE (p. 524). (p. 524) | RHINOLOPHIDAE (p. 527). z F NycTERIDAE (p. 527). Microchiro- VasPRRMOMTONIDAE (p. 528). ee Pe ) EMBALLONURIDAE (p. 530). nee PHYLLOSTOMATIDAE (p. 531). Indrisinae (p. 538). a in: ia LEMURIDAE (p. 538) Glaceee te Hk F Lorisinae (p. 545). ear « CHIROMYIDAE (p. 548). (P. ) TARSIIDAE (p. 550). ANAPTOMORPHIDAR (p. 552). CHRIACIDAE (p. 552). \ MEGALADAPIDIDAR (p. 554). HAPALIDAE (p. 556). Anthro- | Gea (p. 557). (p. 554) SIMIIDAE (p. 570). poidea | CERCOPITHECIDAE (p. 562). | Stmma f (p. 585) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY THe Mammalia form a group of vertebrated animals which roughly correspond with what are termed in popular language “ quadrupeds,” or with the still more vernacular terms of “ beasts ” or “animals.” The naine “ Mammal” is derived from the most salient characteristic of the group, i.e. the possession of teats; but if the term were used in an absolutely strict etymological sense, it could not include the Monotremes, which, though they have mammary glands, have not fully-differentiated teats (see p. 16). There are, however, as will be seen shortly, other characters which necessitate the inclusion of these egg-laying quadrupeds within the class Mamimadia. The Mammalia are unquestionably the highest of the Verte- brata. This statement, however, though generally acceptable, needs some explanation and justification. “ Highest” implies perfection, or, at any rate, relative perfection. It might be said with perfect truth that a serpent is in its way an example of perfection of structure: not incominoded with limbs it can slip rapidly through the grass, swim like a fish, climb lke a monkey, and dart upon its prey with rapidity and accuracy. It is an example of an extremely specialised reptile, the loss of the limbs being the most obvious way in which it is specialised from more generalised reptilian types. Specialisation in fact is often synonymous with degradation, and, this being the case, implies a restricted life. On the other hand, simplification is not always to be read as degeneration. The lower jaw, for instance, of mammals has fewer bones in it than that of reptiles, and is more concisely articulated to the skull: this implies greater etticiency VOL. X is B i) LARGE SIZE OF MAMMALIA CHAP. ax a biting organ. The term highest, however, includes increased complexity as well as simplification, the two series of modifica- tions being interwoven to form a more efficient organism. — It cannot be doubted that the increased complexity of the brain of mammals raises them in the scale, as does also the complex and delicately adjusted series of bonelets which form the organ for the transmission of sound to the internal ear. The separation of the cavity containing the lungs, and the investment of the parti- tion so formed with muscular fibres, renders the action of the lungs more effective; and there are other instances among the Mamunalia of vreater complexity of the various parts and organs of the body when compared with lower forms, which help to justify the term “highest” generally applied to these creatures. Complexity and finish of structure are often accompanied by large size; and the Mamunalia are, on the whole, larger than any other Vertebrates, and also contain the most colossal species. The huge Dinosawrs of the Mesozoic epoch, though amony the largest of animals, are exceeded by the Whales; and the latter group includes the mightiest creature that exists or has ever existed, the eighty-five-feet-long Sibbald’s Rorqual. Contining ourselves rigidly to facts, and avoiding all theorising on the possible relation between complexity and nicety of build and the capacity for increase in bulk, it is plain from the history of more than one group of mamunals that increase in bulk accompanies specialis- ation of structure. The huge Dinocerata when compared with the ancestral Pintolamida teach us this, as do many similar examples. Within the mammalian group, as in the case of other Vertebrates, difference of size has a certain rough correspondence with difference of habitat. The Whales not only contain the largest of animals, but their average size is great; so too with the equally aquatic Sirenia and very aquatic Pinnipedia. Here the support offered by the water and the consequent decreased need for inuscular power to neutralise the effects of gravity permit of an increase in bulk. Purely terrestrial animals come next; and finally arboreal, and, still more, “ flying” mammals are of small size, since the maintenance of the position when moving and feeding needs enormous muscular effort. The Mammals are more easily to be separated from the Vertebrates lying lower in the series than any of the latter are from each other in ascending order. A large number of char- I DEFINITION OF THE CLASS 3 acters might be used in addition to those which will be made use of in the following brief catalogue of essential mammalian features, were it not for the low-placed Monotremata on the one hand and the highly specialised Whales on the other. Including those forms, the Mammalia are to he distinguished from all other Vertebrates by the following series of structural features, which will be expanded later into a short disquisition upon the general structure of the Mammalia. The class Mammalia may, in fact, be thus defined :— Hair-clad Vertebrates, with cutaneous glands in the female, secreting milk for the nourishment of the young. Skull without prefrontal, postfrontal, quadrato-jugal, and some other bones, and with two occipital condyles formed entirely by the exoccipitals. Lower jaw composed of dentary bone only, articulating only with the squamosal. Ear bones a chain of three or four separate bonelets. Cervical vertebrae sharply distinguished from the dorsals, and if with free ribs, showing no transition between these and the thoracic ribs. Brain with four optic lobes. Lungs and heart separated from abdominal cavity by a muscular diaphragin. Heart with a single left aortic arch. Red blood-corpuscles non-nucleate. The following characters are also very nearly universal, and in any case absolutely distinctive :—Cervical vertebrae, seven ; vertebrae with epiphyses. Ankle-joint “ cruro-tarsal,” 7. he- tween the leg and the ankle, and not in the middle of the ankle.’ Attachinent of the pelvis to the vertebral column pre-acetabular I position. The Mammalia since they are hot-hlooded creatures are more independent of temperature than reptiles; they are thus found spread over a wider area of the earth’s surface. As however, though hot-blooded, they have not the powers of locomotion possessed by birds, they are not quite so widely distributed as are those animals. The Mammalia range up into the extreme north, but, excepting only forms mainly aquatic, such as the Sea Lions, are not known to oceur on the Antarctic continent. With the exception of the flying Bats, indigenous mammals are totally absent from New Zealand; and it seems to be doubtful whether those sup- posed oceanic islands which have a mammalian fauna ure really 1 The degeneration of the hind-limb in Whales and Sirenia forbids the use of this character as a distinctive one on the principles advocated hy the selection of the above list. But it would be absurd to leave out hair. 4 NUMBER OF SPECIES CHAP. I oceanic in origin. The continents and oceans are peopled by rather over three thousand species of Mammalia, a number which is considerably less than that of either birds or reptiles. It seeins clear that, so far at any rate as concerns the numbers of families and genera, the mammalian fauna of to-day is less varied than it was during the Mid- tertiary period, the heyday of mammalian life. It is rather remarkable to contrast in this way the mammals and the birds. The two classes of the animal kingdom seem to have come into being at about the same period ; but the birds either have reached their culminating point to-day, ov have not yet reached it. The Mammalia, on the other hand, multiphed to an extraordinary extent during the Eocene and the Miocene periods, and have since dwindled. The break is most marked at the close of the Pleistocene, and may be in part due to the direct influence of man. At preseut man exercises so enormous an effect, both directly and indirectly, that the future history of the Mammalia is probably foreshadowed by the in- stances of the White Rhinoceros and the Quagga. On the other hand, the economic usefulness of the Mammalia is greater than that of any other animals; and the next most important era in their history will be probably that of domesticity and “ pre- servation.” CHAPTER Il STRUCTURE AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAMMALIA External Form.—It would be quite impossible for any one to confuse any other quadrupedal animal with a mammal. The body of a reptile is, as it were, slung between its limbs, like the body of an eighteenth century chariot between its four wheels ; in the mammal the body is raised entirely above, and is supported by, the four limbs. The axes of these limbs too, as a general rule, are parallel with the vertical axis of the body of their possessor. There is thus a greater perfection of the relations of the limbs to the trunk from the point of view of a terrestrial creature, which has to use those limbs for rapid move- ment. The same perfection in these relations is to be seen, it should be observed, in such running forms among the lower Vertebrata as the Birds and the Dinosaurs, where the actual angulation of the limbs is as in the purely running Mam- malia. These relations are of course absolutely lost in the aquatic Cetacea, and not marked in various burrowing creatures. The way in which the fore- and hind-limbs are angulated is considerably different in the two cases. In the latter, which are most used and, as it were, push on the anterior part of the body, the femur has its lower end clirected forwards, the tibia and the fibula project backwards at the lower end, while the ankle and foot are again inclined in the same direction as the femur. With the fore-lianbs there is not this regular alternation. The humerus is directed backwards, the fore-arm forwards, and the hand still more forwards. This angulation seems to facilitate movement, inasmuch as it is seen in even the Amphibia and the lower Reptiles, in which, however, the differ- ences between the fore- and hind-limbs are less marked, indicat- 6 INTELLECT CHAD. ing therefore a less specialised condition of the limbs. It 1s an interesting fact that the angulation of the limbs is to some extent obliterated in very bulky creatures, and almost entirely so in the elephants (see p. 217), which seem to need strong and straight pillars for the due support of their huge bodies. The alertness and general intellectual superiority of mammals to all animals lying below them in the series (with the exception of the birds, which are in their way almost on a level with the Mammalia) are seen by their active and continuous movements. The lengthy periods of absolute motionlessness, so familiar to everybody in such a creature as the Crocodile, are unknown among the more typical Miaiminalia except indeed during sleep. This mental condition is clearly shown by the proportionate develop- nent of the external parts of all the organs of the higher senses. The Mammalia as a rule have well-developed, often extremely large, flaps of skin surrounding the entrance to the organ of hearing, often called “ ears,” but better termed “pinnae.” These are provided with special muscles, and can be often moved and in many directions. The nose is always, or nearly always, very conspicuous by its naked character; by the large surface, often moist, which surrounds the nostrils; and again by the muscles, which enable this tract of the integument to be moved at will. The eyes, perhaps, wre less marked in their predominance over the eyes of lower Vertebrates than are the ears and nose; but they are provided as a rule with upper and lower eyelids, as well as by a nictitating membrane as in lower Vertebrates. The apparent predominance of the senses of smell and hearing over that of sight appears to be marked in the Mammalia, and may account for their diversity of voice as well as of odour, and for the general sameness of coloration which distinguishes this group from the brilliantly-coloured birds and reptiles. The head, too, which bears these organs of special sense, is more obviously marked out from the neck and body than is the case with the luller creatures occupying the lower branches of the Vertebrate stem. The Hair.—The Mammalia are absolutely distinguished from all other Vertebrates (or, for the matter of that, Invertebrates) hy the possession of hair. To define a mammal as a Vertebrate with hair would be an entirely exclusive definition ; even in the smooth Whales a few hairs at least are present, which may be II HAIR 7 reduced to as few as two bristles on the lips. The term “hair,” however, is apt to be somewhat loosely applied; it has heen inade use of to describe, for example, the slender processes of the Fic. 1.—A, Section of human skin. Co, Dermis ; D, sebaceous glands; /, fat in dermis ; G, vessels in dermis ; GP, vascular papillae ; H, hair ; V, nerves in dermis ; WP, nervous papillae ; Sc, horny layer of epidermis ; SD, sweat gland ; SD!, duct of sweat gland ; S/, Malpighian layer. B, Longitudinal sec- tion through a hair (diagrammatic). Ay, Bandof muscular fibres inserted into the hair-follicle ; Co, corium (dermis) ; 7’, external longitudinal ; 7", internal cir- cular, fibrous layer of follicle; J, fatty tissue in the dermis; GH, hyaline membrane between the root-sheath and the follicle; HBD, sebaceous gland ; HP, hair-papilla with vessels in its in- terior ; Mf, medullary substance (pith) of the hair ; O, cuticle of root-sheath ; RF. cortical layer ; Sc, horny layer of / epidermis ; Sch, Hair shaft ; Sf, Mal- B pighian layer of epidermis ; WS, IWS}, outer and inner layers of root-sheath. (From Wiedersheim’s Comparative Anatomy.) chitinous skin of the Crustacea. It will be necessary, therefore, to enter into the microscopical structure and development of the mammalian hair. Hair is found in every mammal. The first appearance of a hair is a sheht thickening of the stratum Malpighii of the epidermis, the cells taking part in this being lo) DEVELOPMENT OF HAIk CHAP. elongated and converging slightly above and below. Dy. Maurer has called attention to the remarkable likeness between the embryonic hair when at this stage and the simple sense-organs of lower Vertebrates. Later there is formed below this a denser aggregation of the corium, which ultimately becomes B the papilla of the hair. This is the apparent Ca ¢~7 COR Baas homologue of the first és .ox f=) formed part of a feather, which projects as a papilla before the epidermis has under- gone any modification. Hence there is from the very first a differ- ence between feathers and hairs—a difference which must be care- fully borne in mind, especially when we consider the strong superficial resem- between hairs blance and the simple barb- Fic. 2.—Four diagrams of stages in the development Joss feathers. Still ofahair. A, Earliest stage in one of those mammals in which the dermal papilla appears first ; B, C, D, three stages in the development of the hair in the human embryo. 06/b, Hair-bulb ; ern, horny layer of the epidermis ; fol/, hair-follicle; grm, hair- later the knob of epi- dermic cells becomes depressed into a tubu- germ; h, hair, in D, projecting on the sur- face; muc, Malpighian layer of epidermis ; pp, dermal papilla ; seb, developing sebaceous glands ; sh, sh.2, inner and outer root-sheaths. (After Hertwig.) lar structure, which is lined with cells also derived from the stratum Malpighii, but is filled with a continuation of the more superficial cells of the epidermis. This is the hair-follicle, and from the epidermic cells arises the hair by direct metamorphosis of those cells; there is no excretion of the hair by the cells, but the cells become the hair. From the hair-follicle also grows out a pair of sebaceous glands, which serve tu keep the fully-formed hair moist. Dr. Meijerle’ has lately described in some detail the parti- 1 «Uber die Haare der Siugethiere,” Aorph. Jahrb. xxi. 1894, p. 312. Il HAIR AND UNDER-FUR 9 cular arrangement of the individual hairs among mammals: they are not by any manner of means scattered without order, but show a definite and regular arrangement, which varies with the animal. For instance, in an American Monkey (Jfidas), the hairs arise in threes—three hairs of equal size springing from the epidermis close together; in the Paca (Coelogenys) there are in each group three stout hairs alternating with three slender hairs. In some forms a number of hairs spring from a common point : in the Jerboa (Dipus) twelve or thirteen arise from a single hole; in Ursus aretos there is the same general plan, but there is one stout hair and four or five slender ones. There are numerous other complications and modifications, but the facts, although interesting, do not appear to throw any light upon the mutual affinities of the animals. Allied forms may have a very different arrangement, while in forms which have no near relationship the plan may be very similar, as is shown by the examples cited from Dr. Meijerie’s paper. The groups of hairs, moreover, have them- selves a definite placing, which the same anatomist has compared with the disposition of the bundles of hairs behind and between the seales of the Armadillo, and which has led him to the view that the ancestors of mammals were scaly creatures—a view also supported by Professor Max Weber,’ and uot in itself unreason- able when we consider the numerous points of affinity between the primitive Mammalia and certain extinct forms of reptiles.” The hairs are greatly modified in form in different mammals and in different parts of their bodies. It is very commonly the case that a soft under-fur can be distinguished from the longer and coarser hairs, which to some extent hide the latter. Thus the “sealskin ” of commerce is the under-fur of the Otaria wrsina of the North. The coarser hairs may be further differentiated into bristles ; these again into spines, such as those of the Hedgehog and of the Porcupine. Again, the flattening and agglutination of hairs seems to be responsible for the scales of the Manis 1 « Bemerkungen tiber den Ursprung der Haare,” Anat. Anz. 1893, p. 413. * See for this matter, p. 90. Dr. Bonavia has recently advanced (Studies in Evolution, London, 1895) the somewhat fantastic view that the pigment-patches of Carnivorous and other mammals are a reminiscence of an earlier scaly condition. There is no direct evidence that the primitive mammals were scaly, nor are the Monotremata or Marsupials furnished with any more traces of such a con- dition than are other mammals; and they are the most lowly organised of existing Mammalia. 10 CARPAL SENSE ORGAN CHAT. and for the horns of the Rhinoceros. It is a matter of common knowledge that upon the head of various animals, ¢.y. the Domestic Cat, long and sensitive hairs are developed, which are connected with the terminations of nerves, and perform a sensory, probably tactile function. These occur on the snout, above the eyes, and in the neighbourhood of the ears. It is an interesting fact that a tuft of quite similar hairs occurs on the hand of many mammals close to the wrist, which, at least in the case of Bussuricyon, ave connected with a strong branch from the arm-nerve. These tufts also occur in Lemurs, in the Cat, various Rodents and Marsupials, and are probably quite general in mammals who “feel” with their fore-limbs ;—in which, in fact, the fore-limbs are not exclusively running organs. That the last remaining hairs of the Cetacea are found upon the muzzle, is perhaps significant of the importance of these sensory bristles. The entire absence of hairs is quite common in this order, although traces of them are sometimes found in the embryo. The Sirenia, too, are comparatively hairless, as are also many Ungulates. Whether the presence of blubber in the former case and the existence of a very thick skin in the latter animals are facts which have had anything to do with the disappearance of hair or not, is a matter for further inquiry. The intimate structure of the hair varies considerably. The variations concern the form of the hair, which may be round in transverse section, or so oval as to appear quite flat when the hair is examined in its entirety. The substance of the hair is made up of a central medulla or pith with a peripheral cortex ; the latter is scaled, and the scales are often imbricated and with prominent edges. The amount of the two constituents also differs, aud the cortex may be reduced to a series of bands surrounding only tracts of the enclosed pith. In the hair is coutaimed the pigment to which the colour of mammals is chiefly due, Tracts of brightly-coloured skin may exist, as in the Apes of certain genera: but such structures are not veneral. The pigment of the hair seems to consist of those pigmentary substances known as melanins. It is remarkable to find such an uniform cause of coloration, when we consider the great variety of feather-pigments found in birds. The variations of colour of the hair of mamuinals are due to the unequal distribution of these brown pigments. There are very few mamunals which can II COLORATION II be called brightly coloured. The Bats of the genus Aerivoula have been compared to large butterflies, and some of the Flying Squirrels have strongly-marked contrasts of reddish brown, white, and yellow. The same may he said of the spines of certain Poreupines. But we find in the hair no bright blues, greens, and reds such as are common among birds. There are certain general facts about the coloration of manunals which require some notice here. Next to the usually sombre hues of these animals the general absence of secondary sexual coloration is noteworthy. In but a few cases among the Lemurs and Bats do we find any marked divergences in hues between males and females. Secondary sexual characters in mammals are, it is true, often exhibited by the great length of certain hair-tracts in the male, such as the mane of the Lion, the throat- and leg-tufts of the Bar- bary Sheep, and so forth; but apart from these, the secondary sexual characters of mammals are chiefly shown in size, e.g. the (rorilla, or in the presence of tusks, e.g. various Boars, or of horns, as in the Deer, ete. The coloration of mammals frequently exhibits conspicuous patterns of marking. These are in the form of longitudinal stripes, of cross-stripes, or of spots; the latter may be “solid” spots, or broken up, as in the Leopard and Jaguar, into groups of smaller spots arranged in a rosette-fashion. We never find in mammals the complicated “ eyes” and other mark- ings which occur in so many birds and in other lower Verte-, brates. It is important to note that in the Mammalia whose sense of sight is quite keen there should be a practical absence of secondary sexual colours. As to the relationship of the various forms of marking that do occur, it seems clear that there has been a progression from a striped or spotted condition to uniform coloration. For we find that many Deer have spotted young; that the young Tapir of the New World is spotted, while its parents are uniform blackish brown; the strongly-marked spot- ting of the young Puma contrasts with the uniform brown of the adult ; and the Lion cub, as every one knows, is also spotted, the adult lioness showing considerable traces of the spots. The seasonal change in the colours of certain mammals is a subject upon which much has been written. The extreme of this is seen in those creatures, such as the Polar Hare and the Arctic Fox, which become entirely blanched in the winter, recovering 12 CIVET AND MUSK CHAP. their darker coat in the spring. This is, however, only an extreme case of a change which is general. Most animals get a thicker fur in winter and exchange it for a lighter one in summer. And the hues of the coat change in correspondence. Glands of the Skin. — The great variety of integumental glands possessed by the Mammalia distinguishes them from any eroup of lower Vertebrates. This variability, however, only con- cerns the anatomical structure of the glands in question. Histo- logieally they are all of thein apparently to be referred to one of two types, the sudoriparous or sweat gland and the sebaceous gland. Simple sweat and sebaceous glands are abundant in mammals, with but a few exceptions. The structures that we are now concerned with are agelomerations of these glands. The mammary glands will be treated of in connexion with the mar- supium; they are either masses of sweat glands, or of sebaceous glands whose secretion has been converted into milk. Many Carnivora possess vlands opening to the exterior, near the anus, by a large orifice. These secrete various odoriferous substances, of which the well-known “civet” is an example. Other odoriferous glands are the musk glands of the Musk-deer and of the Beaver; the suborbital gland of many Antelopes ; the dorsal gland of the Peecary, which has given the name of Picotyles to the genus on account of its resemblance in form to anavel. This gland may be seen to secrete a clear watery fluid. The Elephant has a gland situated on the temple, which is said to secrete during certain periods only, and to be a warning to leave the animal alone. Very remarkable are the foot glands of certain species of Rhinoceros ; they are not universally present in those animals, and are therefore useful as specitic distinctions. On the back of the root of the tail in many Dogs are similar vlands. The Gentle Lemur (/upalemur) has a peculiar gland upon the arm, about the size of an almond, which in the male underlies a patch of spiny outerowths. In Lemur varius is a hard patch of black skin which may be the remnants of such a gland. It is thought that the callosities on the leys of Horses and Asses are remnants of glands. One of the most complex of these structures which has been examined microscopically exists in the Marsupial IJyrinecohius.! On the skin of the anterior part of the chest, just in front of the ' Proc. Zool, Soc. 1887, p. 527. ll GLANDS OF THE SKIN 13 sternum, is a naked patch of skin which is seen to be perforated by numerous pores. Besides the ordinary sebaceous and sweat glands there are a series of masses of glands, opening by larger orifices, which present the appearance of groups of sebaceous glands, and are of a racemose character ; but the existence of muscu- lar fibres in their coats seems to show that they should be referred rather to the sudoriparous series. Beneath the integumcnt is a large compound tubular gland quite half an inch in diameter. In Didelphys dimidiatu there is a precisely similar glandular area and large underlying gland, the correspondence being re- markable in two Marsupials so distant in geographical position and affinities. Even among the Diprotodont genera there is something of the kind; for in Dorcopsis luctuosa and D. muellert is a collection of four unusually large sebaceous follicles upon the throat, and in the Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettii) there is the same collection of enlarged hair-follicles, though they are apparently somewhat reduced as compared with those of Dorcopsis. These are of course a few examples out of many. It seems to be possible that the functions of these various glands is at least twofold. In the first place, they may serve, where predominant in one sex, to attract the sexes together. In the second place, the glands may be useful to enable a strayed animal of a gregarious species to regain the herd. It is perfectly conceivable too that in other cases the glands may be a protec- tion, as they most undoubtedly are in the Skunk, from attacks. In connexion with the first, and more especially the second, of the possible uses of these glands, it is interesting to note that in purely terrestrial creatures, such as the Rhinoceros, the glands are situated on the feet, and would therefore taint the grass and herbage as the animal passed, and thus leave a track for the benefit of its mate. The same may be said of the rudimentary glands of Horses if they are really glands. The secretion of the “cerumen” of Antelopes is sometimes deposited deliberately by Oreotragus wpon surrounding objects, a proceeding which would attain the same end. One may even perhaps detect “ mimicry ” in the similar odours of certain animals, Prey may be lured to their destruction, or enemies frightened away. The defenceless Musk-deer may escape its foes by the suggestion of the musky odour of a crocodile. It is at any rate perfectly conceivable that the variety of odours among mammals may play a very I4 HOOFS, NAILS AND CLAWS CHAP. important part in their life, and it is perhaps worthy of note that birds with highly-variegated plumage are provided only with the uropygial gland, while mammals with usually dull and similar coloration have a great variety of skin glands, Scent is no doubt a sense of higher importance in mammals than in birds. The subject is one which will bear further study. Nails and Claws.—Except for the Cetacea (where rudi- ments have been found in the foetus), the extremities of the fingers and of the toes of maminals are covered by, or encased in, horny epidermic plates, known as nails, claws, and hoofs. The variety in the shape and development of these corneous sheaths to the digits is highly characteristic of mammals as opposed to lower Vertebrates. If we take extreme cases, such as the nail of the thumb in Man, the hoof of a Horse, and the claw of a Cat, it is easy to distinguish the three kinds of phalangeal horny coverings. But the differences become extinguished as we pass from these to related types. The nail of the little finger in Man approaches the claw-like form; and the hoofs of the Lama are almost claws in the sharpness of their extremities. On the whole it may be sail that claws and hoofs embrace the bone which they cover, while nails he only upon its dorsal surface. The form of the distal phalanx which bears the nail shows, however, two kinds of iodification which do not support such a classification. When those phalanges are clad with hoofs or covered by a nail they end in a rounded and flattened termina- tion. On the other hand, when they bear a claw they are them- selves sharpened at the extremity and often grooved above. The Marsupium.—It may appear to be unnecessary at this juncture to speak of the marsupial pouch, which is so usually beheved to he a characteristic of the group Marsupialia. Tudi- ments of this structure have, however, been recently discovered in the higher mamunals, and, as Dr. Klaatsch? has remarked, all researches into the “ history of the mammals culminate in the question whether the placental mammals pass through a mar- suplal stage or not.” We cannot, therefore, look upon the marsupial pouch as a matter affecting only the Marsupials, though it is true that this organ is at present functional only in them and in the Monotremata. 1 «Uber Marsupialrudimente bei Placentaliern,’” Aforph. Jahrb. xx. 1893, p. 276. I POUCH 15 In the Marsupials the pouch shelters the young, which are born in an exceedingly imperfect state, minute, uude, and blind, with a “larval” mouth fitted only to grasp in a permanent fashion the teat, upon which they are carefully fixed by the parent. But even later the pouch is made use of as a temporary harbour of refuge: from the pouch of female Kangaroos at the Zoological Gardens may frequently be observed to protrude the tail Fic. 3.—£chidna hystrix. A, Lower surface of brooding female ; B, dissection showing a dorsal view of the pouch and mammary glands ; tt, the two tufts of hair in the lateral folds of the mammary pouch from which the secretion flows. 6.m, Pouch ; cl, cloaca; g.m, groups of mammary glands. (From Wiedersheim’s Comparative Anatomy, atter W. Haacke.) and hind-legs of a young Kangaroo as big as a Cat, and perfectly well able to take care of itself. In the Monotremata (in Eehidna) there is a deep fold of the skin which lodges the unhatched egg, and into which the mammary glands open, one on either side. This structure is only periodically developed, and arises from two rudiments, one corre- sponding to each mammary area; but in the female with eggs or young there is but a single deep depression, which occupies the same region of the body as the marsupial pouch of the Mar- 16 MARSUPIUM AND MAMMARY POUCH CHAP. supials.’ It is usually held that this structure is not of pre- cisely the same morphological value as the pouch of the Marsupial; and the difference is expressed by terming the one (that of Hehidna) the mammary pouch, and the other the marsupium. * It would be of the greatest interest in relation to this and many other problems to ascertain the precise meaning of the monophyodont dentition of Ornithorhynehus. II DENTITION OF SPARASSODONTS 55 Their correspondence with the milk series is shown in an interesting way by the close resemblance which the last milk premolar often bears to the first molar. These two extremes of dentition, z.e. purely monophyodont and, excepting for the molars, purely diphyodont, are however connected by an intermediate state of affairs, which is represented by more than one stage. In Borhyaenw (probably a Sparassodont) the incisors and the canines and two out of the four premolars belong to the permanent dentition, while the two remaining premolars and of course the three molars are of the milk series. Prothylacinus, a genus belonging to the same group, has a dentition which is a step or two further advanced in the direction of the recent Marsupials. We find, according to Ameghino,' whose conclusions are accepted by Mr. Lydekker, that the incisors, canines, and two premolars belong to the milk series, while the permanent series is repre- sented only by the two remaining premolars. We can tabulate this series as follows : (1) Purely monophyodont, with teeth only of the first set— Toothed Whales. (2) Incompletely monophyodont, as in the Marsupials, where there is a milk dentition with only one tooth replaced.’ (3) Incompletely diphyodont, with the dentition made up partly of milk, partly of permanent teeth, as in Borhyaena. (4) Diphyodont, where all the teeth except the molars are of the second set; this characterises nearly all the mammals. As we pass from older forms to their more recent representa- tives there is as a rule a progressive development of the form of the teeth. This is especially marked among the Ungulata. The extremely complicated type of tooth found in such a form as the existing Horse can be traced back through a series of stages to a tooth in which the crown is marked by a few separated tubercles or cusps. Arrived at this point, the differences between the teeth of ancestral Horses and ancestral Rhinoceroses and Tapirs are hard to distinguish with accuracy; and the same difficulty is experi- enced in attempting to give a definition of other large orders by the characters of the teeth, such as will apply to the Eocene or 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1899, p. 922. 2 Mr. M. Woodward, however (P.Z.S. 1893, p. 467), is disposed to think that in some Macropodidae at any rate the supposed tooth of the second set really belongs to the milk dentition, arising late between Pm; and Pm,. 56 CUSP NOMENCLATURE CIIAP. even earlier representatives of these families. Fig. 36 (p. 51) illustrating a series of mammalian teeth will illustrate the above remarks. That there is such a convergence in tooth structure shows that it is, theoretically at least, possible to determine the ancestral form of the mammalian tooth. Practically, however, the difficulties which beset such theorising are great ; that there are such divergent and such strongly-held antithetical views is sutticient proof of this. Two pr gee gl main views hold the field: a a alk ene, which has found most iP favour in Aimerica, and is due chiefly to the labours and per- suasiveness of Professors Cope, Fic. 38.—Molar teeth of A, Phenacodus, and Scott, Osborn, and others, is B, the Creodont Palaeonictis, nd, endo- : “4 conid; Add, hypoconulid ; hyd, hypo- known as “ trituberculy. cnid 5 gat uetconl pr pote ‘Tho alternative view, as urged by Forsyth Major, Woodward, and Goodrich, attempts to show that the dentition of the original mammal included grinding teeth which were multi- cuspidate or “multitubercular.” There is much to be said for both views, and something to be said against both. This question is, however, wrapped up in a wider one. Its solution depends upon the ancestry of mammals. If the Mam- matlia ave to be derived from reptiles with simple conical teeth, then the first stave in the development of trituberculy is proved. On the other hand, however, the evidence is gradually growing that the Theromorpha vepresent more nearly than any non- manunilan group with which we are acquainted the probable ancestral form of the mammals. These animals offer some support to both the leading views. Cynognathus had triconodont teeth which, as will be pointed out later, are a theoretically intermediate stage im the evolution of tritubercular teeth: on the other hand, the teeth of Diwdemodon and some others are multituberculate, and have been very properly compared to the multitubercular teeth of such primitive mammalia as the Ornitho- rhynehus. Professor Osborn is no doubt correct in italicisine a remark of an anonymous writer in Se/ence to the effect that in Dindemodon the teeth, though multitubercular, show the pre- valence of three cusps arranged in the tritubercular fashion. 1 See for a summary, Osborn, par.oc, paroccipital ; p.m, premaxilla ; pr.sph, presphenoid ; yt, ptery- has the vestigial character ge on samosas fa tymemie. OF" gag it possesses in other Eutheria. The clavicle is present except in the Peramelidae. A third trochanter upon the femur seems to be never present. The Marsupials cannot be regarded as an intermediate stage m the origin of the Eutheria for a number of reasons. In the first place, the nature of their teeth shows them to be degenerate animals ; one set, whether we regard it as the milk or permanent dentition, has become vestigial. The recent discovery of a true wantoic placenta in Perameles removes one reason for regarding Vu GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE L277 the Marsupials as primitive creatures. It implies on the whole that the Marsupials have sprung from a stock with an allantoic placenta. The alternative is to assume the independent develop- ment of an allantoic placenta in both groups of the Mammalia ; unless indeed the genus Perameles is to be held to be the most primitive race of Marsupials living, a hypothesis which does not appear on the face of it likely. So long as it was believed that the mammary pouch of the Monotremes was the equivalent of the marsupium of the Marsupials, the persistence of this structure seemed to be a bond of union between the groups. But it is now known that the marsupium is a special organ confined to the Marsupials, an argument which is rather in favour of their being a lateral development of the mammalian stem. It is to be re- marked also that the marsupium is feeblest im the Polyproto- donts, which may perhaps be looked upon as the most prunitive of the Marsupials, owing to their more numerous teeth and other points to be referred to immediately. Not only are the Marsupials interesting from the point of view of their structure; their present and past distribution is of equal interest. During the Mesozoic epoch they occurred in Europe and North America; but not, so far as negative evidence means anything, in Australia, which is now their headquartezs. In Europe Marsupials lingered on into the Tertiary period, when they finally became extinct. In America, of course, the group has persisted to the present day. Now it is important to notice that the two main subdivisions of the Marsupials, the Voly- protodontia and the Diprotodontia, exist to-day in both Australia and South America. These two divisions, it should be explained, differ principally in that one has numerous, the other rarely more than two, incisors in the lower jaw. It is perhaps the more widely distributed opinion that the Polyprotodontia are the more archaic group; this opinion rests upon one or two facts in addition to the absence of specialisation in the incisor teeth. Among the Polyprotodontia the total number of teeth is greater— a clearly primitive character; secondly, the general form of the body of these animals, with four subequal limbs and carnivorous or omnivorous diet, contrasts with the purely vegetarian and much specialised Kangaroos at any rate. Finally—and sufficient stress 1 When there are more than two, two are especially developed. See Figs. 76, 77 (pp. 149, 150). = iS) w THE ANTARCTIC CONTINENT CHAP. has perhaps not been laid upon this matter—the brain among the Polyprotodonts is less convoluted than among the genera of the other division. This statement is of course made with due regard to parallelism in size (see p. 77). It is well known that the complexity of a brain bears a distinct relation to the size of its possessor within the group. Now the most ancient Marsupials are decidedly more Polyprotodont-like. No European form from the earlier periods is distinctly to be referred to the Diprotodonts. Sut both divisions now exist in America and Australia. We must assume, therefore, one of three hypotheses. Hither the differentiation into the two great divisions occurred in Jurassic or Cretaceous times before the migration of the order southwards ; or the Diprotodont type is only a type, and not a natural group, 7.2. it has heen separately evolved in America and Australia; or, finally, there was formerly a land-connexion in the Antarctic hemisphere, along which the Diprotodonts of Australia wandered into South America. The middle hypothesis has this to commend it, that syndactylism occurs in both divisions, and that in some Dipro- todonts the pouch opens backwards as it does in the Polyprotodonts. So great are the resemblances that but little difference is really lett —of great importance that is to say. Hence it is not difficult to imagine the reduction of the incisors having taken place twice. In favour of the first hypothesis there are no positive facts. Finally, in favour of the last, which is so strongly supported by the facts of distribution derived from the study of other groups of animals,’ there is at least this striking fact or rather series of facts: that some of the South American fossil Polyprotodonts have a “ strictly Dasyurine relationship.”” If there has not been a direct migration, then the Dasyurine type has been twice evolved, an liprobability that few will attempt to explain away. In any case we shall adopt here the usual division of the Marsupials into Diprotodontia and Polyprotodontia. Sup-Orper 1. DIPROTODONTIA. This group includes the herbivorous Marsupials. The incisors are as a rule three above, but one only in the Wombats. Below 1 See for a further discussion of this subject the zoogeographical handbooks of Mr. Lydekker and myself, quoted on p. 78 (footnote). * To this may be added Mr. Thomas’ observation that the family of American Opoxssunis is ‘* very closely allied to the Dasyuridae, from which, were it not for its isolated geographical position, it would be very doubtfully separable.” VAL AMERICAN DIPROTODONTS 129 is one strong pair, with occasionally one or two rudimentary incisors. ter Ju i Fic. 63.—Skull of Wombat (Phascoluinys wombat). (Lateral view.) ang, Angular pro- cess ; cond, condyle of mandible; ext.aud, opening of bony auditory meatus ; ex.oc, exoccipital ; ju, jugal; ler, lachrymal; maz, maxilla; nas, nasal; p.max, premaxilla ; sg, squamosal ; ty, tympanic. The upper canines, if present, are not large. tuberculate or ridged. All Marsupials (ex- cept the Wombats) to some extent, and the Macropods especially, are characterised by the prolongation of the tubes of the dentine into the clear enamel. The significance of this fact is, however, lessened by the fact that the same penetration of the enamel by dentinal tubes occurs in the Jerboa, the Hyrax, and some Shrews. The feet have two syndactylous toes,’ less marked in the Wombats than in the Kangaroos and Phalangers. This order is mainly Australian at the present day, using the term of course in the “ regional” sense (see p. 84); the only exception indeed to this statement is the occurrence of the genus Caenolestes in South America. But it is now known that Dipro- todont Marsupials formerly existed in the same part of the world. Fam. 1. Macropodidae.—This family contains the Kangaroos, Wallabies, Rat- Kangaroos, and Tree-Kangaroos. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoology.) The molars are Fic. 64.—Bones of right foot of Kangaroo (ALacro- pus bennetti). a, Astra- galus; c¢, calcaneum ; cb, euboid ; e°, ento-cu- neiform ; , navicular; JI1-V, second to fifth toes. (From Flower’s Osteology.) With the exception of Dendro- 1 Except in the South American Diprotodonts. VOL. X K 130 KANGAROOS CHAP. lagus the family is terrestrial, and its numerous species progress by leaps effected by the long hind-limbs, which are Fie. 65.—Skeleton of Wallaby (Macropus walabatus). The scapula is raised some- what higher than in nature. The end of the tail is omitted. The head of the femur has been separated from the acetabulum. «cef, Acetabulum ; acr, acromion process; ast, astragalus; cal, caleaneum ; cbd, cuboid ; chev, chevron- bones ; cl, clavicle; cun, cuneiform of carpus ; ep?, epipubis; fb, fibula ; fem, femur ; hd, head of femur ; hu, humerus ; 7, ilium ; isch, ischium ; od¢, obturator- foramen ; orb, orbit ; pis, pisiform ; pub, pubis ; rad, radius ; 7b, first rib ; 7d), last rib; sc, scapula ; s¢, sternum ; ¢), tibia ; ¢roch, great trochanter of fenur ; wz, ulna ; wae, unciform; ZV, fourth toe. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoology.) decidedly, often greatly, longer than the fore-limbs. In the hind-limb the fourth toe is very long and strong; the fifth moderately so; the second and third are slender and united by skin. The tail is always long, but differs in its characters from vil STOMACH OF KANGAROOS 131 genus to genus. The stomach is much sacculated. The dental formula is I? C 4-4-9 P3M 4. The atlas is often open below, forming thus an incomplete ring. Though the number of the incisor teeth in the adult Diprotodonts is never more than three on each side in each jaw, more numerous rudiments are present. Mr. M. Woodward! has lately investigated the subject with interesting results. He finds that many species present decided traces of two additional incisors, raising the total to that which characterises the Poly- protodontia ; but in two cases, viz. Macropus giganteus and Petro- gale penicillata, a sixth is present, the total number being thus in excess of that found in any other Marsupial. This, as the author himself admits, proves too much. No mammal is known which in the adult condition has so many incisors; nor do the fossil Mammalia help us to get over the difficulty; even among reptiles it is not usual for so many teeth to occur upon the premaxillaries. It is a curious fact that the two long lower incisors can be used after the fashion of a pair of scissors, or rather a pair of shears. Their inner edges are sharpened, and they are capable of some motion towards and away from each other; by their means grass 1s cropped. The stomach of Jfacropus (and of other allied genera) is peculiar by reason of its long and sacculated character; the oesophagus enters it very near the cardiac end, which is bifid. Messrs. Schafer and Williams” have shown that the squamous, non-glandular epithelium of the oesophagus extends over the greater part of the stomach, only the pyloric extremity and one of the two cardiac caeca being lined with columnar epithelium. The Macropodidae are clearly divisible into three sub-families, which are distinguished by marked anatomical characters. In the sub-family MacropopinaE (including the genera Macropus, Petrogale, Lagorchestes, Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Onycho- gale, and Lagostrophus) there is no hallux, and the tail is hairy. The oesophagus enters the stomach near the cardiac end. The caecum when short has no longitudinal bands; the liver has a Spigelian ‘lobe. The second sub-family, PoToRroINAE or HYPSIPRYMNINAE (in- cluding the genera Potorous, Aepyprymnus, Bettongia, and Calo- 1 Proc. Zool, Soc, 1893, p. 450. 2 Ibid. 1876, p. 165. 132 KANGAROOS AND WALLABIES CHAP. prymnus), consists of smaller animals than the Macropodinae, which, however, resemble them in having no hallux, but a hairy tail. The oesophagus enters the stomach near the pyloric end of that organ. The caecum, though short, has lateral longitudinal bands. The liver has no special Spigelian lobe. The canines ave always present, being rarely so in Macropodinae, and are usually well developed. The third sub-family, that of the HyPpsIPRYMNODONTIDAE, is doubtfully referable to the family; it consists of but one genus Hypsiprymnodon, which is in many points more like a Phalanger than a Kangaroo. It has an opposable hallux and a non-hairy, but scaly, tail. It has canines in the upper jaw. Sub-Fam. 1. Macropodinae.—The genus Mucropus includes not only the Kangaroos but also the Wallabies, which are really Fic. 66.—Red Kangaroo. Macropus rufus. x 4s. indistinguishable, though they have sometimes been placed in a separate genus Halmaturus. The genus thus enlarged contains twenty-three species. It may be thus characterised: the ears are long, the rhinarium is usually naked, but in Jf giganteus and others a band of hairs descends to the upper lip; a naked band extends from the ankle to the pads on the digits, which is interrupted in JZ rufus by a hand of hairs just in front of the digits. The mammae are four. The tail is not bushy, Vu BRUYN AND SIR JOSEPH BANKS 133 but is crested in JZ ira. They are for the most part found on the Australian continent, but some species are found in the islands to the north which belong to the Australian region. Thus JL brwniz, which is of interest as the first Kangaroo seen by a European, is a native of the Aru islands. A specimen of this animal, which was then living in the garden of the Dutch governor of Batavia, was described by Bruyn in the year 1711. JAZ. rufus, the largest member of the group, is remarkable for the red secretion which adorns the neck of the male. It is caused by particles which have the appearance and colour of carmine. JL giganteus is not, as its specific name might imply, the * sant” of the race; its dimensions are given as 5 feet, while JZ rufus is said to attain a length of 5 feet 5 inches, exclusive (in both cases) of the tail. The account which Sir Joseph Banks gives’ in his diary of the Kangaroo is interesting, since he was one of the first naturalists to see that creature. In July 1770 it was reported to him that an “animal as large as a greyhound, of a mouse colour, and very swift” had been seen by his people. A litle later he was surprised to observe that the animal “went only upon two lees, making vast bounds just as the jerboa does.” The second lieutenant killed one of these Kangaroos, of which Sir Joseph Banks wrote that “to compare it to any European animal would be impossible, as it has not the least resemblance to any one I have seen. Its fore-limbs are extremely short and of no use to it in walking; its hind, again, as disproportionately long; with these it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in the same manner as the jerboa, to which animal indeed it bears much resemblance, except in size, this being in weight 38 Ibs., and the jerboa no larger than a common rat.” The beast was killed and eaten, and proved excellent meat. Sir Joseph Banks’ observations upon the leaping of the Kangaroo are of interest, because it 1s often asserted that the tail is largely made use of as a third foot or as a support. Mr. Aflalo declares in the most positive way that after repeatedly examining the tracks upon soft sand imme- diately after the animal had passed, not the very faintest trace of the impression of the tail could be discovered. The leaps of a big Kangaroo seem to be somewhat greater than is recorded + Journal of the Rt. Hon, Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., h.B., P.R.S., edited Iny Sir Joseph Hooker, London, 1896. 134 NAIL-TAILED WALLABY CHAP. by Banks. It is said that 15 or even 20 feet are covered at a bound, and in bound after bound. But in walking slowly it can be readily seen from an inspection of Kangaroos at the Zoological Society’s Gardens that the animal does rest upon its tail, which with the hind-legs forms a tripod. Petrogale with six species comes next to J/uerapus, and is indeed only to be differentiated from it by the thickly-haired and more slender tail, which is not used, as it is sometimes in the Kangaroos, as an extra hind-limb. The Rock-Kangaroos live among rocks, which they climb, and from which they leap; and the tail acts rather as a balancing pole. The most elaborate account of the anatomy of Petrogale known to me is by Mr. Parsons." The dentition as given by Mr. Thomas is I # C9 Pm } M4—that of Macropus without the occasionally occurring canine of the upper jaw. The osteological characters which separate it from Averopus ave quite insignificant. Mr. Parsons mentions a wormian bone, “os epilepticum,” at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures. It was found to occur in two out of five skulls examined, and appears not to occur in other Kangaroos. The palatine foramina of Petrogale are so large that the posterior part of the bone is only a narrow thickened ridge. The small intestine of P. «anthopus is 102 inches long, the large intestine 44 inches. The caecum has a length of 6 inches, and is not sacculated, differing in this from the caecum of Mucropus major. The best known species are P. zanthopus and P. peneillata. The genus is confined to Australia itself, and does not enter Tasmania. ‘ Onychogale includes the so-called “ Nail-tailed Wallabies,” which have a thorn at the end of the tail, reminding one of the Lion and. the Leopard, whose tails have a similar armature. The muffle is hairy. Three species are allowed by Mr. Thomas. Lagorchestes has, like the last genus, the rhinarium, zc. that part of the nose immediately surrounding the nostrils, hairy instead of smooth as in the Kangaroos proper. It is distinguished from Onychogale by the absence of the terminal callosity to the tail, which is rather short. The name Hare-Kangaroo is given to the members of this genus (three species) on account of their exceeding feetness. This genus is limited to Australia itself. L. conspicillatus is said to present “a remarkable resem- 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1896, p. 683. vu TREE-KANGAROOS 135 blance to the English hare,” and Z. leporoides was so called by Gould on account of general appearance as well as face. Doreopsis has shorter hind-legs than Macropus, and a naked mutile. The ears are small. The structure of D. luetwosa has been studied by Garrod,' who pointed out the existence of four enlarged hair follicles on the neck near the mandibular sym- physis. These are, however, represented in the next genus Dendrolagus, and occur also in Petrogale. The limbs are not so disproportionate as in Afucropus, and the tail is naked at the tip. Doreopsis and the next genus to be described, Dendrolagus, differ from J/iropus and its immediate allies, Petrogale and Lagor- chestes, in a number of anatomical points. In the first place, the premolars are twice the size of those of Maeropus, and they have a characteristic pattern not observable in the Kangaroos. This consists of a median ridge (the whole tooth being rather prismatic in shape), with lateral ridges at right angles to it. The upper canines are developed, but are minute. The stomach is not quite like that of AZacropus, though built upon a similar plan. The blind cardiac extremity is a single, not a double cul-de-sac ; in this it is like that of Petrogale. The dis- tribution of the squamous, white, oesophageal epithelium is very much like that of Dendrolagus. In both genera the orifice of the oesophagus into the stomach is guarded by two strong longi- tudinal folds, which run for some distance towards the pylorus. In Dendrolagus, at any rate, this tract is bordered on each side by glandular patches. In Dendrolayus, moreover, the squamous epithelium does not extend into the cardiac cul-de-sac. This latter is separated from the rest of the stomach by two slightly diverging folds, which are faintly represented in Petrogale and in Halmaturus. In the last two genera the folds surrounding the oesophageal orifice are but slightly represented ; better in Halma- turus than in Petrogale. But there are not the patches of glands alrealy referred to. The small intestine of Dorcopsis is 97 inches in length, the large being 32, 7.e. proportionately long, as in Marsupials generally. The small caecum (24 inches) is not sacculated. The spleen is Macropodine, being T-shaped or Y-shaped. The differences between Dorcopsis and the evidently closely allied Dendrolagus will be further considered under the description of 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 48. 136 MUFFLE OF DENDROLAGUS CHAP. the latter. Dorcopsis is confined to New Guinea, and contains three species, viz. D. muellert, D. luctuosa, and 2D. macleani. D. muelleri has a striking resemblance to A/ucropus brunii, with which it has been confounded. Though intermediate between Macropus and Dendrolagus, these Kangaroos are not arboreal. The genus Dendrolagus is remarkable for its un-kangaroo-like habit of living in trees. In accordance with this change of habit is a relative shortening of the hind-limbs, a feature which Fic, 67,.—Tree-Kangaroo. Dendrolagus bennetti. —» 1. begins to be observable in Dorcopsis. “The general build,” writes Mr. Thomas, “is of the ordinary mammalian proportions, not macropodiform at all.” The muffle is not naked for the greater part, though the shortness of the hairs gives that effect. As in Dorcopsis, at not as in Macropus, the bulla tympani is not swollen. There are altogether five species, the fifth, D. bennetti, having been lately described from specimens living in the Zoo- logical Society’s Gardens. The anatomy of this genus _h: escri y Ow DP. inustus,' ae. by ae Peas mei oa ae ; 2 1 Proe. Zool. Soc. 1852, p. 103. vil KANGAROO-RATS 137 has a single, not bifid, cul-de-sac, is sacculated by two principal bands and other subsidiary ones. Its internal structure has already been to some extent described. The spleen of D. bennetti is remarkable for the fact that it is not T-shaped, whereas D. inustus agrees with other Macropodines in the form of this organ. The small intestine of D. bennetti is 95 inches long, the large 38. The caecum appears to differ in the two species; it is smaller in D. bennetti, where it is only 2 inches in length. The most remarkable feature of the liver is the large size of the left lateral lobe and the bilobed condition of the Spigelian lobe ; this at least was the case with D. bennetti. A recently-described species ' has been attentively studied in its native haunts by Dr. Lunholtz.” It lives in the highest parts of the mountainous scrubs of Queensland, where it moves quickly on the ground as well as among the trees. It is hunted with Dingos by the “blacks,” and is eaten by them? Lagostrophus is a generic name that has been proposed by Mr. Thomas for a smal] Wallaby 18 inches in length, which is distinguished by the fact that the long claws of the hind-lmbs are entirely hidden by long and bristly hairs; the muffle is naked ; there is no canine. The bullae are swollen. There is but one species of the genus, LZ. fasciatus, a native of West Australia. Sub-Fam. 2. Potoroinae.— Aepyprymnus and the other genera placed in this sub-family are known by the vernacular name of Rat-Kangaroos, or sometimes Kangaroo-Rats. The latter term has been called “incorrect,” though if is just as good as the former, both of them in fact being inaccurate as implying some likeness to or relation with a Rat. The present genus has a partially hairy rhinarium; the auditory bullae are not swollen. It contains but one species, de. rufescens, a native of Eastern Australia, which is distinguished by its very long hind-feet. Bettongia has long hind-feet as in Aepyprymnus, but the rhinarium is entirely naked instead of being partially hairy, while the ears are much shorter. The genus, which contains four species, is remarkable as being the only ground-living mammal with a prehensile tail, which it uses to carry grass, ete. 1 Proce. Zool. Soc. 1895, p. 131. 2 Tbid. 1884, p. 387. 3 [hid. 1884, p. 407. 138 MUSK-KANGAROO CHAP. B. lesuewri burrows in the ground, often to so great a depth as 10 feet. The genus occurs in Tasmania as well as in Australia. Caloprymnus, with one species, is a genus instituted by Mr. Thomas in his Catalogue of Marsupials for a form (C. campestris) which combines in a remarkable way the characters of Aepyprym- nus, Bettongia, and Potorous. The external characters and the general shape of the skull are as in Bettongia, while the molars have the structure of those of Aepyprymnus. The last premolar is as in Potorous. Of the genus Potorows there are three species, which are Tasmanian as well as Australian. Unlike the other Rat- Kangaroos, the hind-feet are comparatively short, and the animal is therefore less addicted to jumping than its relatives. The rhinariwn is naked, and the ears are of fair length. Sub-Fam. 3. Hypsiprymnodontinae.—The Musk-Kangaroo, Hypsiprymnodon, is the last genus of the present family, and the only genus of this sub-family. It is intermediate between the Macropodidae and the Phalangeridae, the annectant character being mainly the hind-feet, which though they have the same long fourth digit as the Kangaroos, have it more feebly developed, and possess also an opposable hallux, which is one of the salient features in the structure of the Phalangeridae. The tail is naked and scaly; the rhinarium is entirely naked. The ears are large and not furry. The single species, H. moschatus, appears to feed upon insects as well as vegetables. “Tts habits are chiefly diurnal, and its actions when not dis- turbed by no means ungraceful. It progresses in much the same manner as the Kangaroo- Rats (Potorows), to which it is closely allied, but procures its food by turning over the débris in the scrubs in search of insects, worms, and tuberous roots, frequently eating the palm berries, which it holds in its fore- paws after the manner of the Phalangers, sitting up on its haunches, or sometimes digging like the bandicoots.” This is My. Ramsay’s description of the animal, which he was the first to discover.' Fam. 2. Phalangeridae.—The genus Hypsiprymnodon bridges over the not very wide gap which separates the Kangaroos from the Phalangers. The Phalangers are Marsupials with five fingers and toes: the second and third toes are bound together by a 1 Proc. Linn. Soe. N.S. Wales, i. 1877, p. 34. vit CHARACTERS OF PHALANGERS 139 common integument as in the Macropodidae. The hallux is oppos- able and nailless. The tail is nearly always long and prehensile. The pouch is well developed; the stomach not sacculated; a caecum is present (except in Tarsipes). These are really the principal dis- tinctions between the two families. In addition, it may be mentioned that the lower incisors have not a scissor-like action as in the Kangaroos. The Phalangers may be divided into four — sub- families. The first of these, that of the PHALANGERINAE, contains the genera Phal- anger (including Cuscus), Acrobates, Distaechurus, Dromicia, Gymnobelideus, Petaurus, Petauroides, Dactylopsila, Pseudochirus, and Trichosurus. These genera agree in the following generalities:— Tail well developed, often very long; three incisors above, and at least two pre- molars both above and below ; caecum long and Fic. 68.—Bones of leg and foot of Phalanger. ast, simple - gtomach without Astragalus ; calc, calcaneum ; cub, cuboid ; z 3 ect.cun, ecto-cuneiform ; ent.cun, ento-cunei- a cardiac gland 5 liver not form ; fb, fibula; mes.cun, meso-cuneiform ; nav, navicular ; ¢ib, tibia: /-V, first to fifth very complicated by second- ee takerOeen | ary furrows, with a distinct caudate lobe; the vaginal median culs-de-sac often coalesced ; lungs with an azygos lobe. The second sub-family, PHASCOLARCTINAE (with the Koala only), is thus characterised :—Tail rudimentary ; cheek-pouches present ; superior incisors three, but only one premolar above and below ; 140 CUSCUS AND TRUE PHALANGERS CHAP. caecum extraordinarily long; stomach with a cardiac gland; liver complicated by additional furrows, without a free caudate lobe ; no azygos lobe to lungs: vaginal culs-de-sac free. The third sub-family, PHASCOLOMYINAE, contrasts with the others as follows :—Tail rudimentary ; cheek-pouches present, but rudimentary ; one incisor on each side above, but no additional premolars; all the teeth rootless; caecum not peculiar in shape ; stomach with a cardiac gland; liver complicated by secondary furrows, without a free caudate lobe; lung with an azygos lobe: vaginal culs-de-sac free. The last sub-family, TARSIPEDINAE, 1s thus defined -—Tail long; tongue extensile; only one premolar; molars reduced : caectun absent. Sub-Fam. 1. Phalangerinae.—The genus Phalanger embraces five species, sometimes called by the generic name of Cuscus. They Fic. 69.—Vulpine Phalanger. Trichosurus vulpecula. x. are largish animals with short ears; only the end of the tail is naked. Of these animals only one species is found in Australia itself, the rest inhabiting the islands lying to the north. The Spotted Cuscus, Ph. maculatus, is in spite of its vegetarian diet, and perhaps on account of its spots, spoken of as the “ Tiger Cat.” Ma. Aflalo remarks of it that though provided with a prehensile tail, it is little better as a climber than the tailless Koala. Trichosurus, including the “ True Phalangevs,” includes largish species, which can be distinguished from the last genus by a chest-gland similar to that which occurs in Myrmeenbius and some other Marsupials of the present group. There are but two species, which are purely Australian. The “ Brush-tailed Opossum,” 7. vulpecula (perhaps better known as Phalangistu yal MINUTE ARBOREAL FORMS I4!I vulpine), like its American pseudo-namesake (a true Opossum, genus Didelphys), ts plays ‘possum ” on occasions. The dental formals is l3C 4 Pm? My. The ears are shortish. The Ring- failed ehalanzatt, Pseudochirus, are more widely distributed than the last two genera; they range from Tasmania in the south to New Guinea in the north. They are not, however, ring-tailed, though the tip of the tail is generally white. As in the last genera, which have prehensile tails, the end of this appendage is naked. The mammae are four. The tooth formula isI$C3Pm3M4¢. There are some ten species of the genus. The Striped Vhelmect Dactylopsila trivirgata, is an anneal about a foot long, whose identity can be ascertained by its striped, black and white skin. It is an arboreal creature that lives apparently both on leaves and grubs like so many arboreal creatures of quite different groups—Squirrels, for instance, and New-World Monkeys. The tooth formula is I} C 4 Pm 3 M 4. Gymnobelideus leadbeatert is a small cheats git “a bods 6 inches in leneth. It is restricted to the colony of Victoria. The general look is that of Petawrus; the ears are naked. Dromicia is a genus of Phalangers which although devoid of a parachute, such as is possessed by certain genera that will be considered immediately, is able to leap with great agility from branch to branch. The ears are large and thin and almost naked ; the tooth formula is I 3} C3} Pm 3M4. They are minute aeaeiies the longest measuring, Rath ‘the tail but 10 itiches. Dormouse-Phalanger is a name sometimes given to them. There are four species, ranging from Tasmania to New Guinea. The name Dormouse as applied to the genus seems to be owing to the way in which they hold a nut in the paws when feeding. D. nan«w is 4 inches long, with a tail of nearly the same length. It is thick at the base. Distaechurus is the last genus of non-flying Phalangers. Its name refers to the arrangement of the hairs on the tail, which are disposed on either side in a row like the vane of a feather. The tooth formula is I 3 C} Pm 3M 4, very nearly as in Acro- bates. The ears are as in that genus. Petaurus is the first genus val the Flying Phalangers, all of which are provided with a parachute-like expansion of the skin between the fore- and hind-limbs; the ears are large and naked ; and the tooth formula is 13 C} Pm#3M4. There are three 12 STRUCTURE OF KOALA CHAP. species of the genus, which extend through pretty well the entire Australian region. The term “ flying” as applied to these and the other “ flying” genera is of course an exaggeration. The animals cannot fly upwards; they can only descend in a skim- ming fashion, the folds of skin breaking their fall. P. breviceps is pethaps the best-known species. The body is 8, the tail 9 inches long. Petauroides seems to be chiefly distinguished from Petawrus by the fact that, as in its ally Dactylopsila, the tail is partly naked terminally. In Petawrus and Gymnobelideus the tail is bushy to the very end, including its extreme tip below. A third genus of Flying Phalangers is the minute Acrobates, which has a distichous tail like that of Distaechurus. It is not more than 6 inches in length including the tail. As to these Flying Phalangers it is exceedingly instructive to observe that the same method of “ flight” has been apparently evolved three times; for the three genera are each of them specially related to a separate type of non-flying Phalanger. The same observa- tion can be made about the Flying Squirrels, Anomalurus and Sciuropterus. The dental formula is 13 C$ Pm3M3. The ears are thinly clad with hair. There are four teats. Sub-Fam. 2. Phascolarctinae.—The Koala, or Native Bear, Phascolarctos cinereus, is the only representative of its sub-family. It is, like the Wombat, aberrant in the lack of an obvious tail. The absence of this appendage is curious in an arboreal creature whose near allies have a long and prehensile one. The structure of the Koala was investigated by the late Mr. W. A. Forbes. There are some unexpected points of likeness to the Wombat: thus they agree in the absence of the tail, in the structure of the stomach, and in the great subdivision of the lobes of the liver. The brain, however, is smooth, and the caecum is exceedingly large and complicated in structure, that of the Wombat being short. That both animals have cheek-pouches is perhaps due to similar habits of temporarily storing masses of food. This animal has only eleven pairs of ribs. The tail has only seven or eight verte- bra, and these have no chevron-bones. A peculiarity of the skull is seen in the great size of the alisphenoid bulla, which is comparable in size and appearance with that of the Pig. As in the Kangaroos, the atlas is incomplete below. * “On some Points in the Anatomy of the Koala,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 180. ii HABITS OF KOALA 143 The tooth formula of the genus is 1} C4 Pm} M4 z-+5. The additional lower molar seems to be exceptional, and has been found in one specimen only. In the alimentary tract the most remarkable structure is the large intestine, which is very capacious for the first 28 inches or so of its course. This section of the colon is lined with rugae precisely like those which are found in the caecum. These folds, which at first are some twelve in number, fuse lower down, and by the time that the colon approaches the external orifice are reduced to five. Similar folds, as already stated, occur in the caecum, but do not extend as far as its blind end. The caecum is proportionately and actually larger than in any other Marsupial. The gall-bladder is unusually elongated. The Koala is mainly crepuscular or nocturnal in its habits. It feeds so exclusively upon the leaves of the gum-tree (Hucalyptus) Fic. 70.—Koala. Phascolarctos cinereus. x 4. that it is impossible to keep the creature long in captivity in lands where that particular kind of food is not available. The female, though she seems to bear but a single young one, which is carried on the back after the fashion of some Opossums, has two nipples. The animal’s slow habits seem to require a nocturnal and retired life. It is about as lethargic as the Sloth, and it is said to further resemble that animal in clinging firmly to a branch even after it is shot. 144 DESCRIPTION OF WOMBAT CHAP. Sub-Fam. 3. Phascolomyinae.—Phascolomys, the Wombat, is the only genus of this sub-family. This animal has the appearance of a heavily-built Marmot, like which it has a mere stump for a tail, and a pair of strong chisel-shaped and Rodent-lke incisors, which, however, differ from those of Rodents in having a complete coating of cement. All the teeth of the animal are rootless, and there are no canines. The incisors have enamel on the front and lateral faces only. The dental formula is 14+ C § Pm4 M4. The attinities with other Diprotodont Marsupials are shown by the commencing syndactyly of the second and third toes. The Fic. 71.—Wombat. Phascolomys wombat. — x qs. rhinarium is naked or hairy. There is a rudimentary cheek- pouch, as in Phascolarctos. The Wombat has, like the Koala, and also the Beaver—which does away with some of the value of the comparison—a peculiar gland-patch in the stomach, a raised area of collected glands. In no other Marsupial is such a structure found, “whilst in the two forms under con- sideration its identity is almost precise. That such a unique structure should have been independently developed in two forms unrelated to each other, appears to me to be in the highest degree nnprobable.” This is Mr. Forbes’ opinion. It might be strength- ened by adding the observation that, as there are other points of likeness between the Wombat and the Koala, it seems more unlikely that a structure so nearly identical should have been twice VIE TARSIPES T45 developed in two not very distant forms. As in the Kangaroos, the atlas is open below. Ph. wrsinus has 15 ribs; the other species the normal (for Marsupials) 13. Other points of likeness will be mentioned under the description of the Koala. These animals cer J 1 Fic. 72.—Skull of Wombat. Phascolomys wombat. (Lateral view.) ang, Angular pro- cess ; cond, condyle of mandible ; ex.oc, exoccipital ; ext.aud, opening of bony auditory meatus ; ju, jugal; ler, lachrymal; max, maxilla; nas, nasal; pine, premaxilla ; sq, squamosal ; ty, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoulogy.) mainly feed upon roots; they live in companies in burrows. There are three species—Ph. ursinus, Ph. latifrons, and Ph. aitehelli. Ph. wrsinus is Tasmanian in range, the other two species South Australian. Sub-Fam. 4. Tarsipedinae.—The genus 7arsipes ought per- haps to be removed from the present family. There is but a single species, which is a small creature of 7 inches in total length, of which the tail measures + inches. The teeth are much dwindled, the formula being 17.0} Pm} Mi=22. The lower incisors are procumbent. The lower jaw, moreover, has not the characteristic Marsupial inflection. The intestinal canal is without the caecum present in the remaining Phalangeridae. It is a curious fact that this aberrant little Phalanger should come from Western Australia, like the even more aberrant JIlyrmecobius, Like the latter also, Zarsipes has a long exsertile tongue, with which, however, it extracts honey from flowers. Probably it also catches minute insects in the corollas of the flowers. It has been proved, in fact, that in captivity at any rate the animal is insectivorous; for it has been known to eat moths. Fam. 3. Epanorthidae.—The extinct Epanorthidae of Pata- VOL. X L 146 GIANT EXTINCT FORMS CHAP. gonia are represented to-day by a small Marsupial which has been rediscovered within the last two or three years. This little animal, formerly called Hyracodon (a pre-occupied name), is now termed Caenolestes, and is a native of Colombia and Ecuador. There are two species, and of these @. obscurus is called by the inhabitants “Raton runcho,” which means opossum-rat. It lives apparently upon bird’s eggs and small birds, though it belongs to the Diprotodont division of the Marsupials. Caenolestes, however, although diprotodont, has not the syndactylous character of the digits of the feet already referred to in the Kangaroos and their allies. The pouch is small and rudimentary. The denti- tion is 14 C+ Pm 3M4=46, and the teeth are said by Mr. Thomas to be much lke those of the Australian Dromicia. In the skull a pecuharity which does not bear upon its affinities to other Marsupials, but is still interesting, is mentioned by Mr. Thomas. The nasals are not sufficiently prolonged to meet the upper edge of the maxillae, and so a vacuity is left, as in the skulls of many Runinants (e.g. the Sable Antelope). The palate is very imperfect ; the foramina, which render it so, reach as far forward as the last premolar. The lower jaw has quite the appearance of that of a Mucropus or Phalanyer, with long and forwardly projecting incisors. Extinct Diprotodonts.—The great Diprotodon is a creature with a skull a yard long, which must have been of the size of a large Rhinoceros. Thougli closely allied to Macropus, it seems that this great beast did not hop after the fashion of a Kangaroo, its limbs being of a more equal size than in the Kangaroo. Recently some further remains of Diprotodon. have been discovered in a lake known as Lake Mulligan, where they had apparently been bogged. Professor Stirling has contributed an account of these remains, which fills up a considerable gap in our knowledge. He has been able to state the structure of the fore- and hind-limbs. Both limbs are pentadactyle, the fingers of the fore-limb being approximately equal in length and general development. In the hind-limb the hallux is small, and consists of the metatarsal only. This bone is fixed in the position of “extreme abduction,” and is suggestive of an arboreal limb, Digits two and three may have 1 Thomas, ‘On Caenolestes, a still existing survivor of the Epanorthidae of Ameghino, and the representative of a new family of recent Marsupials,” P.Z.S. 1895, p. 870. VII THYLACOLEO 147 been syndactylous, and the authors of the account! of these bones think that the fourth toe may have shared in this syndactyly. The metatarsal of the fifth digit is enormously expanded at its Fic. 73.—Diprotodon australis. (After Owen.) edge, and seems to have furnished a strong support to the creature; this is also seen in the metacarpal of the fore-lmb. Probably, therefore, Diprotodon was quadrupedal in its mode of progression, with the em- phasis laid upon the little finger and the little toe instead of, as in ourselves, the first toe The hind-foot of the Diprotodon could not be more unlike that of a Kangaroo than it actually is. ; Fia. 74.—Thylacoleo carnifex. Side view of skull. Another giant among (idler ela these Marsupials was the genus Thylacoleo, whose name was given to it by Sir Richard Owen on the view that it was a Marsupial Tiger. Sir W. Flower has, however, controverted this opinion, and the genus is in fact, in spite of its large size, closely allied to the Phalangers and 1 Stirling and Zietz, Mem. Roy. Soc. South Australia, i.; see also a notice in Nature, January 18, 1900. 148 NOTOTHERIUM CHAP. Cuscuses.! The dental formula is 14 C}.Pm? M4; the last premolar is a great blade-shaped tooth like that of Potorous. Nolotheriwm was a creature smaller than Jiprotodon, but still of large size; it is believed to have been a burrowing creature, and to connect the Wombats with Diprotodon. More certainly allied to the existing Wombat was Phusrolonns, a Wombat as big as a Tapir. Of extinct American Diprotodonts the Epanorthidae, already referred to in connexion with the living Caenolestes, were the most Fic. 75.—Nolotherium mitchelli. Side view of skull. x}. (After Owen.) prominent forms. The genus Lpanorthus oceurs in the Santa Cruz formation of Patagonia, which is believed to be Miocene, The incisors are three in the upper jaw; and the single incisor of each ramus of the lower jaw is a great chisel-shaped, cutting instrument. Albdevites is also typically Diprotodont by reason of the large projecting incisors of the lower jaw. It has a large cutting tooth in the lower jaw, which appears to be the last premolar, and is thus comparable to the great cutting tooth of the lower jaw and of the upper jaw of the extinct Phalanger, 7hylacoleo. 1 Quite recently (Proc. Linn, Soc. NS. IV. 1898, p. 1) the carnivorous character of Thylacolco has heen reasserted by Mr. Broom. VII CARNIVOROUS MARSUPIALS ‘ 149 It may also be comparable to the great premolar of such Multi- tubereulata as Péilodus and Plagiaulax. It is, moreover, marked with vertical grooves. An interesting form, which is unfortunately but little known, is the Australian and Vleistocene genus Z'riclis, with one species, T. oscillans. In having a minute canine tooth in the lower jaw it agrees with some Phalangeridae, and being otherwise closely allied to Hypsiprymnodon, it unites the Macropodidae with the Phalangeridae. Sus-Orver 2. POLYPROTODONTIA. Tn this mainly carnivorous or insectivorous division of the Marsupials the incisors are four or five on each side of the upper Fic. 76.—Front view of the skull of Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus wrsinus), showing Polyprotodont and carnivorous dentition. (After Flower.) jaw, and one or two fewer in the lower jaw. Figs. 76 and 77 illustrate the Polyprotodont and Diprotodont dentitions. The canines are those of flesh-eaters and so are the molars, being as a rule sharply cuspidate. As a rule, which has an exception in the Peramelidae, there is no syndactylism of toes in the hind-foot. This sub-order is at the present day Australian and American in its range. Fam. 1. Dasyuridae.—This family consists of Marsupials which are generally pentadactylous, but with occasionally the hallux missing The tail is long but not prehensile. The pouch is present or absent. The teeth vary in the different genera, but 150 TASMANIAN WOLF CHAP. the upper incisors are never less than three, and may be as many i as five in the upper jaw and six in the lower. The canines are trenchant. There is no caecum. The genus Thylacinus con- tains but a single species, which is now limited to Tas- mania, and is generally known as the Tasmanian Wolf. It has the build of an ordinary Wolf, and is of about the same size. The hinder part of the body is marked with a series of black transverse bands. The hallux = ; ee is entirely wanting; the pouch Fic. 77.—Front view of skull of Koala (Phas- colarctos cinereus), Mustrating Diprotodont Opens backwards. The mar- and herbivorous dentition. (From Flower.) supial bones are minute and unossified. The dental formula is I $CiPm3M+4=46. There Fic. 78.—Longitudinal section of the skull of the Thylacine (Thylactnus eynocephalus). xd. a, Angular process of mandible ; AS, alisphenoid ; BO, basioceipital ; BS, basisphenoid ; cd, condyle of mandible; £7, ethmoturbinal ; Lv. 0, exoccipital ; Fr, frontal ; ALK, ossified portion of mesethmoid ; J/7, maxilloturbinal ; Le, maxilla ; Na, nasal ; OS, orbitosphenoid ; Pa, parietal ; Per, periotic ; Pl, pala- tine ; PAfv, premaxilla; PS, presphenoid ; P#, pterygoid; SO, supraoccipital ; Sg, squamosal ; Vo, vomer. (From Flower’s Osteolugy.) are four mammae. This animal, now confined to Tasmania, vil DASYURES 151 is getting rarer on account of its sheep-killing propensities, and the consequent war of extermination declared upon it by the colonists. It will, however, feed upon other animals; and it is related that the first specimen ever captured had in its stomach the remains of an Echidna! Mr. Thomas thinks that the persist- ence of this and of some of the other larger carnivorous Marsu- pials in Tasmania after their extinction in Australia is not uncon- nected with the advent of the Dingo. Put it is stated that the Thylacine is quite capable of keeping even a pack of dogs at bay. The genus Sarcophilus has been frequently confounded with the next, but it is kept apart by My. Thomas, who follows Fic. 79.-—Tasmanian Devil. Sarcophilus ursinus. x qv Cuvier in this. An alternative generic name is Diabolus, which, like the first name, refers to the habits and character of the single species which this genus contains. The genus is more like Thylacinus than is Dasywrus. The hallux is wanting, and the teeth, though fewer in number (42), resemble those of the Thylacine more closely than do those of the Dasyure. The species is called S. wrsinus, the popular name being Tasmanian Devil. It is black with a variable number of white patches on the body. It is of about the size of a Badger, and is, like the Thylacine, a nocturnal animal. The Tasmanian Devil is said to be one of the most ferocious of animals, and to express its ferocity by a “yelling growl.” The next genus of this family, Dasyurus, comprises five species, which range over the whole of the Papuan and Australian sub-regions. The general form is Viverrine, and the hallux is sometimes present though small. The dental formula is as in the 152 FOOD OF DASYURES CHAP. last genus, but the teeth “are more insectivorous in their = ™ 7 a . 1 ae Jog character.” There are six or eight mammiae. The members of this genus are erey or brown, and spotted with white; they are Fic. 80.—Skull of Dusyurus, (Lateral view.) al.sph, Alisphenoid ; ang, angular process of mandible; fr, frontal; ju, jugal; ler, lachrymal; maz, maxilla; nas, nasal ; oc.cond, occipital condyle ; par, parietal 5 par.oc, paroccipital process ; p.maz, premaxilla ; s.oc, supraoccipital ; sg, squamosal ; sq’, zygomatic process of squa- mosal, (From Parker aud Haswell’s Zooloyy. ) all arboreal, and feed largely upon birds and their eggs. Mr. Thomas has pointed out that in two species, 2. riverrinus and D. geoffroyi, the striae upon the foot-pads are absent, and that Pic. 81.—Dasyure. Dasyurus riverrinus. «4. (After Vogt and Specht.) therefore these at least are probably not so purely arboreal as the rest. The animals are not diurnal, and during the day hide themselves in the hollow trunks of trees. They are spoken of as “ Native Cats,” but have the general habits of Martens. D. maculatus is common in Tasmania, but is rare in Australia, thus “approaching the condition now exhibited by the Thylacine and vu POUCHED JERBOA 153 Tasmanian Devil, namely, complete extermination in Australia, where both once lived.” 2D. hallueatus shows an approach to Phascologale iv its five-toed hind-feet and slender build. Phascologale is a genus which, like the last, is usually arboreal (although not P. virginive of North Queensland), but is of much smaller size, the species not exceeding the dimensions of a rat. They have no spots, but there is sometimes a stripe down the back. There are thirteen species, which have the same range as the last genus. The hallux is present though small, but the pouch is “practically obsolete,” though there is a small fold of skin behind the teats. The rhinarium is naked; the tail is lone, “bushy, crested, or nearly naked.” The mammae are four to ten in number. The dental formula is as in Dusyurus, and the teeth are not very different in form; sometimes the last premolar is wanting. “The members of this genus,” remarks My. Thomas, “evidently take the place in the Austrahan region filled in the Oriental by the Tupaiae, and in the Neotropical by the smaller Opossums.” The genus Sminthopsis comprises not more than four species, even smaller than the last. The largest species, S. virginice, is only 125 mm. in length. The hallux is present, and there is a well-developed pouch. There are forty-six teeth, as in the Dasyures. The feet are narrow with granulated or hairy soles, whereas in Phascologale they are broad with sinooth soles. The mammae are eight or ten. The genus ranges through Australia and Tasmania. The genus Antechinomys has but a single species, which is a native of Queensland and New South Wales. The build is Jerboa-like, and the animal is, as might be inferred, terrestrial. The ears are very long, and the limbs elongated: the hallux is absent; the teeth are exactly as in Smenthopsis. Antechinomys has thirteen dorsal and seven lunbar verte- brae; three sacrals and twenty-five caudals, the latter number being in excess of that of its allies. The stomach is nearly globular, with approximated orifices; the intestine measured 6°8 inches, a little more than twice the length of the animal itself. A. lanigera is a native of East Central Australia, and appears to be entirely terrestrial in habit, and to progress by a series of leaps—at any rate when going at full speed. Professor Spencer, who found examples of this rare species, gives 154 MYRMECOBIUS CHAP. an interesting description of its habits. Antechinomys bas much the look of the Australian Rat, Hapalotis mitehelli ; and as the two animals lead a similar kind of life, the resemblance is not unexpected. Professor Spencer wonders why these creatures are saltatory in habit. The country which they inhabit is arid, but with patches of grass and shrubs. For a big kangaroo the advantage of the power of leaping over such obstacles may be obvious, but not for the small and slender Antechinomys. The chief foes of this rare Marsupial appear to be predatory birds ; and Professor Spencer thinks that the saltatory mode of pro- gression may be more baffling to such pursuers than even a rapid run. The genus Dasywroides has been lately instituted by Professor Spencer for a Marsupial from Central Australia somewhat in- termediate between Sminthopsis and Phascologale. As there is but one species, the generic will be considered with the specific characters. D. byrnei is an animal of about the size of the Common Rat. The hallux is absent. The tail is fairly thick, but not “incrassated.” There are six mammae, and the pouch is but slightly developed, with two low lateral folds. The dentition is I$ C+ Pm3 M4. This Marsupial is nocturnal, and burrow- ing in habit. Its food consists of insects.? Myrmecobvus is so different from the last-described genera(Dasy- URINAE) that it is usually separated from them as a sub-family MYRMECOBUNAE, The animal is of a bright rufous colour, banded posteriorly with white. There is no hallux, though the metatarsal belonging to that digit is present. There are four mammae.’ On the chest is a naked patch of some extent, upon which open the ducts of a complex gland, which has been described and figured by myself? There is no pouch, but a tract of skin shows indications of a pouch -like structure. The teeth are extraordinarily numerous, fifty to fifty-four; the formula being Ist) C+ Pm 3M. Their resemblance to those of certain Jur- assi¢ Marsupials is dealt with on p. 100.4 In this matter les of 1 Horn Scientific Expedition, pt. ii. Zoology, 1896, p. 36. ° Leche found five, and Waterhouse stated eight to be the number. * Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 527. See also Leche, Biol. Foren. Férhand/. 1891, p- 136, and literature quoted. ’ Traces of horny pads, like those of the Duck-bill, have been asserted to exist in this animal. This is exceedingly interesting when regarded in conjunction with its nultituberculate molars. vil AMERICAN OPOSSUMS 155 course the chief interest of the genus, which may be “an un- modified survivor from Mesozoic times, and therefore from a time long before the Didelphyidae, Peramelidae, and Dasyuridae were differentiated one from the other.” Another ancient feature — Sey PRS Fig. 82.—Banded Australian Anteater. Wyrmecobius fasciatus. x 4. (found in Jurassic mammals) is a mylo-hyoid groove upon the lower jaw, which, however, is not always present, and its exist- ence has therefore been denied. The single species, IZ fasciatus, is partly arboreal and partly terrestrial in habit, and feeds upon ants. It is a Western and Southern Australian form. Fam. 2. Didelphyidae.—All the members of this family are pentadactylous. The teeth are fifty in number, arranged thus: [2 C4 Pm} M4. The caecum is small; the pouch is generally absent; the tail generally long and prehensile. The genus Didelphys contains most of the forms belonging to this family, including as it does some twenty-three species. The Opossums are mainly arboreal ani- mals. insectivorous in Fié. 83.—Virginian Opossum, Didelphys virginiana. ; xt. (After Vogt and Specht.) their food ; but the larger species eat reptiles, birds, and their eggs. Several of the small species carry their young, when able to leave the teats, on 156 BANDICOOTS CHAP. their back, the tails of the young being wrapped round that of the mother. It is not only the pouched species which carry their young in something of this fashion. Azara’s Opossum, an animal as big as a cat, is said to carry its eleven young ones (themselves as large as rats) on the back, though their foothold does not appear to be strengthened by inter- twining the tails. Even with this huge family on her back, the nother can climb trees with considerable alacrity. The mammae Fic. 84.—Thick tailed Opossum. Didelphys crassicaudata. x 4. are seven to twenty-five in number. The genus has been lately split up into a number of genera, Marmosa, Dromiciops, Peramys, etc. Chironectes is hardly different from Didelphys. It has webbed hind-feet, and is aquatic in habit. The one species of the genus is known as the Yapock, and is a Central and South American form. It is of about the size of a large rat, and appears to be an expert diver after the fish upon which it lives. Fam. 3. Peramelidae.—The Bandicoots, although clearly be- longing to the Polyprotodont Marsupials, yet agree with the Diprotodonts in the fact that the second and third toes of the feet are bound up in a common integument, which is not the case with the Diprotodont Crenolestes. The hind-feet are longer than the front; of the former limb, two or three of the fingers alone are long and functional; the others are rudi- mentary or absent. Tail long, hairy, and non-prehensile. Denti- tion 13 Cl Pm? M 4 = 48, or sometimes, owing to the absence of a pair of upper incisors, 46. There is a caecum. The genus Peragale, the Rabbit-Bandicoots, consists of two VIL RABBIT BANDICOOT 157 species entirely Australian in range. The enormous ears (whence Fic. 85.—Bones of manus. A, of Choernpus cas- tanotis, <2. B, of Bandicoot (Pemnueles). x1. ev, Cuneiform ; Z, lunar 3”, magnum ; RF, radius; s, scaphoid ; td, trapezoid ; tm, trapezium ; vw, unci- form; U, ulna; J/-V, digits. (From Flower’s Osteology.) genus from Peritiieles. Fic. 86.—Rabbit Bandicoot. Peragale lagotis. 4. The pouch opens backwards, and there are eight mammae. lagotis, the only species about whose ways of life anything is 158 PIG-FOOTED BANDICOOT CHAP. known, burrows in the soil, whence it extracts grubs; it is also a vrass-feeder, and it is said that its likeness to a Rabbit in appearance is strengthened by its similarity in flavour ! Perumeles is a genus consisting of twelve species, which are found in Tasmania, Australia, and New Guinea. Like the last genus, from which it does not widely differ in other points, Perumeles consists of species which combine insectivorous and vegetarian habits. One species is said to become in captivity an expert in catching mice. The pouch opens backwards, and there are six or eight mammae, The last genus of this family is Choeropus, containing but one species, Ch. castanotis. It is confined to the Australian con- Fia, 87.—Pig-footed Bandicoot. Choeropus castanotis. x 4. tinent. It is to be distinguished from the last two by the fact that there are only two functional digits, the second and third, in the fore-limb ;- the fourth is rudimentary; the other two are absent. It burrows, and is omnivorous like its allies. The two metacarpals that are developed are very long and closely apposed ; they have hence a remarkably pig-like aspect, and justify its name. The pouch opens hackwards, and there are eight mammae. Fam. 4. Notoryctidae.—This family contains but a single genus and species, the recently-discovered Notoryctes typhlops.' 1 See for an account of this animal, Professor Stirling’s Memoir in Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Australia, 1891, p. 154, and Gadow, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1892, p. 361. wee MAKSUPIAL MOLE 159 We may regard as family-characters the pentadactyle limbs, the existence of three pairs of incisors in the lower and four in the upper jaw; and the tritubereular nature of the upper molars. Notoryetes typhlops, the “ Marsupial Mole” as it has been termed, was originally discovered by Professor Stirling in Central South Australia. It is a burrowing creature, clothed in a silky fur of a pale golden red, without external ears. It has been compared in appearance with Chrysochloris, the Cape Golden Mole, and the eminent palaeontologist, Professor Cope, has even insisted upon a real genetic affinity. Edentate affinities have also been suggested. But Votoryectes has a small pouch opening backwards as in other Polyprotodonts,’ and as it also possesses marsupial bones it must Fic. 88.—Australian Marsupial Mole. Notoryctes typhlops. x }. undoubtedly be referred to the Marsupialia. The animal shows many curious adaptations to its underground mode of life. Certain of the vertebrae in the neck and in the lumbar region are firmly welded together, giving of course a strength of push, and suggesting the Armadillos; the claws of the third and fourth front-toes are greatly enlarged, and must be efficient digging organs. The track of the animal is like that of a rail- Way in mountainous country; it burrows for a short distance, emerges, and then descending beneath the surface re-emerges. The red colour of the fur is said to be in harmony with the arid soil in which it lives. The native name of the creature is “ Urquamata.” It feeds wpon ants and other insects. Extinct Polyprotodonts.—Of extinct Polyprotodonts (apart from those Mesozoic forms which are considered on p. 100) extinct species of Zhylacinus and Dasyurus are known from 1 The male, according to Professor Spencer, has a rudimentary pouch. 160 EXTINCT POLYPROTODONTS CHAP. VII Australia. The most interesting fact in connexion with the Tertiary Polyprotodonts is the existence in South America of such genera as Prothylacinus and Amphiproviverra, Which are not merely Polyprotodonts but definitely Dasyures, and not referable to the Didelphyidae. These forms have been included in an order, SPARASSODONTA, But it is not by any means certain whether these forms are rightly placed in the neighbourhood of the carnivorous Marsupials ; it is possible that they ought to be relegated to the Creodonta or to their allies. Their structure is in fact somewhat intermediate between those two groups. The teeth seem to be carnivorous and Marsupial-like in form: but as already mentioned, in connexion with the general structure of teeth, more than a single premolar is replaced. These animals in fact, in so far as regards their teeth, are midway between the Marsupials and the typical Eutheria. The angle of the lower jaw is inflected, but the palate is not marked by deficient ossification. At least this is not the case with all the members of the group. Whether the small J//cro- hiotherium, which is made the type of a family, is rightly referred here is not certain. This animal had palatine vacuities as well as an inflected angle to the lower jaw. CHAPTER VIII EDENTATA——GANODONTA Order II. EDENTATA TERRESTRIAL, partly subterranean, or arboreal creatures of quite sinall to gigantic size (some extinct genera), with frequently a covering of scales or bony scutes. Limbs clawed. Teeth either totally absent or, if present, imperfect in structure, being with- out enamel, and not forming a complete series; incisors and canines being as a rule absent. Teats axillary, pectoral, or inguinal! Retia mirabilia very common in the extremities. To this group the name of Bruta was given by Linnaeus, but then it included not only the families which we now place in the modern order Edentata, but also the Elephant and the genus Trichechus. My. Thomas has proposed to change the name into Paratheria, which name is suggestive of what he and some others think concerning the systematic position of the group, «.e. that it is not to be placed in the Eutherian group of mammals at all, but represents a separate twig which has arisen with the Eutheria from a low mammalian stock. This view can hardly be accepted if the Ganodonta—which will be treated of presently——be really ancestral Hdentates, for they are not in any way a Prototherian mammalian group, so far as their remains enable us to judge. The Edentata contain the Sloths, Ant-bears, Armadillos, Manis and Orycteropus, among ving forms. The great Ground- Sloths, Megutherium, ete., and Armadillos, Glyptodon, etc., repre- sent the extinct forms. The name that has been applied to this group is inappropriate 1 Pectoral and abdominal in the Armadillo Tutusia. VOL. X M 162 TEETH OF EDENTATES CHAP. inasmuch as many Edentates have teeth. It is, however, by a number of small tooth-characters that the order can be defined. Thus if teeth are present they are simple in struc- ture, without enamel in the adult condition, though a rudi- inentary enamel-organ has been discovered in an Armadillo. The teeth, moreover, are not found in the anterior part of the mouth, and they grow from persistent pulps; neither is there much differentiation among them. It is not possible, however, to speak of the Edentates as quite homodont, since in Oryetero pus there are large cheek-teeth ; but there is at any rate not a marked heterodonty in that or in any other Edentate. It used to be said that the Edentates were monophyodont. But the Armadillo Tatusia was subsequently found to possess a second suppressed dentition, and after this discovery Mr. Thomas proved that Orycteropus is also diphyodont. Since then other Armadiilos have been shown to be diphyodont; and the whole group there- fore, so far as concerns those members that have teeth, may in ail probability be regarded as typically mammalian in this respect. These characters are slender enough, but there seem to be no others by means of which the members of this order can be satisfactorily linked together. The fact is, that we have here a polymorphic order -which contains in all probability repre- sentatives of at least two separate orders. We have at present a very few, and these perhaps highly modified, descendants of a large and diverse group of mammals. For convenience’ sake they will be all treated of under the head of Edentata. Although for the probable reasons already stated it is a hard matter to frame such a definition as will include all existing Edentates, it is easy enough to define two groups in this heterogeneous order; to define one group we should say, rather, and then to regard the leavings as forming another not so easily definable a group. The perfectly-definable eroup is that which includes the American Anteaters, the Armadillos, and the Sloths. In all these creatures, which may certainly be regarded as representing on their own account as many family types, there are a number of important and highly-characteristic anatomical features which they share in common. So exceedingly different are these three types in general appearance and (correlated with that) in way of life that these common characters acquire increased importance. VII VERTEBRAE OF ANTEATERS 163 The first of these characters is the series of additional zygapophyses on the posterior dorsal and lumbar vertebrae ; these are very clear in the Anteaters and Armadillos; less clear, but still obviously represented, in the Sloths. In the second place, they all possess a clavicle, rudimentary, it is true, in the Fic, 89.—Great Anteater (Jfyrmecophaga jubata). A, Side view of twelfth and thirteenth thoracic vertebrae. B, Posterior surface of second lumbar vertebra. C, Anterior surface of third lumbar vertebra. x3. az, Anterior zygapophysis ; @-!, a2, az, additional anterior articular facets ; cc, facet for capitulum of rib; m, meta- pophysis ; pz, posterior zygapophysis ; p2', pz", pz*, additional posterior. articular facets ; ¢, transverse process ; ¢c, facet for articulation of tubercle of rib. (From Flower’s Osteology.) Great Ant-bear, but still present. Thirdly, the testes are abdominal throughout life, a character which they share with such lowly-organised animals as the Monotremata and the Whales. Finally, and this is by no means a matter to be over- looked, not only are all the existing members of this group American in range, but there is no evidence to prove that they have ever existed elsewhere. No European or Old-World repre- 164 AMERICAN EDENTATES cHaP. sentatives have as yet been discovered which can he referred to the Anteater, Armadillo, or Sloth type with certainty." Of these Americun forms, which will be treated of first, the Armadillos are further apart from either Sloths or Anteaters than the last two are from each other. The name NENARTHRA has been suggested for the Aimerican Edentates with “abnormal ” vertebral articulations; the corresponding NOMARTHRA includes the Old-World forms. Between the Sloths and Anteaters the extinct J/eyatherium and some of its alles are to a certain extent intermediate. But it may be pointed out in the first place that there are certain important resemblances be- tween the hving forms. In hoth, retia mirabilia are developed in the tail (Gin spite of its reduction in the Sloths) and im the limbs. But, as is well known, retia are also found in other mammals far removed in the series from these under consideration. The reproductive organs generally are very similar, and they have both a dome-shaped and deciduate placenta. The latter char- Fra, 90.—Right scapula and clavi- acter they share with the Armadillos cle of Two-toed Sloth (Choluepus ‘ . hofimanni). 12. a, Acro. and with the Aard Vark; JJunis hav- ekee ee ee ing a non-cdeciduate placenta which is, coraco-scapular foramen; ye, like that of the Carnivora, zonary in ee ap eee form. The Edentates, at any rate the American forms, have a double vena cava posterior and no azygos vein. This condition is also met with among Whales. Osteologically the Sloths and Anteaters are united by the fact that the coracoid becomes fused with the coracoid border of the scapula, thus forming a foramen; the importance of this character is, however, discounted by its occurrence in three genera of Cebidae. AE a. sey a 9 The above facts embody the views of Sir William Flower2 A rather problematical Armadillo, Necrodasypus, has heen recorded from French strata. It consists of a few scutes only. * Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 358. VIII BRAIN OF EDENTATES 165 A subsequent study of the brain and of the muscles of these animals has led to results not entirely in harmony with these views. Dr. Elliot Smith is of opinion,’ after an exhaustive study of the Edentate brain, that in this region of the body the present eroup shows very decided points of likeness to the Carnivora ; that is, so far as concerns the Anteaters. On the other hand, Orycteropus is as distinctly comparable with a primitive Uneulate type, such as is exemplified by Jfosrhus. “If the brain of Orycteropus,’ he yvemarks, “were given to an anatomist acquainted with all the other variations of the manmalian type of brain, there is probably only one feature which would lead him to hesitate in describing it as an exceedingly simple Ungulate brain. That one feature is the high degree of macrosmatism.” Janis, on the other hand, does not come especially near to Oryeteropus. The brain of J/enis conforms to a simple type of architecture, which agrees in many points with both those of Orycteropus and the American Edentates: there is not sufficient evidence to show which type it really favours.” Elhot Smith would, in fact, agree with Max Weber that it is better, if a division is to be made, to divide the group into three orders -— the Nenarthra (Sloths, Anteaters, and Armadillos), Tubulidentata (Orycteropus), and Squamata (Janis), instead of into Nenarthra and Nomarthyra. Messrs. Windle and Parsons”® are disposed to see in muscular similarities reasons for uniting Janis with the American Edentates, though they confess to being unable to place Orycteropus ; in this animal, they say, “we are more struck by the generalised mammalian arrangement of its muscles than by any special Edentate characters. There are, however, two muscles in Oryelero- pus which show peculiarities not found elsewhere than in the Edentates ” ;—the triceps, which has more than one scapular head, and the tibialis posticus, which is double. They conclude that Orycteropus “presents some feeble claims to be taken into the order.” We shall here adopt the following divisions. 1 Trans. Linn. Soc. (2) vii. 1898, p. 277. ” de. large olfactory lobes. * Proc. Zool. Soc. 1899, p. 1014. 166 AMERICAN ANTEATERS CHAP. Sup-Orpver 1. NENARTHEA. Fam. 1. Myrmecophagidae.—The family Myrmecophagidae contains three genera, all South American in range. — These senera, Myrmecophaga, Tamandua, and Cycloturus, agree greatly in theix outward form. They are all without teeth, and have long snouts and long protrusible tongues. The fur is thick, and they have powerful claws wherewith to break down the strong ant-hills wpon whose inhabitants they feed. Zumandua and Cycloturus ave arboreal, Ayrmecophuga is terrestrial in habit. Fic. 91.—Great Anteater. Myrmecophaya jubatu. — x 45. The claws of the arboreal forms are useful to destroy the bark, and thus bring to light insects which lurk in such situations. The genus Jlyrmecophaga contains but one species, the Great Anteater, Myrimnecophage jubata. Tt is a large and handsome animal, with long, shaggy, greyish-black hair and a broad white stripe across the shoulder. The coloration is similar in the two sexes. Including the long and bushy tail it reaches a length of over 7 feet. Tt is on account of its long tongue and greatly developed salivary glands that this and the allied genera were originally placed with Jfvnis. It is the submaxillary glands which are so enormous ; they extend back over the chest, and open by three distinct ducts, of which two unite just before the external orifice. vill TAMANDUA AND CYCLOTURUS 167 Along their course these ducts are provided with a sphincter muscle, which squeezes the secretion towards the external orifice into the mouth-cavity. The stomach is somewhat gizzard-like. The intestine has no caecum.! The Anteater’s great claws are not only serviceable in tearing up the ground to get at its food; armed with them he does not fear, as Mr. Waterton remarked, “the fatal pressure of the serpent’s fold or the teeth of the famished jaguar.” An Anteater, too, is more than a match for a big dog, and will rip open its belly with the claws while the dog is vainly trying to make an impression with its teeth upon the shaggy hai. Tamandua is a smaller animal than J/yrmecophaga, and, as has been stated, is arboreal; associated with this habit is a pre- hensile tail. Like the last genus, Zamendua has a rudimentary clavicle, this bone being well developed in the little Cyc/oturus. The skull of the Anteater” is very long and low; the fore- part is tubular, and there appear to be no traces of teeth. The Fic. 92.—Skull of Anteater (Myrmecophaga). Lateral view. al.sph, Alisphenoid ; cond, condyle of mandible ; cor, coronoid process of mandible ; ex.oc, exoccipital ; evt.aud, external auditory meatus ; fr, frontal ; ju, jugal ; der, lachrymal ; maw, maxilla ; nas, nasal ; occ.cond, occipital condyle ; pal, palatine; par, parietal ; p.max, yremaxilla ; s.oc, supraoccipital ; sz, syuamosal ; ty, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoology). premaxilla is very small; the zygomatic arch is imperfect, and does not reach the squamosal behind. A curiotis feature of this genus, which it shares with some Dolphins and other Whales, is that the pterygoid bones develop palatine plates which meet each other in the middle line, and thus shift the opening of the 1 See for anatomy Owen, J'rans. Zool. Soc. iv. 1862, p. 117, and Forbes, Proc. Zool, Soc. 1882, p. 287. 2 For the skull of Edentates generally see Parker, Phil. Trans. clxxvi. 1885, pt. i. p. 121. : 168 OSTEOLOGY OF ANTEATERS CHAP. posterior nares backwards. This is also, of course, a character of various lower vertebrates. Another Whale-like character in the skull is the weak character of the mandible, which does not give off a marked coronoid process. But then in neither group is there much mastication. The tympanic, periotie anc squamosal are ankylosed together. A peculiarity of the cervical Fig. 94.—Side view of three mesosternal segments of a young Anteater (Ziman- dua), showing the mode of articulation of the sternal rib (sr). mst, The upper or inner surface of the mesosternal segment ; sy, the synovial articulation Fra. 93.—Skull of Anteater (Myrme- hetween ne segments. rophaga). Ventral view. Letters (From, plower 8 Osteologiy, as in Fig. 92. In addition, b.0c, after Parker.) hasioccipital ; glen, glenoid sur- face for mandible ; pfer, ptery- goid. (From Parker and Has- well’s Zoology.) vertebrae is that (as in the Camels) the vertebrarterial canal of several of the vertebrae perforates the pedicle obliquely. There are fifteen or sixteen dorsal and three or two lumbar vertebrae. The additional zygapophyses upon the former have been already referred to. The mode of articulation of the ribs is highly singular. Each segment of the sternum (of which there are eight) is separated from the next by a synovial membrane: and it has on either side two facets for articulation with the ribs. The way in VII BONES OF IIAND 169 which these latter bones are connected with the sternum is curiously like their mode of connexion with the spinal column at their other end. With this may be possibly compared the double articulation of the single rib (which articulates with the sternum) in the Rorquals. In (yelofurus this mode of articulation does not occur, The manus of Myrmeeophiyu is five-lingered. Of these the third digit (as in LDcrissodactyles) is the most prominent ; Fic, 95.—A, Manus of Great Anteater (Wyrmecophaga jubata). “4. B, Manus of Little Anteater (Cycloturus diductylus), 2. c, Cuneiform ; 7, lunar 3 /, magnum ; p, pisiform ; s, seaphoid ; td, trapezoid 3 fm, trapezium ; 1, unciform ; J-T’, digits. (From Flower’s Ostevloyy.) it is at least double the width of the second or third finger; the pollex is very slender. In the little Cycloturus this is carried to a greater extent: the third digit is relatively enormous: the first and the fourth have become quite rudimentary ; while the fifth is only just recognisable as a minute ossification. The chevron-bones in the tail surround a well-developed rete irabile, a rete being found in precisely the same position in the Eastern Manis. Tamandua has also retia, which are also found in the Spider-monkeys. Cycloturus is by far the smallest of the Anteaters. It has 170 FOSSIL ANTEATERS CHAP. ? only two toes on the fore-feet. It is to be distinguished anatomically, from its larger relatives by the complete clavicle, and by the fact that the pterygoids do not meet in the middle line of the skull. The ribs, too, are unusually wide, as in the Whale Weobalaena, and form a bony encasement for the body, It has two small caeca. Of fossil Anteaters but little is known. The most interesting form is Scotacops, interesting because it has two small back teeth, which are totally lost in its living allies. The huge Patagonian extinct bird Phororhacos, first known by a lower jaw, was at one time regarded as a member of this group on account of the form and edentulous character of the jaw. Fam. 2. Bradypodidae.—The Sloths, genera Bradypus and Fie. 96.—Unau, or Two-toed Sloth. Choloepus didactylus. x +, (After Vogt and Specht.) Choloepus, come, as already stated, very near to the Anteaters, in spite of their striking difference in appearance. The Sloths are purely arboreal creatures, with strong recurved claws, which serve vu PROTECTIVE COLOUR OF SLOTH 171 as hooks to keep them stispended from the lower side of a branch. The three-toed sloth, Bradypus (or ° Ai”), has the exceptional number of nine cervical vertebrae ; the two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni (or “ Unau”), has the equally exceptional number of six. The hair is long and shagey, and gets an adventitious green colour from the presence of minute algae.’ This gives to the animal the appearance of a lichen-covered bough, a resemblance which is increased in one species hy an oval mark upon the back, which suggests forcibly a broken end of such a branch. The likeness of a Sloth to its surroundings is pointed Sf? Cor Fic. 97.—Skull of Three-toed Sloth. Bradypus tridactylus. Lateral view. fr, Frontal ; Ju, Jugal ; ler, lachrymal ; mav, maxilla ; nas, nasal ; per, parietal ; s.oc, supra- occipital ; ¢y, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoology.) out by Dr. Siemann,” who observed that a species occurring in Nicaragua “has almost exactly the same greyish-green colour as Tillandsia usneoides, the so-called ‘ Vegetable Horsehair’ common in the district. Tf it could be shown that it frequented trees covered with that plant . there would be a curious case of mimicry between the sloth’s hair and the 7%llandsia, and a good reason why so few of these Sloths are seen.” The stomach in the Sloths is complicated in structure, with several chambers; one of these gives off a long crescent-shaped caecum. The skull of the Sloths agrees in a number of particulars with that of the Anteaters. ' The colour fades in captivity owing to the disappearance of the algae. * In a letter addressed to Dr. Gray, quoted by the latter in a revision of the Sloths, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 428. to OSTEOLOGY OF SLOTII CHAP. The zygoma 1s incomplete, though the part connected with the frontal has a strong downward process like that found in D/profadan Zs Jainville. ) > » (Atter de I Bradypus tridactylus, Skeleton of Three-toed Sloth. 98. Fic. and some other mammals. There is, moreover, a process from the squamosal, though it dees not reach the anterior part and thus VII TEETH OF ARMADILLOS 173 complete the arcade. The premavxillaries are very small, end are usually lost in dried skulls. Coupled with these points of likeness are some differences. The lower jaw, for instance, has a well- marked coronoid process. The pterygoids do not meet in the middle line. The teeth are five or four in each half of each jaw. There is no trace of a second set. A peculiarity of the Sloths is the enormous number of dorsal vertebrae. There are twenty-three of these in Choloepus hofimanni, but only fifteen to seventeen in the Three-toed Sloth, Bradypus. As in other American Edentates, the acromion joins the coracoid. This connexion occurs in both the Two-toed and the Three-toed species. The limbs of these creatures are very long, a concomitant of an arboreal life. The femur has no third trochanter. The genus Bradypus, which by reason of the fact that it has not lost the third toe on the manus seems to be more primitive than Cholocpus, shows another structural feature which does not bear out this conclusion. The trapezoid and the os magnum of the carpus are united, while in Choloepus they are perfectly distinct bones. The intestine has no caecum. There are several species of Sloths. Eminently perfect though the organisation of the Sloth in relation to its particular sur- roundings appears to us, Buffon selected the animal as the very type of imperfection in nature. “One more defect,” he wrote, “they could not have existed.” . Fam. 3. Dasypodidae.— The family Dasypodidae or Arma- dillos contains a considerable number of genera. Tatusia, Toly- peutes, Dasyyus, Xenurus, Priodon, and Chlumydophorus. They have all a more or less rigid covering of bony plates imbedded in the skin, which are not in the least comparable with the scales of the Manis. Save the Whales, in one or two genera of which traces of a dermal armature exist, the Armadillos are unique among existing mammals in this particular. The term “ Edentate ” is especially inapplicable to the Armadillos; the genus Priodon may have more than forty teeth in each jaw; a total of ninety was found in one specimen examined by Professor Kiikenthal. In the tendency of the teeth to multiply, we have another example of a state of affairs which characterises so many Whales. Generally, however, seven to nine is the number of teeth in each 1 This name is written ‘‘ Prionodos” by Gray, which might lead to a confusion with the Carnivore Prionodon. 174 SKULL OF ARMADILLOS CHAP. half jaw, of which one is often implanted in the premanilla. The Armadillos show their alliance with the other American Edentates in the points enumerated above. Their teeth specially ally them to the Sloths, while the salivary and digestive organs generally are on the Anteater plan, but present a less extreme development. There are, however, caeca, paired as in birds, in the genera Dasypus and Chlamydophorus. The others have none. But there is a dilatation at the commencement of the large intestine, which is not very different from the slightly-developed caeca of Dasypus. There are certain peculiarities in the skeleton, which dis- tinguish this family. The skull in the \vmadillos presents a number of likenesses to the other American Edentates! The premaxillaries are Vic. 99.—Skull of Armadillo. Dasypus sereinctus. x3. ea.oc, Exoccipital ; 77, frontal ; maa, maxilla; nas, nasal; peor, parietal; pert, periotic ; p.max, pre- maxilla ; s.oc, supraoccipital ; sg, squamosal; ¢y, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell’s Zoology.) small, but are larger in Dasypus than in Zatusia. On the other hand the lachrymals are larger in the latter. The zygomatic arch is complete, but there is no downward process as in the Sloths. In Vatusia (but not in Yusyyus) the “short thick pterygoids add somewhat to the hard palate.” This is clearly a beginning or a remnant of the quite crocodilian character of the palate of Myrmecophaga. In the cervical vertebrae we see the Whale-lke character of fusion between individual vertebrae; and also, as in the Whales, the degree to which this fusion is carried out ' For the anatomy of several forms, see Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 222, who quotes other memoirs. Vu VERTEBRAE AND RIBS 175 varies; two to four may be thus united. The additional articular facets upon the dorsal vertebrae have been already commented upon as a point of important likeness to other American Edentates. The dorsal vertebrae are commonly eleven in number, the lumbar being three. But in Priodon the numbers are twelve and two respectively. There are traces to be observed of the double-headed attachment of the ribs to the sternum. The Fic. 101.—Bones of the manus of the Great Armadillo. frivodon Fig. 100.—Bones of the right manus of the Hairy Armadillo. Dasypus villosus. xX 3. 6 Cuneiform ; J, lunar ; m, mag- mun ; p, pisiform ; A, radius ; giganteus. x4. u, An acces- sory carpal ossicle in front of the pisiform, which is not seen s, scaphoid ; ¢d, trapezoid ; tim, in the figure. Other letters as trapezium ; w, unciform; U, in Fig. 100. (From Flower’s ulna; J-V, digits. (From Osteology.) Flower’s Osteology.) shoulder girdle of the Armadillos is somewhat diverse in form in different genera; the acromion is always large, and is remark- able in Priodon for the fact that the humerus also articulates with it, its extremity being recurved, and forming a socket for this purpose. As in some other Edentates there is a second spine on the scapula behind the first. The clavicle is strony. There is some variation in the form of the manus. It is tive- fingered in Dasypus; in Tolypeutes the first digit has vanished ; on the other hand, in Priodon, the fifth has become rudimentary 176 PICHY-CIEGO AND APAR CHAP. and the third enormously enlarged. This latter fact recalls the arrangement characteristic of IZyrme Fic, 102.—Pelvis and sacrum of Armadillo, Dasypits sexcinetus, ac, Acetabulum ; 7/, ilium; ¢sc/, ischium ; obt.for, obturator-foramen ; pect.twb, pectineal tuber- cle; pub, pubis. (From Parker and Haswell's Zvlogy.) cophaga. The pelvis is creatly attached by the ischium to the verte- bral column. The femur has a third tro- chanter. The various forms of Armadillos are largely distinguished by the number of mov- able thin bands of scutes lying between the large anterior and posterior shields. Thus we have Dasypus sez- cinctus, Tolypeutes tri- cinetus, ete. The httle Pichi- chago (or, more cor- rectly, Pichy - ciego), Chlamydophorus, which only grows to about 5 inches in length, has no movable bands at all. It is covered with a uniform series of plates, which, moreover, are not discontinuous at the neck. It ciffers, too, from the prevailing Armad illo-type by the absence of conspicuous external ears. In the anterior part of the body the armature consists of little more than the horny plates, which in other Armadillos overlie the bony dermal plates. In the hinder region the bony plates are strong. In this animal, there- fore, we have the dermal armature reduced to a minimum; but it must be noticed that, ike the extinct ture is continuous and nowhere ringed. Glyptodons, the arm:- The genus Volypeutes, of which the best-known species is 7’. fricinetus, the Apar (there are two other species in the genus), can roll itself up into a ball like the Pill-Millipede (Glomeris), and, protected by its armour, roll away from its enemies like the Arthropod under similar circunistances. This mode of protection, be it observed, is also adopted by the Pangolin and by the Hedee- vit PELUDO ARMADILLO 177 hoe. The genus has only three movable bands. The tail is short, and is covered with large tubercles. This genus is very markedly digitigrade when running. Fia. 103.—Three-banded Armadillo or Apar. Tolypeutes tricinctus. x 4. The LPeludo, Dasypus seacinetus, is, like other Armadillos, an Fic. 104.—Peludo Armailillo, Dasypus seacinctus. x}. (After Vogt and Specht.) omnivorous creature, and appears to be particularly fond of carrion. It will burrow up. to a decaying carcase like the ground-beetles. VOL. X N 178 ARMADILLOS AND SNAKES CHAP. Mr. W. H. Hudson has described the way in which this Armadillo will kill a snake by holding it down and literally sawing the reptile in half by help of the sharp and serrated edges of the carapace. Dasypus has a very short tail, which is shielded by distinct rings near the base. Tatusia novemeincta is a species with nine movable bands. The cenus has four teats; the ears are near together. There are no caeca and no azygos lobe to the lung. «Revision of the Manidae in the Leyden Museum,” Votes Leyd. Alus. iy. 1882, p. 193. 4 Weber, Zool. Ergebnisse einer Reise in Nicderl. Ost Indien, 1892. Sve also Romer, in Jen. Zeilschr. xxxi. 1896, p. 604, and Reh, ¢hid. xxx. 1895, p. 137. VIII THE PANGOLINS 189 tures, as he does the scales of other mammals, such as those upon the tail of Anomalurus, ete. This, however, is not a universal opinion. It is true that these scales occur chiefly in the lower forms of mammals such as those under consideration, Marsupials, Rodents, and Insectivores ; but the fact that the hairs are developed before the scales shows, or seems to show, that the former are the older structures, and to lead to the inference that the scales of mammals are new structures. The scattered hairs of the Pangolin have no sebaceous glands excepting on the snout. This, again, looks as if they were degenerate structures, and emphasises the non- archaic character of the scales. These animals have no trace of teeth except possibly some slight epithelial thickenings which have been interpreted as a last remnant; the tongue is suited for the capture of ants, and is therefore much like that of the not nearly- related American Anteaters. The stomach is of simple form; it is characterised by a large gland, which suggests that of the Koala (see p. 14+); the intestine has no caecum. Letia mirabiha occur on the limb arteries. The placenta is non-deciduate and diffuse ; it is specially compared by Weber with that of the Horse. Considering the many adaptive resemblances between this genus and the American Anteaters, especially in the mouth cavity, it is remarkable that in Manis the pterygoids are not joined as they are in Wyrmecophaga. In spite of statements to the contrary, it appears that there is sometimes a distinct lachrymal. A remarkable feature in the skeleton of Manis is the singular sternum. The xiphoid cartilage is extraordinarily elongated into thin strips, which reach the pelvis and return. This state of affairs is to be found in the African species only. This structure is not comparable, as it has been said to be, with abdominal ribs such as those of the reptile Hatteria. These animals are mainly anteaters. The Japanese have a curious legend as to the method adopted for the capture of ants, which is related by Dr. Jentink in his monograph of the genus. The Manis “erects his scales and feigns to be dead; the ants creep between the erected scales, after which the anteater again closes its scales and enters the water; he now again erects the scales, the ants are set floating, and are then swallowed by the anteaters”! The same story is related by Mr. Stanley Flower on the authority of the Malays. Though it seems clear that the likenesses which J/unis shows Igo ANCIENT EDENTATES CHAP, to the Anteaters of the New World are chiefly adaptive and have nothing to do with real affinity, being merely an expression of a similar mode of life, it is curious to note that here and there we do find certain resemblances which do not seem to be susceptible of the latter explanation. The jugal bone, absent in Jens, is sinall in Myrmecophage ; the clavicle is absent and again sinall or rudimentary in the Anteaters; it is large in other Edentates. Fie. 109.—Manis. Manis gigantea. x 5. The third trochanter is absent, as in Jfyrmecophaga (and the Sloths). There are many scales on the body; in Myrmecophaga there are traces of these structures on the tail, as also in Tumandua. In the features mentioned, the Myrmecophagidae differ from either or from both of the two other American families (/.e. Dasypodidae, Bradypodidae) and agree with Wands. The facts are not a little remarkable. Order III. GANODONTA.' Allied to the Edentata, and apparently representing the ancestral forms from which they, at any rate the Xenarthra were derived, is the order of the Ganodonta. Of this order a number of genera are now known, which can be ranged in a series which more and more approaches the Edentata as we pass from the older to the newer forms. This interesting and transi- tional series will be made manifest by a description of the characters of the various genera taken in their proper chrono- 1 See Wortman, ‘‘The Ganodonta and their Relationship to the Edentata,” Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. ix. 1897, p. 59. vull ; PSITTACOTHERIUM 19! logical order. The following genera are included by Wortman in his family Stylinodontidae. The earliest type of the Ganodonta is the genus Hemiganus, with but one species, H. otariidens. This animal lived during the deposition of the lowest Eocene strata, the Puerco beds of North America. It was about as big as a fair-sized Dog, and had powerful jaws. There were at least two pairs of incisors in the upper jaw, together with powerful canines and the full premolar and molar formula. In the lower jaw the canines were also strong, but the incisors are not certainly known to be more than two pairs. The enamel upon the posterior surface of the canine is thin, and in the case of the incisors the enamel seems to be limited to the anterior face. The lower molars are quadrituber- cular. It is believed from the presence of a suture on the upper surface of the premaxillary that the snout of the creature was tubular. The cervical vertebrae, only known by their centva, are like those of the Armadillos (and for the matter of that of the Whales) in the great transverse as opposed to the antero-posterior diameter. The feet are especially compared with those of the Ground Sloths. The single ungual phalanx is marked by a large subungual process, which is pierced by a considerable foramen. The tibia again is to be compared with that of the Armadillos. In the Upper Puerco (Torrejon) beds the remains of Psitta- cotherium are found. This genus, when first discovered, was referred to the Tillodontia by some and to the Unegulates, the latter being a refuge for indeterminate Eocene mammals, just as the “ Multituberculata ” is for similarly-placed Secondary manimals. It is now known to be clearly a member of the order Ganodonta. Wortman thinks that there is but one species, P. multifragum. It seems to have had a general aspect much lke that of Hemi- ganus—that is judging from the skull—and was not very greatly different in size. The facial portion of the skull is short, and the zygoma is deep. The infra-orbital canal is double, a feature which crops up in the Sloth, and has been mentioned in the later form of Ground Sloth, Megalonyx (but it must be remembered that the same characteristic is not unknown in Rodents). The dentition is reduced as compared with that of Hemiganas, that is to say, as far as concerns the molars and the incisors. There is but a single pair of incisors in each jaw; the canines are strong; the premolar and molar series seem to have been complete in the lower jaw, Ig2 GANODONTA—CALAMODON CHAP. but reduced by one premolar at least in the upper jaw. It is very important to notice that the incisors have enamel only on their anterior faces, and that the same is the case with the canines, the slender layer present behind the tooth in Hemiganus having vanished in this later form. The tooth pattern of the molars is like that of Hemiganvs. The fore-limb is decidedly Edentate- like: but it is the foot which presents the strongest likenesses to that order. “If an anatomist,” remarks Dr. Wortman, “had no other part of the skeleton than that of the foot to guide his judg- ment, and he should fail to detect a most striking similarity between it and that of the Edentata, especially the Ground Sloths, he would not only lay himself open to the criticism of being lacking in the ordinary powers of observation and comparison, but would be suspected of placing the matter upon a basis other than that established by such a method.” It is not certain how many toes upon the fore-limbs were possessed by Psittacothertam, but the close resemblance to Mylodon is indeed striking, the third digit being in both forms the most pronounced. Some vertebrae of this Ganodont have been discovered which do not show the complex articular arrangements of later American Edentates. The sacruin, on the other hand, is very like that of the Sloth, and there is a foreshadowing of the attachment of the ilia to the sacrum by co-ossification which is met with in later Edentates. A still later type is the genus Culamodon, which has been shown to occur in Europe as well as in America. C. simplex was a larger beast than either of the genera that have already been treated of, thus affording another example of the increase in size of later as com- pared with earlier members of the same group, so pronounced among the Ungulata. The lower jaw has the same massive structure that characterises that bone in Hemiganus and Psitta- cotherium. There is but one incisor, but the premolar and molar series are complete. The canine is MIodent-lke in appearance, beimg imbedded throughout the greater part of the lower jaw +. it evidently grew from a persistent pulp. It is enamelled upon the anterior face only. The premolar and molar teeth are in this genus commencing to lose their enamel, which is distributed in the form of vertical bands, leaving interspaces which are not covered by enamel. These teeth, moreover, are decidedly hypselodont, more decidedly so than in Psittacotherium ; they are, when unworn, quadricuspidate, with accessory cusps; when more worn, the teeth VII STYLINODON 193 are double-ridged, and that transversely to the long axis of the jaw: finally, the much-worn teeth have flattish crowns more or less surrounded by a ring of enamel. "A still later form, coming from the Lower and Middle Eocene strata, is the genus Stylinodon. S. cylindrifer, which is the more archaic of the two described species, is only known from a single molar, fragments of a canine, and “some inconsiderable pieces of the skull.” The molar is interesting on account of the fact that the enamel is still further reduced; it is represented only by narrow vertical strips, which are much narrower than those of older forms of Ganodonts. It is also hypselodont, and has a persistent pulp. So, too, the canine which had a thick anterior facing of enamel. The later species, S. mirus, is more fully known. The teeth seem to have been much the same as in the last-described species ; the premolars and molars were seven in all in the lower jaw, and the canine was imbedded in the bone for a long distance, as in Calamodon. The cervical vertebrae have short centra as in Hemiganus. The clavicles were well developed. The humerus possessed an entepicondylar foramen, and its head displays the pyriform pattern so characteristic of later Edentates. The foot is clearly like that of Psittacotherium. In reviewing the series, therefore, we see a gradual diminution of the incisors, a gradual loss of enamel on the teeth generally, and the production of hypselodont teeth growing from per- sistent pulps; all of which are features of the later Edentates. The progression is so gradual that the forms enumerated and described seem to have been part of a continuous series cul- minating in the Ground Sloths of later times. The other points of similarity will be gathered from the facts given in the fore- going pages. There is another family belonging to the Ganodonta whose position with regard to the Edentata is not so clear. This is the family Conoryctidae, of which two genera ave known. The earliest of these, from the Lower Puerco, is Onychodectes. In O. tissonensis the skull is long and narrow, thus contrasting with that of the last family. The facial part is also long. The lower jaw is much more slender. The molar formula was complete, but there is some doubt as to the incisors. The molars are tritubercular. The other known genus is Conoryetes. Its skull has a shorter VOL. X O 194 GANODONTA—ON YCHODECTES CHAP. VIII facial portion, and is thus more like that of Stylinodontidae than that of Onychodectes. The dental formula is known, and is complete save for the loss of one incisor above and below, and one premolar above. The relationship of these Ganodonts to any later forms is uncertain; but their skeletal structure is as yet by no means fully known. CHAPTER IX AMBLYPODA—ANCYLOPODA— PROBOSCIDEA——HYRACOIDEA UNGULATA—CONDYLARTHRA TYPOTHERIA——TOXODONTIA Order IV. UNGULATA THE existing members of this order can be readily grouped into the Hyracoidea, Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla, each of which divisions has quite the value of an order, and all of which are sharply marked off from each other. But as the dis- covery of so many fossil forms has to a great extent rendered these demarcations less sharp, it is better to regard all there groups as not more than sub-orders of a larger “ Order” Ungulata. Even when this conclusion has been necessarily arrived at from a consideration of the more ancient groups of Ungulate animals, the definition of such an order remains a difficult matter for the systematist. For the earliest of these forms, more particu- larly the Ancylopoda, the Amblypoda, and the Condylarthra, whose peculiarities will be dealt with at length subsequently, are not by any means easily differentiated from the primi- tive Carnivorous mammals of that date, the Creodonta; these latter, moreover, fade into the Marsupials through the so- called Sparassodonta of Professor Ameghino. To confine our- - selves to the Ungulates, we may perhaps define them as terres- trial animals with hoofs rather than claws or nails, and chiefly, if not entirely, vegetarian in habit. The teeth are lunodont or lophodont, the tendency to the production of the latter type being always marked. The walk, although plantigrade in the older types, becomes more and more digitigrade, except in such survivals from antiquity as Hyras. There is, too, as we pass from the ancient types to the modern, a gradual perfection of the limbs as running 196 PHENACODUS CHAP. and not climbing or grasping organs; the number of toes be- comes reduced, and culminates twice (in the horse and in the Litopterna) in one toe on each foot; at the same time the ulna be- comes rudimentary and fuses with the radius, and the fibula in the hind-limb undergoes a like reduction. The clavicle is absent even in some of the oldest types; its presence in Typotherium' is highly remarkable. The tail too, an organ which is long in some of the early forms, gets short in their modern deriva- tives. Coupled with the in- creasing perfection of the foot as an organ used merely for the support of the body, certain in- teresting changes have taken place in the arrangement with re- gard to each other of the several bonelets of the wrist and ankle. It has been held by Cope and others that the truly primitive disposition of these bones was that pre- sented to us by certain early types, such as M/rniscotherium or the existing elephant or Hyras. In these animals there is (see Fig. 112) a serial arrange- (After Osborn. ) Te .. 1 Boee Phenacodus primacvus. Fra. 110.—An early Ungulate. 1 This creature is, however, sometimes referred to the neighbourhood of the Rodents. IX BONES OF WRIST AND ANKLE 197 ment of these bones, the distal bones only, or very nearly only, articulating with the corresponding bones in the upper series. In the modern types (cf. Fig. 113) there is, on the other hand, an interlocking, so that the bones of the distal series articulate with at H Fic. 111.—Series of metacarpals and metatarsals of Camelidae, to show secular and progressive increase in size. From left to right the species are Protylopus petersont, Poebrotherium luthivtium, Gomphotherium sternbergi, Procumelus occi- dentalis. F, Fore-foot; H, hind-foot ; III, IV, third and fourth metapodials. (After Wortman.) two of those of the proximal series. By this is produced, as it would appear, a much firmer foot, less lable to “give” under pressure, and thus more fitted for an animal that runs. It is the same principle as that adopted in the laying of bricks. The actual stress and strain of impact has been held responsible for those changes. An equally ingenious and possibly truer explanation of the undoubted facts has lately been advanced by Mr. W. D. 198 SERIAL AND INTERLOCKING CARPUS CHAP. Matthew.’ He has pointed out that in some ancient Ungulates the carpus is not serial but interlocking, even in forms which belong to the earliest Eocene groups, such as the genus Protolambda among the Amblypoda. Now in the fore-foot of Menzseotheriwm and the living Hyraxz there is a separate centrale which is wanting in the greater number of Ungulates. The absorption, that is the practical dropping out of this bone, would restore to an interlocking carpus the serial arrangement; while on the other hand, by the Fic. 112.—Bones of the manus A, of the Indian Elephant, Alephis indicus. x¢. B, of the Cape Hyrax, Hyraa capensis. x1. ¢, Cuneiform; ce, centrale ; 7, lunar sm, magnum ; 7, pisiform ; &, radius ; ¢/, trapezoid ; tm, trapezium ; 3, seaphoid ; wv, unciform; U, ulna. (From Flower’s Osteoloqy.) fusion of this bone with the scaphoid, the interlocking disposition would be maintained. The gradual perfecting of the fore- and hind-limbs as running organs has been put down to the advent of the grasses, and the formation of large plains covered with this herbage. The same reason would also be in harmony with the equally gradual change in the shape of the molar teeth, from a tubercular form calculated for a mixed or even a carnivorous diet, to the flatter crushing sur- faces exhibited by the lophodont teeth of later Ungulates. — Strong 1 Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. ix. 1897, p. 321. IX ORIGIN OF PERISSODACTYLES 199 canines would in the same way cease to be useful, and even become encumbrances to such grazing creatures; and their dis- appearance is one ‘of the salient features in the history of the Ungulata, that is of the modern representatives of the order. The extraordinary hypertrophy of these teeth in such a line as that of the Amblypoda, which has left no descendants, was one of the reasons perhaps for the decay of those great pachyderms of mid- Tertiary times; their excessive armature became an encumbrance, since it was not accompanied by improvements in other necessary Fic. 113.—Bones of the manus A, of Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sumatrensis. xt. B, of Pig, Sus serofa. x}. Letters asin Fig. 112. (From Flower’s Osteology.) directions. Some of the features of the Tertiary Uneulates have, however, been dealt with in our general sketch of the mammalian life during that epoch, and need not be again referred to here. Of existing Ungulates there are no clear indications of the descent of the Elephants or of the Hyracoidea. Their structure proclaims these two divisions to be of ancient descent, and not to be modern twigs of the Ungulate stem. As to the Perissodactyla and the Artiodactyla we cannot bring them together nearer than in quite early Tertiary times. The order Condylarthra seems to be the starting-point of both these sub-divisions. Huwprotogonia has been considered to be an ancestor of the Perissodactyle branch, and Protogonodon or Protoselene of the Artiodactyla. If this be true, 200 HORNS CHAP. the likenesses which Z%tanotherium shows to the Artiodactyla must be either purely superficial and secondary, or a cropping out of ancient characters which had been dormant for many generations. Horns.—The Ungulata are the only order of mammals which possess horns; as they are on the whole a more defenceless group than the Carnivora, it may be that the horns are a counterpoise to the teeth and claws of the latter; need for defence and for armature in the combats with their own kind for the favours of the does has led to a different kind of protective and aggressive mechanism. Horns as weapons are, however, parti- cularly effective in this group wherever they exist. A Ruminant is most frequently a large and heavy animal without the agility and litheness of the Carnivore. It is precisely to this sort of animal, where weight is an important consideration, that horns are the most suitable weapons. This is further shown by the fact that although the general term horn is used to describe the weapons of the Ungulate mammals, there is more than one kind of structure included under this general term; it is indeed prob- able that the extreme terms in the series of horns have been independently acquired by their possessors. There is but little in common between the horns of a Giraffe and of a Rhinoceros. In the Rhinoceros we have one or two horns, in the latter ease one placed behind the other, which are purely epidermic growths; they may indeed be regarded as matted masses of hair, borne, it is true, upon a boss of bone, which however is not a separate structure. The Giraffe supphes us with the simplest term in that series of horns which are partly epidermal and partly bony. The paired horns of this animal have often Ieen contrasted with those of the Deer, for example; but there is no fundamental difference between them. In the Giraffe a pair of bony out- growths, originally separate from the skull which bears them, but ultimately ankylosed to it, are covered by a layer of entirely un- modified skin. A distinction of undoubtedly practical importance is usually drawn between the Hollow-horned Ruminants, ¢.c. Oxen, Goats and Antelopes, and the Deer tribe. There is nevertheless no fundamental distinction. In the Antelopes there is a core of bone, the “os cornu” as it has been termed, which is covered by a horny layer, the horn proper, variously modified in shape and size according to the genus or species. In the Deer there is the 74 IX HORNS AS A SEXUAL CHARACTER 201 same os cornu, which may however be branched, but which is in the same way covered hy a layer of modified integument ; this is known as the “velvet”; it only lasts for a certain period, and is then torn off by the exertions of the animal itself, leaving behind the bony core, which is popularly termed the horn. It will be clear that here is only a difference of comparative unimportance; the same essential features are present in both groups of animals, but the modification of the epidermis has progressed along different lines. Both can be referred back to the primitive conditions seen in the paired horns of the Giraffe. Even the difference, such as it is, 1s bridged over by the Antelope Antilocapra, where the os cornu is bifid and the horn is periodically shed, as is the velvet of the stag; but in the stag the bony part of the horn is also shed, a state of affairs which has no parallel in the Hollow-horned Ruminants. The great Sivatheriwm may conceivably be an annectant form between the two types of compound horns, 7.¢. those of the Antelope and those of the Deer. This creature had two pairs of horns, of which, naturally, only the bony cores remain ; the hinder pair of these were branched. But although so far they resemble the Deer's horns rather than the Antelope’s, Dr. Murie has thought that they were covered by a horny sheath and not by soft skin as in the Deer. In any case these horns were apparently never shed, which is a point of likeness with the Antelope and of difference from the Deer. Apart therefore from the nature of the covering of the bony cores, there are good grounds for looking upon them as intermediate between those of the Deer and those of the Antelopes. The horns of the Ruminants are frequently a secondary sexual character ; this is especially the case with the Deer. The Rein- deer is, however, an exception, both the stags and the does having horns. That they are associated with the reproductive function is shown by their being shed after the period of rut, the destruction of the velvet at that period, and also by the effect upon the horns which any injury to the reproductive glands produces. Some useful facts upon this latter head have been amassed by Dr. G. H. Fowler,’ who noticed in a series of stags, horns showing various degrees of degeneration in the antlers pro- duced by varying degrees and periods of gelding. From the facts 1 “Notes on some Specimens of Antlers of the Fallow Deer, ete.,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1894, p. 485. 202 CONDYLARTHRA CHAP. here collected it is clear that a direct effect is produced. If we are to regard horns as secondary sexual appendages which have been subsequently handed on to the female by heredity, we should expect to meet with examples of animals now horned in both sexes, of which the earlier representatives had the horns confined to one sex. This is most interestingly shown by the extinct and Miocene Giraffe, Samotheriwm, of which the male alone had a pair of short horns, while the skull of the female was entirely hornless ; the modern Giraffi, as is well known, has horns in both sexes. It is interesting to note that the existing Perissodactyles and Artiodactyles are to be distinguished by their unpaired or paired horns. But while there are no Artiodactyles with unpaired horns (save occasional sports) the Perissodactyles have more than once tried, so to speak, paired horns, which ultimately proved fatal to them. The Rhinoceros Diceratheriwm apparently inherited and improved upon the small paired horns of Aceratheriwm, but it has left no descendant. The paired horned Titanotheria offer another instance of the same apparent incompatibility between the Perisso- dactyle structure and the persistence of paired horns. Susp-Orver 1. CONDYLARTHRA. This group is characterised by the following assemblage of characters. Extinct, often plantigrade Ungulates, with five-toed limbs. Bones of carpus and tarsus not always interlocking, but sometimes lying above each other in corresponding positions. The humerus has an entepicondylar foramen. Dental formula quite complete; the molars brachyodont and bunodont. The premolars are simpler than the molars. The canines are small. As with other early types, the zygapophyses are flat and do not interlock. The astragalus is ike that of the Creodonta. This group was American and European in range, the remains of its rather numerous genera being of Eocene time. The best-known genus is Phenacodus, of which some account will be given before discussing the, in many cases, more fragmentary remains of other allied forms. The genus Phenacodus was first described so long ago as 1872, from a few scattered teeth. Since then several nearly complete skeletons have been obtained, and we are in full possession of IX PHENACODUS AND THE CREODONTS 203 the details of its osteology. It was not a large creature (see Fig. 110, p. 196), about 6 feet in length, with a small head. The feet were more or less plantigrade, and five-toed. The last phalanges of the toes show that they carried hoofs and not claws; yet the fore-feet look a little as if they could be used as grasping organs. The third digit of both hind- and fore-feet exceeds the others, and thus a Perissodactyle-like foot characterised this Eocene creature. The tail is exceedingly long, and must have reached the ground as the animal walked. This is of course by no means an Ungulate character. Still, in the totality of its organisation the animal was decidedly Ungulate, though Professor Cope spoke of Phenacodus as not merely an ancestral Ungulate but as the parent form of Insectivores, Carnivores, Lemurs, Monkeys, and Man himself! The scapula indeed is from its breadth and oval contour rather like that of a Carnivore. The clavicles as in other Ungulates are absent. The femur is Perissodactyle rather than Artiodactyle in the presence of a third trochanter. The creature had fifteen pairs of ribs and five or six lumbar vertebrae. The two bones of the leg which he below the femur are perfectly distinct and separate. A cast of the ‘brain-case shows that the cerebral hemispheres were smooth and small, the cerebellum of course completely uncovered and nearly as large as the cerebrum. The olfactory lobes were also large. The complete skeleton of Phenacodus has lately been excavated more fully from the enveloping matrix by Professor Osborn,’ and mounted in what is regarded as the natural position of the beast. It appears that though five-toed it went upon the three middle toes only, and furthermore that of these the middle one was the more prevailing, so that Phenacodus was distinctly “ Perissodactyle,” at least in habit. Moreover its “long hind-quarters, the long powerful tail . are reminiscent of Creodont ancestry.” The genus was European and American in range. Meniscotherium (= Hyracops*) comprises several forms of about the size of a fox; they are both European and American in range. The teeth are more distinctly Ungulate in form than those of Phenacodus, with a W-shaped outer wall. The skull is described as possessing “ indifferent, primitive characters,” permit- ting a comparison with those of Opossums, Insectivores, and 1 Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. x. 1898, p. 159. 2 Marsh, Amer. Journ. Sci. xliii. 1892, p. 447. 204 CONDYLARTHRA—PROTOGONTA CHAP. Creodonta. It has, as in Phenacodus, no orbital ring. The humerus reseimbles that of a Carnivore rather than that of an Ungulate. The carpus and tarsus are serial. The fibula articu- lates with both the caleaneum and the astragalus, which is not the case with Phenacodus. It is suggested that these animals are ancestral forms of the Chalicotheres. In the brain the hemispheres do not cover the cerebellum. More primitive apparently than Phenacodus was the less-known genus Huprotogonia, or Protogonia * as it has been called. The best- known species is £. puercensis, so called from its occurrence in the Puerco beds of the American Eocene. It was a slender, long- limbed creature, smaller than Phenacodus, with a long and heavy tail as in that animal. Like Phenacodus it was semiplantigrade, and shows more likenesses to the Creodonta. The skull is only known by a part of the lower jaw with teeth, and by the teeth of the upper jaw. The vertebrae are not entirely preserved, but enough remain to show that the animal had a tail of 16 or 17 inches, which is a considerable leneth when compared to its height, about a foot at the rump. In the fore-limb the most noteworthy point is that the ulna has a convex posterior border as in the Creodonts, the same border in Phenacodus being concave. The humerus is slender, with less-marked tuberosities. The fifth digit seems to have been less reduced. The phalanges seem to have borne horny sheaths some- what intermediate between hoofs and claws. The pelvis is described as being, as is also that of Phenacodus, rather like that of the Creodonta. The right hind-limb is known in all its details. It appears that the bones are not serial but interlocking; this, however, on the views with regard to the relations of these two forms of tarsus mentioned on p. 198, does not militate against regarding Huprotogonia as the ancestor of the genus Phenacodus. The third toe is the pre-eminent one, the animal thus being Perissodactyle. The lateral digits are larger than in Phenacodus, and the metatarsals and the phalanges are slightly curved, which is again a Creodont character as compared to the perfectly straight corresponding bones of Phenacodus. It seems evident that this animal is to be looked upon as a more ancient type than Phena- codus, even if not as its actual ancestor. Another group of the Condylarthra contains the genus Pertipychus and some others. Periptychus has the full dentition ' See W. D. Matthew, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. ix. 1897, p. 303. IX TEETH OF EARLY UNGULATES 205 of forty-four teeth, the molars being of course bunodont, with the three chief tubercles most developed. The bones of the tarsus interlock and are not serial, as they are in many other members of the Condylarthra. The astragalus has a shorter neck than in Meniscotheriwm, for example. It has in this a likeness to the same bone in the Amblypoda, to the primitive members of which, such as Pantolambda, this animal bears much resemblance. “ Astragali and many skeletal bones of Periptychus rhabdodon and Pantolambda bathmodon are almost indistinguishable,” observes Mr. Matthew. The fore-feet of this genus are unknown, but it would seem that it was plantigrade from the evidence of the hind- feet. There are several species of the genus. Possibly, but not at all certainly, the Mioclaenidae, with the genera Mioclaenus and Protoselene, are to be referred to this same order of primitive Ungulates. It is only necessary to mention them here, because they show very clearly the primitive form of dentition of these early Eocene mammals. The teeth are quite complete and unbroken by a diastema. The canines are but little pronounced. The molars are not strictly tritubercular, but have a prevailing tritubereuly. The nature of the feet is not known. Since the genus Protoselene, as its name denotes, shows an indica- tion of a commencing selenodonty, it has been suggested that this group is the stock whence the Artiodactyles have been derived. In any case, whether the particular comparisons that have been made as to the relationship of various forms of Condylarthra are valid or not, it seems to be plain that this group represents the earliest Unegulate stock, but little differentiated from the con- temporaneous Creodonts. Sup-Orper 2. AMBLYPODA. This group of extinct mammals has the following principal characteristics :— They are large, semiplantigrade Ungulates, of heavy build and apparently elephantine gait. The dentition is for the most part complete as in other ancient groups, and the canines are in the later forms big tusks. The back teeth are brachyodont and ridged (lophodont). Both radius and ulna in the fore-limb, and tibia and fibula in the hind-limb, are well developed. The bones 206 AMBLYPODA—D/NOCERAS ANI) ITS ALLIES CHAP, in the carpus are alternating in position. The toes are five in both feet, and are very short. There is a hint of commencing “ perissodactylism ” in the fore-feet at any rate. The brain is small and the hemispheres smooth. The Amblypoda, or Amblydactyla, are so called on account of their short and stumpy feet and toes. They were held by Pro- fessor Cope to be on the direct line of ancestry of both Perisso- dactyles and Artiodactyles, a view which is on the whole not accepted at present. As is the case with other groups, the Amblypoda commenced existence as a sub-order with relatively small forms such as Fia. 114.—Skull of Protolambda bathmodon. x 3. e.a.m, External auditory meatus ; m, mastoid ; m.f, mastoid foramen. (After Osborn.) Pantolambda, the most ancient type known, which is in many respects a transition between the later forms and other groups of mammals such as the Creodonta.' The race culminated and ended in the giant Dinoceras and Coryphodon, and spread into the Old World. In spite of their smooth and diminutive brain, these mammals were able to hold their own and to multiply into many species and genera; in this they were perhaps aided by their formidable tusks and by the horns which many of them possessed. The teeth seem to imply an omnivorous diet, which was quite possibly an additional advantage in the struggle for existence. It does not seem to be necessary to divide off the Dinoceratidae into a sub-order equivalent to the Coryphodontidae as was done ' Or perhaps rather to the primitive Ungulates Condylarthra. It is especially compared with Periptichus of that group. 1x COR YPHODON 207 by Professor Marsh ; the numerous points in common possessed by the members of both families forbid their separation more widely than as families. The earhest types of Amblypoda belong to the genus Pantolambda, of which the species P. bathmodon was about four feet in length. As restored it seems to have had proportionately short fore- and hind-limbs, and it had a long tail. It was apparently plantigrade, and would have had not a little likeness to a carnivorous type. The skull has no air cavities, such as are developed in the later types from the Lower Eocene, e.g. Cory- phodon ; Pantolambda is from the basal Eocene. The frontal bones show no trace of the horns that are developed in subsequent forms; the nasals are comparatively long; the zygomatic arch is slender. The molar teeth are in the primitive form of trituberculy, and the premolars, as is so often the case with primitive animals, are unlike the molars in form, being less markedly selenodont. As to the vertebral column, the dorsal vertebrae appear to have had short spines, which argues, as it does also in the case of the larger and heavier Coryphodon, a feebleness in the development of ligaments and muscles supporting and moving the head. The scapula seems to have the same peculiar leaf-like form that it has in the later Coryphodon.’ This primitive type shows an entepi- condylar foramen in the humerus. It is interesting to observe that the posterior border of the ulna is convex, as in the Creodonts, and in the early Condylarthrous form Huprotogonia. In the sub- sequently-developed Amblypoda, as in the later Condylarthra, that bone acquires a concave outer border. In the carpus the os centrale is distinct. In the femur the third trochanter is well formed; it gradually dies out in later Amblypoda. The fibula articulates with the calcaneum. This species, according to Osborn, “typifies the hypothetical DProtungulate, being more primitive than either Ewprotogonia or Phenacodus.” ” The genus Coryphodon is known by a large number of species, of which the first was discovered in this country, and was repre- sented merely by a Jaw with some teeth. This was named by Sir R. Owen C. cocaenus, and was dredged up from the bottom of the sea off the Essex coast. A second specimen consisted of a single | The scapula of P. bathmodon is unknown. For the structure of this genus and of Coryphodon, see Osborn, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. x. 1898, p. 169. ULOGSO Ld V Oty suppose uopoydhwag JO WOPTPYS— "ELL “OM l J ae ee d hig IX CORYPHODON 209 canine tooth only, and was brought up from a depth of 160 feet during the making of a well at Camberwell. More abundant remains have since been found in North America. This genus had a large head, and in some specimens traces of the “horn cores,” so marked in the related Dinoceras, are to be noticed. The skull is broad behind and narrowed in front; the roofing bones show the cellular spaces so characteristic of the Elephant. The jugal bone, however, is not, as it is in the Elephant, placed in the middle of the somewhat massive zygomatic arch. As in some other primitive Ungulates (e.g. Phenacodus) there are twenty dorso-lumbar vertebrae, of which fifteen bore ribs. The scapula seems to have possessed a peculiar leaf-like form, swelling in the middle and ending almost in a point above. It has a well-marked spine, and the acromion projects much. The fore- as well as the hind-feet are in a state of transition between plantigradism and digitigradism. It was at one time held that the animal was digitigrade as to the fore-feet and plantigrade as to the hind-feet. Though, as has been pointed out, it is a fact that the hind-feet are often on a different plane of evolution from the tore-feet, it seems that this amount of difference does not characterise any Ungulate, not excepting the genus now under consideration. The toes are very spreading. The pelvic girdle is of great strength and broadness. The femur, as in the Perissodactyles, has a well-developed third trochanter; but whereas in this particular the hind-limhb is Perissodactyle, it is Articdactyle in the fact that the tibia and the fibula articulate with the astragalus andcaleaneum. The ridged teeth have given the name to the genus. A curious feature in the structure of the genus are the slender spines of the dorsal vertebrae, which contrast with the enormous ones of some other Ungulates—imore curious in this genus, which is of heavy build, than in the lighter Pantolambda. The back of the animal is short, and the limbs are very spreading, so that the gait was doubtless shuffling. The large head, and short and heavy limbs and limb girdles added probably to its cumbrous walk or trot. The canines are great tusks, and spread out on both sides of the mouth. The late Professor Cope, in 1874, described the probable appear- ance of the Coryphodon in the following words :—“ The general appearance of the Coryphodons, as determined by the skeleton. 1 Osborn, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. x. 1898, p. 81. VOL. X P 210 DINOCERAS CHAP. probably resembled the bears more than any living aninals, with the important exception that in their feet they were much like the elephant. To the general proportions of the bears must be added the tail of medium length. Whether they were covered with hair or not is of course uncertain. Of their nearest living allies, the elephants, some were hairy and others naked. The movements of the Coryphodons doubtless resembled those of the elephant in its shuffling and ambling gait, and may have been even more awkward from the inflexibility of the ankle.” The most recent members of this sub-order come from the Middle Eocene beds, and are chiefly referable to the genus Lino- ceras, With which Vinoceras and Uintatherium are at least very nearly related, if not identical. These creatures were of great size, larger than the earher types which have been considered. They show a certain superficial resemblance to the Titanotheriidae, on account of the massive horn cores upon the skull. These horn cores are large upon the maxillae and the parietals, and are paired; on the nasals are smaller horns. The bones of the skull have air cavities. The incisors of the upper jaw are absent; the canines are enormous tusks, and the lower jaws are flanged downwards near the symphysis where these tusks border them. Contrary to what is found in the older types, where the position of the condyle of the lower jaw is normal, this prominence faces backwards in the Dinocerata. The same shortness of the spines of the dorsal vertebrae prevails in this group as in the other Amblypoda, though it is perhaps hardly so marked. The scapula has not the peculiar acuminate form that exists in Coryphodon, but is triangular and broad above. The limbs are elephantine, in that the angle between the humerus and the femur respectively, and the bones which follow, is not marked. The hind-limbs are especially straight. The tail is short as compared with that of the primitive Amblypoda. The Dinocerata are purely digitigrade. The entepicondylar foramen has, as in the Coryphodonts, disappeared. The os centrale of the carpus has become fused, and no longer exists as a separate bone. The fibula no longer articulates with the calcaneum, but both that bone and the ulna are well developed. The genus Astrapotherium is placed among the Amblypoda by some authorities. ' Gadow, A Classification of Vertebrata, Recent and Eetinet, Loudon, 1898. IX THE “ PANGOLIN GIGANTESQUE” 211 SvuB-ORDER 3. ANCYLOPODA. The history of the discovery of the members of this order is very instructive as illustrating the dangers of laying too much classificatory importance upon detached fragments of animals. So long ago as 1825 terminal phalanges of a new creature were found in the Miocene of Eppelsheim, and sent to Cuvier. Cuvier named them “ Pangolin gigantesque,” deeming them, on account of their general form and cleft terminations, to pertain to the Edentata. Tn the same bed some seven years later were found certain teeth clearly of an Ungulate character, to which the generic name of Chalicotheriwm was applied. It was subsequently discovered that the teeth and the claws belonged to the same animal, and, later, further remains turned up which disclosed a creature having the anomalous composition of an Ungulate with decisively Ungulate teeth, but with the feet to a large extent like those of an unguiculate animal. The same confusion of characters occurs also, it will be remembered, in the distinctly Artiodactyle Agriochoerus (see p. 331). Indeed the feet of the latter when first discovered were erroneously, as it now appears, referred to the present order of Ungulates under the name of Artionyz. It is probable that the genus JAforopus of North America is a member of this group, and that it is probably congeneric with a somewhat different type of Ancylopod known as J/acrotheriwm. It is also clear that Anisodon, Schizotherium, and Ancylotherium, if not congenerice with either of the two recognised genera, are at least very close to them. Chalicothertum has a skull which recalls that of some of the earlier Uneulates; it has, however, no incisors at all, and no canines in the upper jaw; this feature has led to the belief that the animal is related to the Edentata, and that it is in fact a link between them and the Ungulata. The molars, like those of the Perissodactyla, are of the buno-selenodont type. It also agrees with that growp (to which it has been approximated by several writers) in the tridactyl manus and pes, and in the characters of the tarsus. But although tridactyl, the axis of the limb passes through the fourth digit. Chalicothervwm is not mes- axonic, as are the Perissodactyles. Moreover, it has no third 21.2 COPE ON THE TYPOTHERIA CHAP. trochanter, and the unguiculate claws have already been referred to. As to the latter, which are short, it is not the end phalanx but the first which is retracted; thus Chalicotheriwm differs markedly trom both Carnivorous and Edentate types; for in the former it is the last phalanx which is retracted, while in the Edentates the same phalanx is flexed downwards. The limbs of Chulicotherium are nearly of the same size, and the animal seems to have been stout and quadrupedal.’ Macrotherium, like the last genus, seems to have been common to both New and Old Worlds. It is to be distinguished by a number of characters. It is supposed to have been “ semi- arboreal and fossorial”; the fore-lmbs are much longer than the hind, the relative proportions of the radius and tibia being 70 to 29. The ulna was distinct from the radius, whereas in Chalicotherium the two are coalesced, or nearly so. Young specimens appear to possess a full set of incisors; whether this is the case or not with Chalivotherium is not known.” Homalodontotherium is sometimes placed in the group. Sus-Orper 4. TYPOTHERIA. It is a little difficult to be confident that the Typotheria are rightly referred to the Ungulata, since they contradict two im- portant Ungulate rules. They have clavicles, which are elsewhere missing, and the thumb looks as if it were opposable.2 An Ungulate is essentially a running animal, and has no need of a grasping finger. Still Typotheria are placed by most within the Ungulate series, though their undoubted likenesses to other groups, especially to the Rodentia, are admitted, and indeed emphasised. Cope places them definitely with the Toxodonts. The Typotheria are an extinct group of smallish beasts, confined, hke the Toxodontia, to South America, a region which during the Tertiary period, and into the Pleistocene, abounded with strange and varied types of Ungulate animals. The earlier forms of Typotheria may be exemplified by some 1 See Osborn, American Naturalist, February 1893, p. 118. * It is not absolutely clear whether both or only one genus ranged into America. Different opinions have been expressed. * It must be remembered, however, that there is a suggestion of a prehensile character in the hand of Phenacodus (see p. 203). 1X DENTITION OF TYPOTHERIA 213 account of the genus Protypotheriwn. This animal was of about the size of a Hyraa, which indeed it resembles in several points of structure. The teeth have the primitive number of forty-four, and they are close set, leaving no diastema; the molars are rootless and grow persistently; they are simple and Rodent-like .in surface pattern. The shape of the lower jaw is like that of Myr, being rounded in outline posteriorly ; there is no projecting angle as in the Rodents, and this remark apples to the Typotheria in general. The aspect of the Rodent lower jaw is characteristically different from that of Hyrax and the forms under consideration. Some other characters of these early forms of Typotheria can be gathered from an inspection of other genera. In Icochilus both hand and foot were five-toed, and, as in ancient Ungulates generally, the bones of the wrist and of the ankle are serially and not alternately arranged. Moreover, an os centrale is present in the carpus. Both thumb and big toe were opposable. The skull has a remarkably Rodent-like appearance, but the palate is not so narrowed as in these animals. In the more recent forms of Typotheria the dentition has become reduced. The canines are lost, and as the incisors are reduced also, to one on each side of the upper, and two on each side of the lower jaw, the likeness to a ltodent skull is increased. There is also evidence of a modification from the more primitive forms in the loss of one premolar or even more, in the alternating bones of the carpus, in the disappearance of the centrale, and in the loss of a toe upon the hind-foot. In these more recent forms the fibula articulates with the astragalus instead of with the caleaneum. Typotheria of these more recent forms may be illustrated by the typical genus Spina. It has the re- duced dental formula I} C9 Pm? M3; the molars are simple in pattern, and much like shave of Toxvodon. The wpper incisors are powerful and curved, but are surrounded by a layer of enamel, which is not limited to the anterior face, as it practically is in Rodents. The sacrum is composed of a large number of verte- brae—some seven—a state of affairs which recalls the Edentata. The shoulder blade is not Ungulate in form. It has a strong spine, with an acromion and a well-developed metacromion. The terminal phalanges are enlarged and hoof-like. In the genus Pachyrucos there are three premolars, otherwise 214 “ GIANTS’ BONES” IN PATAGONIA CHAP. the formula is the same as in 7'ypotherium. The animal seems to have had nails rather than hoofs. The thumb was opposable. The fibula is fused below with the tibia, whereas in the last genus these two bones are quite separate from each other. Sup-Orper 5. TOXODONTIA The group Toxodontia,’ like so many others, is exceedingly hard to define. Nor are its limits any easier to mark out than many others of the groups of Ungulates. It will be best perhaps to give an account of Toaodon, and of a few types which seem to le near it in the system, and then to indicate how far they resemble or depart in structure from other Ungulates. Yoaodon itself is known from complete skeletons. It lived in Argentina during the “ Pampean ” period, which seems to be of the Pleistocene ave. A large number of species, however, have been described, some of which seem to go farther back in time, and to have existed during the Miocene period further south in Patagonia. The size of this creature was about that of a large Rhinoceros ; it has a bulky body and a large head, which was borne low down, on account of the bending downwards of the anterior vertebrae: in this aspect the figures of the skeletons recall Glyptodon and similar Edentates. The beast was discovered by Darwin, and originally described by Owen. “ During his (Mr. Darwin’s) sojourn in Banda Oriental,’ writes the Rey. H. Hutchinson, “having heard of some * giants’ bones’ at a farm- house on the Sarandis, a small stream entering the Rio Negro, he rode there, and purchased for the sum of eighteenpence the skull which has been described by Sir R. Owen. The people at the farm-house told My. Darwin that the remains were exposed by a flood having washed down part of a bank of earth. When found, the head was quite perfect, but the boys knocked the teeth out with stones, and then set up the head as a mark to throw at.” The whole of the Pampean area is a valley of dry bones, and the remains of Z'oaodon are abundant there. The skull of Tovodon is not unlike that of a horse in general aspect; but the orbit is not separated from the temporal fossa. The premaxillae are furnished above with a slight protuberance directed towards ' Cope, American Naturalist, xxxi. 1897, p. 485. IX TOXODON AND NESODON 215 the free end of the nasals, which may be related to the presence of a short proboscis. The zygomatic arch is strong and broad; the mandibles are provided with a long symphysis. The dental formula is 1? C%;1 Pmy+; M3. The teeth are prismatic and hypselodont, erowing from persistent pulps. The molar teeth are slightly arched in form, whence the name of Zovodon, “ bow teeth.” The strong chisel-shaped incisors suggest the Rodents and Hyraw. The cheek teeth, moreover, are by no means unlike those of Rodents in their pattern. They are at any rate not at all like those of ex- isting Ungulates. The small size of the canine and of the first pre- molar produces a diastema in the tooth series. The sacrum consists of five vertebrae, and the ischium does not articulate with it. The shoulder blade has a strong spine, but only a rudimentary acromion ; nor is the coracoid well developed. The radius crosses the ulna, as in the Elephant; the whole fore-limb is shorter than the hind-limb, which must have exaggerated the hang-dog ex- pression of the creature when alive. The elements of the carpus interlock in the modern fashion. Those of the tarsus, however, are primitive in lying below each other without alternation. The carpus has a centrale. The fibula articulates with the calcaneum. The femur has no third trochanter. There are three toes to all the limbs. It is clear that this assemblage of characters will not allow the placing of Zoxodon in any living Ungulate order. If the middle toes appear by their slight pre-eminence to approach the Perissodactyle form, the peculiar surface contour of the molar teeth, letting alone the absence of a third trochanter on the femur, will not permit this classification. Allied to Yoxodon is the genus Nesodon. It was so named from an “island lobe” on the inner side of the upper molars. This creature, smaller than Z'oxodon, also differs from it in the fact that “the dentition is complete, and in the pattern of the molars, which is rather more complex. There is still the slight projection upon the premaxillary bones, but the nostril is directed more forwards than in Zoxodon. The zygoma, too, is massive. The second pair of incisors in the upper jaw and the outer (third) pair in the lower jaw form biggish tusks in the adult. These and the molar teeth are, however, finally rooted, and do not grow, as in Tovodon, from persistent pulps. The genus is from the older Tertiary of Patagonia. Five or six species have been described. Some are as large as a Rhinoceros, others as small as a Sheep. 216 THE AFFINITIES OF TOXODONS CHAP. There is no doubt about the close alliance of the two genera just referred to. It is more doubtful whether Howelodunto- therium and its allies should be placed, as they often are, in the neighbourhood of the Toxodonts. Homalodontotherium owes its naine to its even row of teeth without a diastema. It was a creature of equally large size with Zowodon, and also came from the Tertiary strata of Patagonia. The teeth are the typical forty- four, and the molars like those of a Rhinoceros; they are, how- ever, brachyodont and not hypselodont as in Zovodon. This genus, however, shows an important difference from the Rbinocerotidae and from the other Toxodontia in the fact that it was five-toed, and that the bones of the carpus and tarsus are set in relation to each other in the linear serial fashion. Undoubtedly a near relative of Homalodontotherium is Astiiupo- therium. This creature was of equal bulk, and was also Patagonian in range. The teeth are reduced in number, but the animal was provided, like a Wild Boar, with ereat tusks, which were, however, formed by the incisors. This animal is very imperfectly known ; it is the form of the molars and the large size of the incisors which have led to its association with the Toxodontia. As to the resem- blance of the teeth of this genus and of Homalodontotherium to those of Rhinoceros, it is difficult to regard it as evidence of near affinity. The likeness is probably to be looked upon asx a case of parallelism in development. Exactly the same explanation is possibly to be given to the hkeness which the teeth of Zoxvodon and Nesodon show to Rodents, or even to Edentates. As to their affinities Zittel observes :— “The entirety of their osteological characters argues for the Toxoilon a separate position in the neighbourhood of the Perisso- dactyla, Proboscidea, Typotheria, and Hyracoidea. The relations to the Rodentia rest mainly upon the converging development of the teeth, not upon true relationship.” SvUB-ORDER 6. PROBOSCIDEA. Large vegetable-feeding animals, usually scantily covered with hair, and with the nostrils and upper lip drawn out into a long proboscis. Digits five on both limbs. Femur and humerus not bent upon lower leg and fore-arm in a position of rest. Skull 1X CHARACTERS OF ELEPHANTIDAE 217 with abundant air cavities in the roofing and other bones. The incisors are developed into long tusks, which exist in the upper Jaw alone, in the lower jaw alone, or in both jaws. There are no canines. The molars are lophodont. The clavicle is absent. The femur has no third trochanter. The bones of the carpus are serially arranged and do not interlock. The stomach is simple. The brain has much convoluted cerebral hemispheres, but the cerebellum is completely uncovered by them. The intestine is provided with a wide caecum. The testes are abdominal. The teats are pectoral in position. The placenta is non-deciduate and zonary. There are two venae cayae superiores. The position of the hmbs in the Elephant tribe is unique among living animals: their straightness that is to say, and the absence or very slight development of angulation at the joints of the limb bones. This same feature has been observed in the extinct Dinocerata and in the Titanotheria. It must not, however, be assumed from the resemblance to these ancient forms that there is much affinity between them and the Proboscidea, or that the latter have retained an ancient feature of organisation. The oldest Ungulates for the most part, and the Creodonts to which they are undoubtedly related, have much bent limbs. It must be considered, therefore, that the arrangement obtaining in the Elephants is purely secondary. Professor Osborn has put forward the reasonable view? that the vertical limbs of all these colossal creatures are due to “an adaptation designed to transmit the increasing weight” of these animals. The huge bulk of the body is better borne hy vertical pillars than by an angulated limb. Other points, however, such as the exposure of the cerebellum, the two venae cavae, the five digits, and the absence of a third trochanter, argue a low position for the Proboscidea in the Eutherian group. The group can be readily divided into two families, the Elephantidae and the Dinotheriidae. We will commence with the former. The Elephants proper, Elephantidae, differ from the Dino- theriidae in, and are characterised by, a number of anatomical features. They possess long tusks (incisors) either in both jaws, or, if only in one jaw, in the upper. The molar teeth are very large—so large that only a few of them are simultaneously in use. There are but three definable genera of Elephantidae, of which 1 American Nat. February 1900, p. 89. 218 SKULL OF ELEPHANT CHAP. Hlephus alone survives. This genus also includes many extinct forms, both American and European, as well as Asiatic and African. The entirely extinct genera are Stegodon and JMastodon. The group is clearly one dwindling towards extermination. From the Middle Miocene downwards these great “ pachyderms” have existed ; and from the Miocene up to Pleistocene times they were almost world-wide in range and numerous in species. The genus L/ephas comprises usually large, but occasionally (the pygmy Elephant of Malta) quite small forms. The external features of the genus differ slightly in different species, and will therefore be described in relation to those species which we shall notice here. The vertebral formula is C 7, D 19-20, L 3-5, Sa 4-5, Ca 24-30, or even more. , The bodies of the vertebrac are remarkable for their shortness and for the very flattened articular surfaces. The skull is large and massive. Its large and heavy character is, as has been stated in the definition of the sub-order, due to the Fic. 116.—A section of the cranium of a full-grown African Elephant, taken to the left of the middle line, and including the vomer (Vo) and the mesethmoid (AZZ) ; an, anterior, aud px, posterior narial aperture. x15. (From Flower’s Osteology.) immense development of air cavities in the diploe; the diameter of the wall of the skull is actually greater than that of the cranial cavity. These cavities are not obvious in the young anunal. They are most conspicuous in the roofing bones of the skull, but are seen elsewhere, and thicken the basis cranii, 1X, TUSKS AND MOLARS 219 the maxillae, and so forth. This state of affairs, together with the presence of the huge tusks, has, as it were, pushed back the nasal orifices to near the top of the skull in a very Whale-like fashion. As in the Cetacea, the nasal bones are limited in size, and the premaxillae send up processes to join the frontals and the nasals. There is a straight and somewhat slender zygomatic arch, but the orbit is not separated from the temporal fossa. The malar bone is small, and, as in Rodents, forms the middle part of the zygoma. This is not the case with most Ungulata. The symphysis of the mandibles forms a spout-like rim. The scapula has a narrow prescapular, but a very wide postscapular region. The spine has a strong process projecting backwards from near its middle; this is a point of likeness to certain Rodents. No Elephant has a clavicle. The most remarkable feature about the fore-limb is the separation and crossing of the radius and ulna. The arms of these animals are permanently fixed in the position of pronation. The foot is short, and the bones of the carpus are serially arranged. There are, however, traces of a commencing interlocking of these bones in many forms. The hind-feet are somewhat smaller than the fore-feet, and the tibia and fibula are both developed. As to the teeth, this genus is to be distinguished from allied forms by the presence of tusks in the upper jaw only. These tusks have no bands of enamel such as characterise those of Mastodon. They are incisors. There is, however, a trace of the former enamelling in the shape of a patch at the tip, which soon wears away. The molar teeth of Hlephas are so large that the jaws cannot accommodate more than at the most two and a part of a third at a time. These are gradu- ally replaced by others to the number of three, the replace- ment of teeth suggesting that of the Manatee. Each molar is deeply ridged, the interstices between the ridges being filled up with cement. As the tooth wears away, therefore, the surface continues to be flat. Each ridge consists of a core of dentine surrounded by a coat of enamel. The number of these ridges varies greatly from species to species. The Indian Elephant is one of those which have the greatest number of plates in a single tooth, as many as twenty-seven.' Of the six molars which eventu- 1 It must be borne in mind that the teeth increase in complexity, those first pushed up having the fewest plates. The first has only four transverse plates. 220 STOMACH AND BRAIN CHAP. ally appear, the first three are considered to correspond to pre- molars. But successional teeth are rare in the genus; that is to say as far as concerns the molars, for the tusks have their milk forerunners. As to the molars it is apparently only &. planifrons which certainly shows a milk dentition. In J/asfodon and older types a milk dentition is commoner. The viscera of the Elephant have been examined by many zoologists. The latest paper, dealing chiefly with the African species, but containing facts about its Indian congener also, is quoted below." The Elephant is remarkable in possessing, in addition to the three usual pairs of salivary glands present in mammals, a fourth, situated in the molar region, and opening on to the cheek by many pores. This gland is especially well developed in Rodents. There is a gland which may be mentioned in this connexion, though it opens externally between the eye and ear, known as the temporal gland; its use does not seem clear. The thoracic cavity of the Elephant, as may be inferred from the large number of ribs, is very large as compared with the abdominal. The stomach is simple in form, and the epithelium of the oesophagus does not extend into it as is the case with the Horse and Rhinoceros. A gland or a collection of smaller glands occurs in the stomach, and recalls the “cardiac gland” of the Wombat and the Beaver, also that of the Giraffe. The large intestine is long, rather more than half the length of the small intestine. The caecum is well developed in these animals. The liver has a very sunple form, being but shehtly lobulated. It is actually only bilobed, but it is important to notice that this division does not correspond to the two halves of the liver. As shown by the attachment of the suspensory ligament, one half consists of the left lateral lobe alone, the other half embracing the remaining primary lobes. The simplicity of the liver looks lke an archaic character. No Elephant has a gall-bladder. The lungs again are simple in form through their slight lobulation. Each half in fact is without subdivisions, and is of a triangular form. In this the Elephants resemble the Whales, as in the simple liver. In both cases probably the likeness is due to the perminence of primitive features of organisation. The brain * of the Elephant ' Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 420. * See Krueg, Zeitschr. wiss. Zool. xxxiii. 1881, p. 652, and Beddard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1893, p. 311. IX THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT 2 i) = has hemispheres which are extremely well convoluted; but they leave the cerebellum entirely uncovered. This suggests a brain which is a great specialisation of a low type. The brain has been particularly compared with that of the Carnivora, with which group the Elephants agree in the characters of the placenta. It is, however, always a matter of the very greatest ditticulty to compare the brains of mammals belonging to different orders. There are but two living species of Elephant, of both of which we shall now proceed to give some account. Only a few of the rather numerous fossil forms can be touched upon here. The African Elephant, &. africanus, has been sometimes re- ferred to a distinct genus or sub-genus, Lowodon, by reason of the lozenge-shaped areas on the worn erindine-teeth. It lives, as its name denotes, in Africa. This species has a number of external features which enable it to be distinguished from the Oriental Elephant. The head slopes back more, and has not the two rounded bosses which give so wise a countenance to the Indian species. The ears are very much larger. The tip of the trunk has a slight triangular projection on both the lower and the upper part of the circumference of the aperture. There are four nails on the fore-feet and three on the hind. As in the Indian form, the toes are all bound together, and do not appear for any part as free digits. A thick pad of fat, etc., makes the animal when alive look as if plantigrade, whereas it is, as a matter of fact, digitigrade. In internal features the most prominent difference from #. indicus is in the molar teeth, which are ridged by much fewer ridges. The outside number for a single tooth in the present species is 10 or 11. In Hlephas indicus on the other hand there are as many as 27. The African Elephant, thinks Sir Samuel Baker, reaches a height of about 12 feet, and it will be remembered that the notorious “Jumbo” was found to be 11 feet high at the shoulder. The tusks are found in both sexes, as in the Indian beast, but are relatively larger in the female in the species now under consideration. It is also a rather more active creature, and ig more savage ; ' however it can be tamed, as is shown by several 1 So convinced are some persons of the untameable character of the African Elephant, that it has even been suggested that the animals with which Hannibal crossed the Alps were not £. africanus, but a now extinct species ! lo to THE ELEPHANT AS AN EMBLEM CHAP. pecimens which have been and are in the possession of the Zoologi- al Society, and other proprietors. It was apparently used in the ast. Certain Carthaginian coins are stamped with a figure of : } i Al Hh (After Sir Samuel Baker. ) Mephas africanus. <5. can Elephant. 7.- Afric Fre. 11 he African Elephant; but in Africa no attempts are now made o utilise this creature except for food and ivory. The meaning of an Elephant as an emblem upon a coin ippears to be eternity, and there is no question but that the IX WEIGHT OF TUSKS 223 Elephant is a long-lived animal. Tt is said that it hardly reaches proper maturity before forty, and that 150 years is not beyond probability in the way of longevity. Even longer periods have been assigned to it. The tusks of the Elephant are by no means necessarily sexual adornments, used for fighting purposes only. The African Elephant is a most “industrious digger,” and grubs up innumer- able roots as food. It appears to be a fact that during these operations the right tusk is mainly used, and in consequence that tusk is shorter as well as thinner than the other. Two average tusks would weigh respectively 75 and 65 Ibs. the latter of course being the weight of the more worn right tusk. These weights, it should be observed, by no means indicate the limits to which finely-developed tusks can attain. The very heaviest tusk known to Sir Samuel Baker! weighed 188 Ibs. This was sold at an ivory sale in London in the year 1874. The pace of the African Elephant, says the same authority, is at most at the rate of fifteen miles an hour at first, and of course in a furious rush. This pace cannot be kept up for more than two or three hundred yards, after which ten miles an hour is a better ap- proximation to the rate which can be kept up for long distances, The Indian Elephant, Hephas indicus (or Huelephas indicus, if the genus Lowxodon is to be accepted), is better known and has been longer known than the African. It occurs in India and Ceylon, and in some of the Malayan islands, the Elephants of which latter parts of the world have been regarded as a distinct form, an apparently unnecessary procedure. This species does not stand so high at the shoulder as the African; its back is more rounded in the middle. The trunk has but one pointed tip; there are five nails on the fore- and four on the hind-feet. As this species comes from India and the East, it has been longer as well as better known than the African form. Thus many of the stories and legends that have congregated round Elephants apply really to this form. As is well known, the Indian Elephant is much used as a beast of burden, and for other purposes where its huge strength renders it invaluable. But its great draw- back as a servant of man is its great independability. On the one hand we have furious, vicious, and generally unreliable 1 Wild Beasts and their Ways, London, 1890. Zea: TIMIDITY OF INDIAN ELEPHANT CHAP. Elephants, and on the other perfectly docile creatures, who obey the shghtest hint from their driver. Huge though the Elephant 95 = S = fea) = ii ao = Fic, is, it is frequently a timid beast. Sir Samuel Baker relates how one which he was riding fairly bolted at the sight of a Hare. To 1X ARISTOTLE'S OBSERVATIONS 225 be bolted with by an Elephant is far from pleasing, though a rather exciting event. It makes for the nearest jungle at once, being, much more than the African species, an inhabitant of forest. And in rushing through the dense undergrowth, the occupiers of the Elephant’s back are apt to be swept off or cut to pieces by innumerable thorns. Elephants, no doubt of the Indian species, were used by the Persians in battle, and from fifteen which were captured at the battle of Arbela some notes were drawn up by Aristotle. In stating that the animal reaches an age of 200 years, the naturalist and philosopher was probably not very far out. The mode of Elephant-catching as related by Aristotle is that pur- sued at the present day. Then, as now, tame Elephants were made use of as decoys. Pliny,’ who was apt to confound fact and fiction in a somewhat inseparable tangle, had something to say about Elephants, both Indian and African. Serpents, he thought, were their chief enemies, which slew them by coiling round them and thrusting their heads into the trunk, and so stopping respiration. In Europe Elephants were first seen in the year B.c. 280. Pyrrhus used them in his invasion, and copying his example the Romans themselves learnt to use Elephants. The first Elephant seen in England arrived in the year 1257, presented by the King of France to Henry III. It was kept in the Tower (for long after- wards a menagerie), and died at twelve years of age. Much use of the Elephant has been made in symbols. We have spoken of the African Elephant on Carthaginian coins as an emblem of eternity. The Oriental Elephant resting on the back of a tortoise and supporting the world is the same idea; and it is instructive to note that remains have been found in the Siwalik Hills of a tortoise which would have been actually big enough to support the creature, even “Jumbo,” who weighed 64 tons. Another symbel is that of an Elephant upon whose back is a child with arrows; this occurs on a medal of the Emperor Philip. It can perhaps hardly signify the eternity of a strong human feeling! The intelligence of the Elephant has been both exaggerated and minimised. Perhaps the most elaborate attempt to endow the beast with unusual mental perceptions is that of Aelian, who related that an Elephant carefully watching his keeper, wrote after him with his trunk letters wpon a board. That the animal does 1 See Natural History of the Ancients, by Rev. M. G. Watkins, London, 1896. VOL. X Q 226 THE MAMMOTH AND THE FLOOD CHAP, possess a good deal of brains, seems to be shown by the way in which a well-trained animal will obey the slightest sign of the mahout in India. According to Sir Samuel Baker, localities which produce in abundance particular kinds of fruit are remem- bered, as well as the time at which the fruit will be at its best. Stories of revenge, which are numerous enough, attest, so far as their data are to be accepted as accurate, the power of memory possessed by the Elephant. In spite of their longevity, however, Elephants, unlike Rome, have not been built for eternity. We can only find two hving species; but in past times Elephants were very numerous. They commenced, so far as we know, in the Miocene. The existing forms are known in a fossil, or at least sub-fossil state, from diluvial deposits; and it is interesting to note that the African Elephant had formerly a wider range than now. — Its bones (described as #. priscus) have been met with in Spain and Sicily. One of the best known of completely-extinct Elephants is the Mammoth, &. primigenius. This great Elephant in most respects nore nearly approached the existing Indian Elephant. The teeth have quite as numerous plates. The tusks were enormous, reach- ing a maximum leneth of 15 feet; they were much curved upwards as well as outwards. A large tusk weighs as much as 250 Ibs. The Mammoth was of exceedingly wide range. Not only was it found in various parts of Europe, but it was especially abundant in Siberia, as is exemplified by the fact that for the last two hundred years as many or more than 100 pairs of tusks annually have been sold from that region. It also occurred in America together with forms at least not far removed from it, such as columbianus. Mammoths have been more than once found as entire carcases in the frozen soil of Siberia. The first was dis- covered in the year 1799, and rescued some years later for the St. Petersburg Museum. This example showed that the Mammoth, unlike existing Elephants, was covered with thick wool mingled with long and more bristly hairs of some 10 inches in length. The softer wool formed a kind of mane beneath the neck, which hune down as far as the knees. Another carcase was discovered later by Lieut. Benkendorf, who did not save it, but was nearly swept along with it into the sea by a flood. These creatures died in the position in which they were found by being bogged when in search of vegetation or water. Ix " CORNES DE LICORNE” SPAY How primeval mun, with his inferior weapons, slew the Mammoth is not easy to understand; but that they were con- temporaneous is clearly shown by associated remains, and by the notorious sketch of the Mammoth on a piece of its own ivory, in which curved tusks and a forehead like that of an Indian Elephant are plainly to be seen. Although it was only so recently as the year 1799 that an example of this great creature was actually studied on the spot, and removed to St. Petersburg, the existence of Mammoths and of ivory is a matter of much more ancient knowledge. M. Trouessart relates’ that fossil ivory was known to the Greeks. Theophrastus spoke of ivory imbedded in the soil, and the tusks were recovered by the Chinese. It is a curious fact that the Chinese described and figured the Mammoth as a kind of gigantic Rat. The likeness hetween the elephantine molar and that of Rodents has been commented upon; but the existence of its tusks below the level of the ground led the Chinese Natural Historians to consider that the ways of hfe of the Mammoth were those of the Mole. As to the careases themselves, the Chinese said that the flesh was cold, but very healthy to eat. This expression can hardly be explained, except upon the view that fresh carcases were known to that people long before they were known to us of the Western world. The value of the Mammoth ivory was known to antiquity; the famous Haroun-al-Raschid gave to King Charlemagne not only a pair of living Elephants, but a “horn of Licorne,’ which seems undoubtedly to have heen a name for the tusks of the Mammoth. For in an account of the sacred treasures of Saint Denis, published in the year 1646, the author. states this to be the fact. The causes of the disappearance of the Mammoth are not easy to understand. Some held that it was a naked animal hke the existing Elephants, and that the lowering of the temperature in Siberia proved fatal; it is, of course, now certain that it was clothed with dense woolly hair. Along with the bogged corpses of the great pachyderm, numerous trunks of pine-trees have been found, together with associated remains of other animals now extinct in that neighbourhood. Thus it is plain that Siberia was once covered by mighty forests, through which the Mammoth roamed. The decay of these forests, upon whose branches the Elephant fed, as is attested by the remains of pine leaves found 1 Bull. Soc. Nat. d’Acclimat. xlv. 1898, p. 41. ie) iS) ie) ELEPHANTS IN BRITAIN CHAP. in the interstices of its teeth, was the signal for the disappearance of their most colossal inhabitant. The large number of remains of this and of other extinct species of Zlepyhas in this country gave rise to the supposi- tion that they were Elephants brought over by Caesar to aid in the subjugation of these islands. The Rey. J. Coleridge (father of the poet) pointed out that though Caesar in his Commentaries made no mention of any such importation of Elephants, a passage in the Sfrategems of Polyaenus expressly mentions that Cassivelaunus was confronted by the Romans with an Elephant clad in a coat of mail, by whose aid the crossing of the Thames was effected. At the time that attention was called to this (1757) it was not popular to hint at the possibility of fossils. So that fact, conveniently historical, served to explain away a difficulty. It is remarkable that the Elephant, common enough of course in .\siatic monuments, actually occurs in English architecture. Mr. Watkins, from whose interesting work (Natural History of the Ancients) a good many of the facts detailed here are drawn, tells us that the church of Ottery St. Mary has an Elephant’s head sculptured on one of its pillars. The same ornament appears in Gosberton Church, Lincolnshire. Whether this has anything to do with a reminiscence of formerly existing Elephants is a hard question to answer. In this figure of an Elephant the trunk has a spiral representation, and the trunk of an Elephant is believed by some to be intended by the common “so-called Pictish ornamentation” in Scotland; this spiral alone is to be seen constantly. If it is a reduction of an Elephant to its simplest terms, it is highly interesting as an almost undoubted survival of remembrance of Elephants. For at such a period we cannot use the memories of Crusaders or others who may have visited the East to explain the facts. The sculptured Elephants’ heads might conceivably be so explained. The name Mammoth, thinks Mr. Watkins, may be derivable from the Arabic word Behemoth. He quotes a writer, who first described the beast in 1694, as using the two words indifferently. The Arabs, moreover, were then as they are now great ivory traders: and in the ninth and the two succeeding centuries explored the confines of Siberia, as they now do the forests of Africa, for ivory. The “ Behemoth” of Job “ eateth grass as an ox. He moveth his tail like a cedar” (the Hippopotamus has a much more 1X BEHEMOTH 229 stumpy appendage). “ Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not” is surely much more suggestive of the copious draughts of an Elephant than the possibly equally copious but not so visible libations of a Hippopotamus. The most ancient of the true Elephants (genus Hlephas) is EF. meridionalis. Tt is of the African type, te. the plates of the molar teeth are not abundant, and are not so many as in the existing EL africanus. It seems to have been one of the largest of Elephants, standing 4 metres high. Its remains are abundant in Europe, and are known also from England. Like this species FE. antiquus is also of the African type. It was contemporary with man. Certain dwarf or “pony” races found in caves in Malta, and called Elephas melitensis or EL. falconeri, are believed to belong to this species. Mr. Leith Adams, who described these * remains, placed them in two dwarf species called by the names used above, and found associated with them a larger form, which he referred to £. antiquus. The existence of these animals in Malta seems to argue at least its former larger dimensions, and the presence of more abundant fresh water. The remarkable swimming capabilities of the Elephant do not necessarily imply either a former absence of land connexion or, on the other hand, its existence. Nor as a third possibility can it be suggested that the dwarf size argues an island of limited dimensions, when we bear in mind the huge tortoises of the Galapagos and some other islands. It is important to notice that Elephants of the African type (Lowodon) were not formerly absent from India. 2. planifrons was one of these. The genus Stegodon is so called from the fact that the molar teeth, seen in longitudinal section, present a series of roof-shaped folds, the interstices between which are not, or are, impertectly filled up with the cement which in Hephas reduces the surface of the teeth to a level plane. This genus is exclusively Asiatic, and is Miocene to Pleistocene in time range. The number of ridges on the molars is small, not more than two. The incisors (tusks) have no enamel; the skeleton generally is like that of Elephas, between which and Mastodon the present genus is intermediate. Among the four or five species is S. ganesa (called after the Indian Elephant-headed divinity), with tusks 10 feet long, to be seen at the British Museum of Natural History. " Trans. Zool. Soc, ix. 1874, p. 1. 230 THE BONES OF TEUTOBOCHUS CHAP. The last genus of the family Elephantidae is Mastodon, so called from the structure of the molar teeth. These are provided with but few transverse ridges, not more than five, so that their structure is intermediate between those of J/notherium and those of Stegodon. Between the ridges are sometimes isolated, boss-like protuberances (whence the name of J/ustudon), produced by a subdivision of the ridges. There is either but little or no cement between the ridges. This genus differs from nearly all other Elephantidae by the posses- sion of milk molars, which occasionally persist throughout life, the permanent dentition in those cases being a mixture of milk and permanent teeth, as has been (erroneously) stated of the Hedgehog. The tusks (incisors) are sometimes present in both jaws, and as they have, during youth at any rate, a coating of enamel, the likeness to the chisel-shaped incisors of Rodents is patent. In connexion with the implantation of incisors in the lower jaw, many species have a prolongation of the bones of that part of the skeleton. In the bones, generally, there is not very much difference from Zlephas, but the forehead is a little less pro- nounced, The genus existed from the Miocene and became extinct in the Pleistocene. It was nearly world-wide in range, being known from all four continents. Naturally with this very wide range was associated a large number of species. Zittel enumerates no less than thirty-two. This genus is the only one of the Elephantidae which extended its range into South America, where the remains of two species occur. The bones of these great Elephants have attracted attention for some centuries. They were often held to be the bones of eiants (as they actually were !), and in one case were ascribed to a deceased monarch, Teutobochus. The American Indians considered that equally gigantic men lived who were able to combat these vreat Proboscideans. There are legends of the Mastodons as living animals, which is quite probable, considering their geological age. There is a curious parallelism between the legends of two such widely-separated localities as North America and Greece. Buffon relates how among the Indians of Canada there was a belief that the Great Being destroyed both Mastodons and men of equal proportions, with thunderbolts. With this we may perhaps com- pare the story of the destruction of Typhoeus by Zeus, who ' See Busk in Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. 1868, p. 227. IX DINOTHERKIUM 231 also used thunderbolts. One of the giants was not slain, but was compelled to stand and bear up the heavens. Atlas holds thus the position of the Elephant supporting the globe of Indian mythology. The genus Dinotheriwm, sole representative of the family Dinotheriidae, differs in a number of important particulars from the true Elephants. In the Elephants, if there is but a single pair of incisors, these are found in the upper jaw; in Dino- Fic, 119.—Winotherium giyanteum. Side view of skull, #th natural size. Miocene, Germany. (After Kaup.) therium there is apparently but a single pair, but these are implanted in the lower jaw, the symphysis of which is much prolonged and greatly bent downwards, so that the tusks eraerge at right angles to the long axis of the head, and are even bent backwards. The molar teeth are five in number on each side of each jaw and are bi- or tri-lophodont, not unlike those of the Tapir. There is no cement in the valleys between the ridges of these teeth, and there is a regular succession, the premolas being two and the molars three.’ All the teeth are in use at the same time, 1 There are, however, three milk forerunners of the premolars, of which one has no successor. 32 POSITION OF D/NOTHE RIVAL CHAP. their small size enabling them to be accommodated in the jaw together. The skull of Dinotheriwm is lower than that of Elephas or Mastodon. The bones of the skeleton generally are lke those of EBlephus. Though a suggestion of marsupial bones attached to the pelvis has been discredited, there is no doubt that Dinotheriwin occupies the most primitive position among the Proboscidea: but at the same time it cannot be regarded as the ancestor of Elephants, as it is so much specialised in various ways. The incisors for one thing forbid this way of looking at the creature. It is an ancient genus found in beds of Miocene ave in Europe and Asia. It is not known from America. The creature was larger than any Elephant. Eighteen feet in length has been assigned to it. The enormous weight of the lower jaw and tusks seems to argue that it was at least partially aquatic in habit, and that it may have used these tusks for grubbing up aquatic roots or for mooring itself to the bank. At first there were naturalists who considered it as an ally of the Manatee, and the skull is not unsuggestive of that of the Sirenia. Pyrothertum has een reterred to the Proboscidea; but our knowledge of that form is limited to a few teeth from Patagonian rocks of an uncertain age.’ They are simple bilophodont molars, very like those of Dinotherium. A tusk has been found in the neighbourhood of these teeth which may possibly belong to the same animal; but it is uncertain. SuB-OrnDER 7. HYRACOIDEA. This group of small mammals contains only one well-marked genus which is usually named Hyrwx, although Procavia seems to be the accurate term. Popularly these creatures are known as Coneys. They have a singular resemblance to Rodents, the short ears and much reduced tail, besides the squatting attitude adopted, contributing to this merely skin-deep likeness. They agree with other Ungulates in the structure of the molar teeth, which are much lke those of Rhinoceros ; in the absence of a clavicle: in the absence of an acromion ; in the reduction of the digits of the limbs to four digits in the manus and three in the pes. On the 1 Lydekker, fn. Mus. La Plata, Pal. Arg, iii. 1894. 1x THE CONEYS 23 ios) other hand they differ from most Ungulates in the incisors grow- ing trom persistent pulps, a point in which they resemble the Rodentia. The muttle also is split as in those animals. The Hyracoidea are peculiar in the fact that in addition to the caecum at the junction of the small and large intestines, there are a pair of caeca (bird-lke in being paired) some way down the large intestine. The dorsal vertebrae are unusually numerous, 22. The adult dentition according to Woodward,’ who has recently ex- amined the matter, is I 4 C (}) Pm + M 3, while the milk dentition is I} C+ Pm 4. The inclusion of the canine of the permanent set of teeth in brackets signifies that it is the milk canine which occasionally Fic. 120.—Cape Hyrax. Hyrax capensis. x & persists. It should further be remarked about the teeth that they are both hypselodont and brachyodont, the extremes being connected by intermediate forms. Another peculiarity of the genus is the dorsal gland, which is covered with hair of a different colour to that covering the body generally. This is present in all species. The genus Hyraa (the most recent authority on the subject, Mr. Oldfield Thomas, only allows one genus) is limited in its range to Ethiopian Africa and to Arabia, including Palestine, It does not reach Madagascar. Mr. Thomas allows fourteen species with two or three sub-species. 1M. F. Woodward ‘‘On the Milk Dentition of Procavia (Hyrax) capensis, ete,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1892, p. 38. 2 2 «On the Species of the Hyracoidea,”’ Prov. Zool. Soc. 1892, p. 50. AYVRAX CHEWING THE CUD CHAP. IX i) w fs Some of the Coneys live in rocky ground, while others, formerly placed in the genus Dendrohyraz, frequent trees, in holes in which they sleep. The Coney of the Scriptures is familiar, who is “ exceed- ing wise,” though a “ feeble folk.” But the further observation that he “cheweth the cud but divided not the hoof,” is obviously entirely wrong. As to the wisdom, it is said that this beast is too wary to be taken in traps; while the suggestion of chewing the cud is, according to Canon Tristram, to be interpreted in the light of a habit of working and moving its jaws which the animal has. The traveller Bruce kept one in captivity to see if it did really chew the cud, and found that it did! CHAPTER X UNGULATA (continued )—PERISSODACTYLA (ODD-TOED UNGULATES )—LITOPTERNA Sus-OrpER 8. PERISSODACTYLA Tues Ungulates derive their name, which is that given by the late Fic. 121.—Bones of the manus A, of Tapir (Tapirus indicus). x 4. B, of Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sumuatrensis). x. €, of Horse (Hqguus caballus). x}. ¢, Cunei- form; J, lunar; m, magnum ; p, pisiform; R, radius ; s, seaphoid ; éd, trapezoid ; tm, trapezium; vu, unciform ; U, ulna; 11- V, second to fifth digits ; Tin B, and // and ZV in C, represented by rudimentary metacarpals. (From Flower’s Ostevlogy.) Sir Richard Owen, from the fact that the middle digit of the hand and foot is pre-eminent. As will be seen from Fig. 121, the axis of 236 FOOT OF UNGULATES CHAP. the limb passes through the third finger, which is larger than any of the others, and is symmetrical in itself. In this the present group contrasts with the Artiodactyla, where the axis is not “ mesaxonic,” but where there are two digits, on either side of the axis, which are symmetrical with each other. This arrangement of the limbs is highly characteristic, but appears to be not quite universal. In the Titanotheres, which form a group of the Perissodactyles, the fore-limbs are not quite accurately mesax- onic. Nor on the other hand can all Uneu- lates which show the Perissodactyle condition be safely included in the present group. The ancient Condylarthra and the Litopterna show precisely the same state of affairs. But other features in their organisation lead to their separation from the Perissodactyles, of which, however, the Condylarthra are probably ancestors. The Litopterna on the other hand, which possess even one-toed members like Aguwus, are believed to repre- sent a case of parallelism in development. The number of functional toes varies from four to one. In the ankle joint the astra- galus either does not, or does only to a comparatively slight extent, articulate with the cuboid as well as with the navicular Fig. 122,— Bones of the bone. Mureover the fibula when present manus of Camel (Camelus — - . : bactrianus). «<4. , does not as a rule articulate with the Cuneiform ; 7, lunar; m, caleaneum. In the opposed group of magnum; £, radius ; s, = F seaphoid ; fd, trapezoid , -\Ttiodactyles the precise reverse of these Ge a ta conditions obtains. Tt 18 usually stated , as part of the definition of this group that they do not possess horns of the type of those met with in the Cervicornia and Cavicornia. But the strong bony bosses on the skull of many Titanotheres, so curiously remin- iscent of those of the not nearly related Dinoceras and Proto- cerus, may Well have supported horns of the Ox and Antelope pattern. The teeth of the Perissodactyles are lophodont, more rarely Iunodont. The selenodont Artiodactyle form of molar is not met with. The dental formula, moreover, is at least near the Ne DIVISIONS OF PERISSODACTYLES 237 complete one, the more modern forms as usual being the more deficient in numbers of teeth. The dorso-lumbar vertebrae are as a rule twenty-three ; but the extinct Titanotheres are again an exception; for, at least in Titanotherium, there are but twenty of these vertebrae—an Artio- dactyle character. The femur has a third trochanter. There are so few recent Perissodactyles that an enumeration of the dis- tinguishing characters of the viscera may very probably be use- less for purposes of classification. But the living genera at any rate are to be separated from the living Artiodactyles by the invariable simplicity of the stomach coupled with a very large and sacculated caecum. The liver is simple and not much broken up into lobes, and the gall-bladder is always absent. The brain is well convoluted. The teats are in the inguinal region. The placenta in this group is of the diffused kind. The lving Perissodactyles belong to three types only, indeed to three genera only Gn the estimation of most), which are the Horses, Tapirs, and Rhinoceroses. But taking into account the extinct Ff forms, they may be divided primarily p,4 193, — Anterior aspect of (according to Professor Osborn) into the — right femur of Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros indicus). x4. four following groups 1) Titano- h, Head ; ¢, great trochanter ; therioidea, including but one family, t, third trochanter. (From i ey ‘3 : , , Flower’s Osteology. ) Titanotheriidae ; (2) Hippoidea, includ- ing the familes Equidae and Palaeotheriidae; (5) Tapiroidea, with two families, Tapiridae and Lophiodontidae ; and (4) Rhino- cerotoidea with families Hyracodontidae, Amynodontidae, and Rhinocerotidae. It is conceivable, according to the same writer, that the Chalicotheres (here treated of as a separate sub-order, Ancylopoda) should be added to the Perissodactyle series. Fam. 1. Equidae.—This family, which includes the lving Horse, Zebras, and Asses, as well as a number of extinct genera agreeing with those types in structure, may be defined by the possession of but one functional toe, the two lateral ones being mere splints, or but little more. The molar teeth are hypselodont, and 238 TEETH OF HORSE CHAP. the premolars, with the exception of the first, resemble the molars in their pattern. The orbit is completely surrounded by hone. The incisors are chisel-shaped, with a pit on the free surface. The canines are rudimentary if present. The radius and ulna are fused, as are the tibia and fibula. Although for the sake of uniformity a family, Equidae, is here separated from its allies, it is quite impossible owing to the full state of our knowledge of this group to draw a really hard-and-fast line between this family Fic, 124. —Side view of skull of Horse with the bone removed so as to expose the whole of the teeth. c, Canine; Fr, frontal ; 7', 7, ®, incisors ; LZ, lachrymal ; m1, m2, m’, molars ; J/a, malar or jugal ; Wx, maxilla; wVa, nasal ; oc, occipital condyle ; Pa, parietal ; pw}, situation of the vestigial first premolar, which has heen lost in the lower, but is present in the upper jaw ; pm", pm’, pm, remaining premolars ; A/a, premaxilla ; pp, paroccipital process ; Sq, squamosal. (After Flower and Lydekker.) and the Palaeotheriidae. We shall deal presently with the con- jectured pedigree of the Horse, which naturally involves that family, and which presents an unbroken series from four-toed Perissodactyles to the present one-toed Horse, the various bones and teeth becoming modified in the course of the descent “with the regularity of clockwork.” We are compelled to draw the line at functional second and third toes; directly these are no longer used the animal is a Horse in the strict sense! This is irrational and regrettable, but necessary for practical purposes, ae \ DEFINITION OF GENUS ZQUUS 239 we are to continue the plan of defining the various families of Mamiaha., The genus Lywus* contains not only the Horse, but the Asses and Zebras. The genus is to be distinguished as regards external characters by the following features: — The body is thickly clothed with hair: there is a more or less bushy tail and mane ; the colours are apt to be disposed in stripes of black or blackish upon a yellowish brown ground; this is of coursé best seen in the Zebras, but the wild Asses also have some traces of it, if only in the single cross-bar of the African Wild Ass, and it is even “yeversionary ” in the domestic Horse at times. There are no horns upon the forehead or elsewhere; the fore-limbs or both pairs have a callous pad upon the inside, which is possibly to be looked upon as an aborted gland, possibly originally of use as secreting some odorous substance calculated to enable strayed members of the herd to regain their companions. The terminal phalanx of each of the (functionally) single digits is enclosed in a large horny hoof. The main internal features of structure which divide this genus of Perissodactyles from the Rhinoceros or the Tapir, or from both, are: the existence of strong incisors, three on each side of each jaw; there are canines, but these are small and do not always persist in the full-grown mare. They are popularly known as “tusks” or “ tushes.” The first of the four premolars (the “wolf tooth”) is small and quite rudimentary; it is often absent. As there are three molars, the present genus has the “typical” number of the Eutherian dentition, i.c. forty-four. In the skull the orbit is—as it is not in Tapirs and Rhinoceroses— completely encircled by bone. There is but one functional finger and toe on each hand (Fig. 121 C) and foot ; the second and third digits are represented by mere splints, one of which may as an abnormality be enlarged, and reach nearly as far as the well- developed digit. There are even occasionally traces of digit number two. The Horse, #. caballus, is to be distinguished from its con- geners by the small callosities on the hind-limbs which it pos- sesses in addition to the larger ones on the fore-limbs. The hairy covering of the tail is more abundant, as is also the mane. The head too is proportionately smaller, and the general contour 1 Sir W. H. Flower, The Horse, London, 1890. 240 STRIPES ON HORSES CHAD. more vraceful. Though Zebra markings are not usual upon L. cuhallus, there are plenty of examples of—what we may perhaps in this case term—a “reversion” to a striped state. The cele- brated “ Lord Morton’s mare,’ ! whose portrait hangs in the Royal Collese of Surgeons, is an interesting case of this. It was as a matter of fact thought to be an example of that rather doubtfully- occurring phenomenon, “telegony.” Its history is briefly this. The animal was the offspring of a mare that had previously pro- duced to a male Quagega a hybrid foal. Afterwards a second foal was produced by the same mare to an Arab sire. This foal, the one in question, was striped, and hence was thought to be an example of male prepotency. But instances are known of un- questioned Horses which show the same stripes, such as a Norway pony which had not even seen a Zebra ! A last remnant of the naked palm of the hand and sole of the foot is left in the shape of a small bare area, smaller in the Horse than in the Asses, known technically as the “ergot,” the term being that of the French veterinarians. .As already mentioned, the Horse differs from the Asses and Zebras in the fact that the hind-limbs have callosities on the inner side. They are known as “ chestnuts,” and their nature has been much disputed. It has been suggested that they are the last rudiment of a vanished toe; but in all probability they are, as already suggested, traces of glandular structures, which are common upon the limbs in many animals (see above, p. 12). It is a singular fact that there are apparently no wild Horses of this species. The case is curiously analogous to that of the Camel, which also is only known as feral or domesticated. Why the Horse should have become extinct as a wild animal, consider- ing that when ib does run wild it can thrive abundantly, is im- possible to understand. Sir W. Flower thinks * that “the nearest approach to truly wild horses existing at present are the so-called Tarpans, which occur in the Steppe country north of the sea of Azov between the river Dnieper and the Caspian. They are described as being of small size, dun colour, with short mane and rounded obtuse nose.” But he adds that there is no evidence to prove whether they are really wild. In favour, however, of their possibly being wild and indigenous European Horses, may be ' See Ewart, The Penicnik Experiments, Constable and Co., 1899. ’ The Horse, London, 1890. x DOMESTIC RACES 241 mentioned the fact that their general build and appearance is highly suggestive of the wild Horses sketched by primitive man upon ivory. A really wild Horse, and possibly the ancestor of the European domestic Horse, is 2. przewalshii of the sandy deserts of Central Asia. This animal has been believed to he a mule between the Wild Ass and a feral Horse ; but if a distinct form, and probability seems to urge that view, it is interesting as breaking down the dis- tinctions between Horses and Asses. The species possesses the four callosities of the Horse, but has a poorer mane and an asinine tail. There is no question that the Horse has been a domestic animal for very many centuries. Hieroglyphics appear to show that the Egyptians had not originally domesticated the Horse ; it seems to have been first introduced among them by the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings.’ Whatever the date may be, it is certain that considerably anterior to the Evyptians the Assyrians and Phoenicians possessed Horses. In Western Europe the date of the introduction of the Horse seems to have been during the bronze epoch. Lord Avebury” has pointed out that out of eighteen cases of graves in which the remains of Horse were found, twelve contained metal implements, ze. 66 per cent. This does not of course prove that the Horse was domesticated at that period, but it throws doubt upon the earlier occurrence of the Horse in abundance. The Horse, however, does occur on the Continent associated with the remains of man during the Quater- nary period.’ Messrs. Cuyer and Alix enumerate between fifty and sixty domesticated races of Horse, not counting the supposed wild varieties which have been already referred to. These may be further subdivided ; for instance, under the race “ pony” we may distinguish the Irish, Scotch, and Shetland varieties, all of which, however, according to Sanson, have originated in Ireland. They are used, remark the authors above quoted, “par les jeunes filles des lords pour leurs promenades.” The Arab, the Barb, the Suffolk Punch, etc., are among the numerous races of domestic Horses, into which to enter properly would require another volume, and that of large size. 1 Guyer and Alix, Le Cheval, Paris, 1886. 2 Lubbock, Prehistoric Times, London, 1865. 3 J. Geikie, Prehistoric Europe, London, 1881. VOL. X R 22 THE ONAGER CHAP. The Asses and Zebras differ from the Horse in the characters mentioned under the description of Hguus caballus. In addition to these may be pointed out a feature to which attention has heen directed by Mr. Tegetmeier.' According to him the period of vestation in the Horse is only eleven months; in the others more than twelve Opinions as to the number of species of Asses differ. On the most liberal estimate there are three Asiatic and two African Fic. 125.—Asiatic Wild Ass. Agwus onager. x 35 species. The best known of the Asiatic Wild Asses is the Onager, E. onager. It is of a uniform yellowish, “ desert” colour, with a dark stripe along the middle of the back, and is found in Persia, the Punjab, and the country of Cutch. The creature is of ereat swiftness; it has been stated to be untameable, but Mr. Tevetmeier makes the absolutely opposite statement that the Ass occasionally “becomes so tame as to be troublesome”! The Syrian Wild Ass, #. hemippus, hardly, if at all, differs from this. The Kiang, £. hemionus, seems to have more claims to distinctness. In the first place it has a more lLmited and a ! Horses, Asses, and Zebras, London, 1895. x THIBETAN KIANG ZA 8 different distribution; it is confined to the high tablelands of Thibet at an elevation of 15,000 feet and upwards. In correla- tion with this habitat it has a thicker and more “ furry ” coat, which is, moreover, of a darker shade than that of the Onaver. This coat is shed in the summer, and replaced by one which is not so dark in hue. It is an interesting fact that the African Wild Asses approach to the zebra type in having at least traces of stripings. There are apparently two species. The best known, Fic. 126.—Nubian Wild Ass. Equus africanus. x 35. the Nubian Ass, & africanus, is probably the parent of the domestic donkey. It has a dorsal longitudinal stripe, and another across the shoulder—in legend the marks of the Saviour. The matter of the name of this Ass seems difficult to decide. It has been called also #. asinus and ZL. taeniopus. It has been observed that this animal has a great aversion to water, and a delight in rolling in the dust—hoth of which characteristics argue a desert existence. But on the other hand the Kiang will plunge boldly into streams, yet it would seem to be the descendant of a purely desert form. The Ass is a longer-lived 244 GREVY'S ZEBRA CHAP. animal than the Horse. Mr. Tegetmeier calls attention to a donkey living in 1893 which had heen ridden fifty-five years previously. The Horse, on the other hand, lives not much more than twenty-five years. A second species of African Wild Ass, 2. somalicus, is distin- guished by its greyer colour, by the absence of the shoulder stripe, by the very faint development of the dorsal stripe, and by the presence of numerous cross stripes upon the legs. It has, too, smaller ears, and a longer and more flowing mane. Mr. Lort Phillips, an experienced naturalist and traveller, saw a herd of these Wild Asses in Somaliland, which he regarded as being of quite a new species. A living example in the Zoological Society’s Gardens led Mr. Selater to an identical conclusion, which was supported, as he pointed out, by the fact that this Ass has a different range to the African or Nubian Wild Ass. Of the Zebras three species are usually allowed; these are #. zebra, the “ Mountain ” or “ Common” Zebra, £. burchelli, E. grevyt, as well as £. quagga. Professor Ewart thinks that the Common Zebra, Burchell’s, and the Quagga are not very distinctly marked off from each other. No one, however, has any doubt of the distinctness of £. grevyi. This latter differs from the rest in its larger size, in the large head and ears, and in the marked hairiness of the ears. It would seem to be a primitive type of Zebra, if the fact that the occasional reversion of hybrids to a parent form be allowed; for Professor Ewart found a cross-bred Zebra to present several characteristics in the face-marking of this, the finest of the Zebra tribe. Only four specimens of F. grevyi have been exhibited alive in Europe—two in Paris, and two in the Zoological Society’s Gardens in London. The latter were presented to Queen Victoria by King Menelek of Abyssinia. The species was named by Professor A. Milne-Edwards in honour of a late President of the French Republic, from an example also sent by King Menelek. The Common Zebra has closer and darker stripes than Bur- chell’s, but not quite so close as in #. grevyt. It has also a very characteristic arrangement of stripes on the withers in the form of a gridiron. This latter is wanting in both the other species. In £. grevyt, in fact, this part of the back is white. #. zebra has also a dewlap in front. #. burchelli has fewer and broader 1 Proc. Zool, Soc. 1884, p. 540. x BURCHELL’S ZEBRA 245 stripes, and between them le in many cases shadow-stripes of a faint brown. All these animals, and the (uagga too, are absolutely contined to Africa. Mr. R. Crawshay in describing what he considered to be a new variety, remarked upon the curiosity of E. burchelli. “They remain out in the sun on the plains all day long, not retiring into covert at all. They are then an intoler- able nuisance to any one in pursuit of other game; indeed this may be said of them at all times. If once they notice you, they Fic. 127.—Burchell’s Zebra. Lquus burchelli. x yy. draw in and mob you in their curiosity—ouly, however, when one takes no interest in them, for when they fancy they are the object of the intruder’s attention, no animals are more watchful and cunning in safeguarding themselves. If only their curiosity were manifested in silence it would not so much matter, but it vents itself in snorts and thundering stampedes, which puts every beast within earshot on the gui vive.” Whether Burechell’s Zebra? can be further subdivided into species or sub-species appears to be doubtful. Dr. Matschie considers that Zywus boehmi may be regarded as a valid form, and in addition to this two sub-species, LZ. burchelli granti and 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1895, p. 688. 2 See Pocock, Ann. Nat. Hist. (6) xx. 1897, p. 33. 246 THE QUAGGA CHAP. KL burchelli selousi, have been proposed for what are at most local races. But it is at present far from certain whether their distribution favours this subdivision. ; The Quagya was more striped than is sometimes represented in illustrations. According to Dr. Noack, from whose paper! upon the animal I quote here, the transverse stripes reached back as far as the buttocks; they were, however, completely absent from the legs. The animal is, as every one knows, probably completely extinct. In the year 1856 it was still abundant; in 1864 the last speciinen ever exhibited was received by the Zoological Society. Ma. W. L. Sclater thinks that it may have survived in the Orange Liver Colony as late as 1878, but admits that any certainty is difficult, as it was frequently confounded by the Boers with Burchell’s Zebra. Its rarity is emphasised by the fact that it is not mentioned in the recent work of that most skilful of hunters, Mr. F. Selous. Gaudry places the (Juagga nearest of all living Eyuidae to the Aipparion yracile of Pikermi. Fossil Equidae.—The existing Equidae all belong to the genus Liyjwus, though there are some who would (quite unnecessarily ) divide off the Zebras as a genus Mippotigris, The genus Bquas itself goes back in time to the Phocene, during which epoch there lived in India £. scvalensis, the same species according to some with the &. stenonis of Europe. None of these species, Old World or New, are easily to be separated from 2. caballus. But many names have been given to them. It is of course perfectly con- ceivable that they may have differed among themselves as much as do the existing Zelras and Asses, the separation of which would be hardly possible did we know their bones only. There are, however, extinct genera, undoubtedly related so closely to EHgwus as to be placed in the same family, though clearly separable as genera. Hipparion is one of these genera; its remains are known from KEurope, Asia, and North Africa, from beds of Miocene and Phocene times. A large number of different species have been deseribed. It was a beast of about the size of a Zebra. The principal characters are that each foot has three toes, of which, however, the two side ones are smaller than the central toe. There is a marked round fossa on the maxillary bone, a feature shared by the South American Onohippidium” The pattern of “Das Quagga,” Zool. Garten, 1893, p. 289. * Of this Horse, remains have been lately discovered (see Lonnberg, Proc. Zoo/. Xe EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE 247 the molar teeth is, too, a little different from that of Hguus. Proto- hippus of the North American Pliocene is also three-toed, but the two additionally-developed toes are smaller than in ipparion. Other forms are dealt with below in connexion with the ancestry of Perissodactyles. It is a curious fact about Hipparion, which is not now regarded as on the direct line of equine descent, that the edges of the enamel plates of the molars may show a com- plicated folding very like that presented by that clearly terminal] form of Perissodactyle life, the gigantic Hlasmotherium. This is indicative of high specialsation, which ended in extinction. Ancestry of the Horses.—The Lophiodontidae and the Palaeotheriidae are two of the most interesting extinct families of Perissodactyles; for among them we find what would appear to be the ancestral forms of both the existing Tapirs and Horses. The Rhinoceroses also would seem to be derivable from the Palaeotheridae. The very vagueness of the characters of these creatures, considered froin a classificatory point of view, has led to much diversity in their placing. This though gratifying to the evolutionist is tiresome to the writer who wishes to give a methodical account of their various characters. It will be best perhaps not to attempt an accurate placing or to reconcile con- flicting opinion, but to give some salient features of osteology which lead to the behef in their relationship to existing groups of Perissodactyles. A book upon the history of mammals would be incomplete without some account of that well-ascertained series of forms which seem to connect these primitive Perissodactyles with the modern Horse. quus, in fact, is not only the “ show horse ” of the doctrine of evolution, but also the “ stalking horse.” In the Eocene of both Europe and America are met with a number of forms from which we may start. Hyracotherium, regarded on the one hand as the type of a sub-faimily of the Equidae themselves, and on the other as a member of the family Lophiodontidae, was a small-sized animal, three feet or so in leneth ; it possesses the complete Eutherian dentition with a slight diastema. The orbits are not separated from the temporal fossa ; the fore-limbs were four-toed, the hind three-toed, with moderately long metapodia, especially on the hind-feet. The shoulder blade Soc. 1900, p. 379) in the cave which produced the remains of Glossotherivm. A piece of skin covered with Fox-red hair, possibly spotted with paler areas, is believed to be a relic of Onohippidium. 248 FROM OROAIPPUS TO MIOHIPPUS CHAP. has a well-marked coracoid process. The radius and ulna are separate; so too are the tibia and fibula. Hohippus, belonging to the same sub-family, is slightly more primitive; for the hind- feet have a rudiment of digit I. Orohippus is a little nearer to the Horses in that the molar teeth have acquired a little further advance towards the equine type. Instead of the tubercles of the teeth remaining for the most part separate, they have fused into a set of ridges, of which, however, the pattern is less complex than in the modern Horses. In other respects Orohippus is much like FHyracotherium. Pachynolophus seems to be but a synonym. The next stage is shown by JMesohippus, a Lower Miocene form, usually referred to the neighbourhood of Palaeotheriwm. It has nearly lost one of the toes of the fore-foot, a rudiment only remaining; the metapodials, at any rate of the fore-feet, seem to be slightly increased in length. The orbit is not encircled by bone, but there is a strong process from the frontal, which nearly meets the zygomatic arch. Anchitherium, from the Upper Miocene, is not far removed in structure from the last-mentioned form; it is a trifle nearer the existing Horse in several points. The ulna is further reduced and fused with the radius below: the rudiment of digit V is still more rudimentary ; the two lateral digits are smaller in proportion to the central one than they are in MMesohippus ; the fibula is fused below with the tibia. From this form to #gwus is a small series of steps, characterised by the still further reduction of all the digits except III, by the still further reduction of the already rudimentary ulna and fibula, and by the increasing depth of the molar teeth, which are of course, in Hgwus, hypselodont. Another interesting conclusion may seem to follow when we con- sider the geographical range of the ancestral Horses. Hyrarotherium and Pachynolophus occurred both in the Old and New World. From them may have arisen the Horses of both hemispheres. After that point there is a division. J/rsohippus is American, and we get at Aguus in that continent through Desmatippus and Protohippus. On the other hand there are no remains known of Mesohippus in Europe; and unless subsequent researches prove the existence of J/esohippus, we have to rely upon forms which are placed with Anchitheriwm and Hipparion. It seems that in America the next genus in the direct line of equine descent to Mesohippus is AMohippus. It is smaller in x FROM AW/OHIPPUS TO PROTOHIPPUS 249 size than Anehitherium, to be considered immediately. The odontoid process of the axis is just beginning to assume the characteristic spout-like shape of that of the existing Horse and many modern Ungulates. The median digit of both fore- and hind-limbs has become greatly enlarged as compared with the corresponding digit of earlier forms. It is held, however, that lnchitheriwm is not on the direct line of descent either in America or in Europe, in both of which it occurs. Its teeth are in some respects less Horse-like than in some of the more ancient genera, to which the converse would be expected on the descent theory. Its hoofs are much elongated and flattened, a mark of specialisation and not appropriate to a creature holding an intermediate position in the equine series. Both the American (4. eguinwm) and the European species (A. aureliense) are of very large size, larger than its successors, and such “alternations in bulk are unlikely.” The genus Desmatippus of Professor Scott! fills in the gap between J/iohippus and Protohippus. The molars and premolars are brachyodont, but there is a thin deposit of cement in the tooth valleys, leading towards the more complete filling of these valleys with cement, which is found in Protohippus. This genus of Horses, of which there is at present but one species, D. crenidens, was three-toed, and “ the lateral digits, so far as can be judged by fragmentary remains, were still fairly developed, and though much more reduced than in Miohippus, appear to be somewhat less so than in Protohippus.” To recapitulate, the following is the probable series of equines in America—AIfesohippus, Miohippus, Desmatippus, Protohippus. The development of the limbs of the Horse shows a most interesting series of stages, which correspond in part to the ancestral forms which palaeontology seems to prove to he the line of the descent of our existing Equidae. This matter has recently been elucidated by Professor Ewart, who details the following facts and comparisons :— In the youngest embryo (about 20 mm. in length) the humerus is somewhat curved, and considerably longer than the radius and carpus taken together. The first-named hone is shorter in the adult, and the proportions of that bone in the young as well as its curvature are suggestive of that ancient l Trans. American Phil. Soc. xviii. 1896, p. 55. 250 TADPIBRS CHAP. Uneulate Phenacodus (see p. 202). In the next stage (an embryo of 25 mm.) the humerus has shghtly decreased in pro- portionate length, and has come to be more like that of Hipperion. In both of these embryos it should be noted that the ulna is complete and separate from the radius. In the second of the two it has more distinctly acquired the form which it will possess in the adult. The second metacarpal—one of the splint bones of the adult—is tipped with a small nodule of cartilage, which is clearly the representative of one or more of the phalanges belonging to that digit. Fam. 2. Tapiridae.—The Tapirs may be distinguished from the Horse and from the Rhinoceros tribe by a few characters, which are as follows :— The dentition is generally the full one of forty-four teeth. The premolars in the more ancient forms are unlike the molars, but like them in more recent forms. The molars of the upper jaw have two crests parallel and united by an outer crest. The fore-feet have four, the hind-feet three toes. The family is fully as ancient as that of the Equidae, but the specialisation of the toes never advances so far. The modern representatives of the order are, so far as the feet are concerned, in the condition of very early representatives of the equine stock. Nor do the teeth of the Tapirs ever reach the complicated pattern of that presented by at least the modern Horses, or indeed of the Palaeotheres. Apart from this it is not an easy matter to dis- tinguish accurately between these several families, including the Lophiodontidae, which, as already mentioned, is placed nearer to the Tapiridae than to the Palaeotheriidae. Indeed the differentia- tion of these two fainilies, the Tapinidae and the Lophiodontidae, seenis to be a matter of the greatest difficulty. The difficulty is well emphasised by the fact that naturalists disagree most profoundly as to the relations of various genera of extinct Tapir- hke animals. For Mr. Lydekker the genus Lophiodon includes also the American genera Jsectolophus and Systemodon, which are placed by Zittel in the sub-family Tapirinae as opposed to Lophiodontinae, which contains Lophiodon and LHelaletes. The existing Tapirs can be differentiated from the existing Horses with ereat ease, as the following account of the existing genera will show. The genus Zapirus is now met with only in South and < AMERICAN TAPIRS 251 Central America, and in the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Java and Sumatra. This animal is in many respects the most ancient of existing forms referable to the Perissodactyle order. It has four toes on the front-feet, though only three on the hind- feet. The number of teeth is 42—nearly the typical Euther- jan number. The Tapirs are always moderately-sized animals, entirely covered with hair, and usually of a brownish -black colour. The Malayan Tapir is, however, banded broadly with white—a single band; the young of the Tapir is spotted, and striped with white. The nose and upper lip conjoined are pro- Fic. 128.—American Tapir. Taptrus terrestris. x 5. duced into a short trunk, precisely comparable with that of the Elephant. As in the Rhinoceros—and in this both contrast with the other existing Perissodactyle genus Hywus—the temporal fossa is not separated from the orbit by bone. Of existing Tapirs there are at any rate 7’ terrestris,’ 7. roulini (the “Tapir Pinch- aque” of Cuvier), 7. dowi and 7. bairdi in America (the last two being sometimes separated into a distinct genus, L/asmo- gnathus, on account of the prolongation of the ossified mesethmoic), and 7. indicus in the East. The tapir, probably 7. terrestris, is described by Buffon as “a dull and gloomy animal.” It is certainly mainly nocturnal in habit. The name terrestris was given by Linnaeus, who placed it+in the same genus as Mippo- 1 Pf. leucoyenys and 7. ecuadorensis are probably not distinct, the latter being in reality 7. terrestris, the former 7. rouwlind. 252 THE ORIENTAL TAPIR CHAP. potamus amphibius ; hence the epithet applied to the Tapir. But as a matter of fact it loves marshy neighbourhoods, and is in a way amphibious. This does not of course apply to the Andesian T. voulini, which inhabits the cordillera of Ecuador and Colombia. The distribution of existing Tapirs is, as is so often the case, restricted when compared with that of their extinct congeners and allies. In Europe the remains of the genus Zapirus are abundant from Pliocene strata, and its remains are there known from as far back as the Miocene. The genus is thus one of the very oldest forms of Mammalia at present inhabiting the earth. Fig, 129.—Malayan Tapir. Tapirus indiens, young. x jy. (From Nuture.) The Malayan Tapir is to be distinguished from the American (TL. terrestris—the other species have not been dissected) hy the greater development of the valvulae conniventes in the intestine, the absence of a moderator band in the heart, and the less elongated caecum, which is sacculated by only three bands, there being four in 7. terrestris. The animal frequents the most retired spots among the hill woods, by which habit it seems ' See Beddard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1889, p. 252, and other papers there cited, for the anatomy of the Tapir. x CHARACTERS OF RATNOCEROS 253 | | largely to escape the Tiger, its most formidable foe in those regions of the world. Its quickness of senses enables it also to slip away with rapidity. It can proceed at a great pace when disturbed, and can readily push its way through obstacles. The young anunal, like that of the American species, is dark brown with yellowish spots. It is stated by Mr. H. N. Ridley that the young animal les during the hot part of the day under bushes, in which situation “its coat is so exactly like a patch of ground flecked with sunlight that it is quite invisible.” It is interesting to note that here, as with some other animals, it is the young that are especially protected by such mechanisms. Moreover, some of the spots are round and some are more elongated, so that the resemblance to spots of sunlight which come in a direct and in a slanting direction is greatly increased. Even the colours of the adult are not so conspicuous when it is in its native haunts as might be supposed. The breaking up of the eround colour into tracts of two different colours prevent it from striking the eye so plainly as if it were of one colour through- out. “ When lying down during the day it exactly resembles a grey boulder, and as it often lives near the rocky streams of the hill jungles, it is reallynearly as invisible then as it was when it was speckled.” Fam. 3. Rhinocerotidae.—This family is to be distinguished from the preceding by a number of characters, which though not universal are general. In the first place, there are commonly horns, or a horn, consisting of what appears to be an agelomera- tion of hair-like structures fixed upon a roughened patch of bone on the surface of the nasals. The incisors are diminished or defective, and the upper canines are often wanting. The molars and premolars are alike. The fore-feet are four- or three-toed, but are functionally tridactyle; the hind-feet are three-toed. The skeleton in this family is massive, and the limbs relatively short. The skull, as in the Tapirs, has a confluent orbit and temporal fossa. The upper lip is generally more or less pre- hensile ; the body is as a rule—to which the Pleistocene Hairy Rhinoceros is of course an exception—rather sparsely covered with hair. In this feature the Rhinocerotidae contrast both with the Tapiridae and the Equidae. The family in reality contains but one existing genus, though three have been instituted, viz. 1 Natural Science, vi. 1895, p. 161. 25. VISCERA OF RHINOCEROS CHAP. Rhinoceros, Ceratorhinus, and Atelodus. As there are so few existing species the subdivision of animals which agree in so many and such highly-characteristic features seems to be an unnecessary procedure. The existing Rhinoceroses are but a fravment of the total number of known forms from past epochs. The family is very markedly on the wane. The genus Phinocervs is characterised by its heavy build and thick, almost smooth, skin—smooth, that is to say, so far as con- cerns the slight development of hair—which is often thrown into folds. There is one or there are two horns on the fore-part of the head, which are, as has already been pointed out, structures sur yeneris, and not exactly comparable with the horns of other living Unegulates. There are three nearly equal toes on both fore- and hind-limbs. The canine teeth of existing species have disappeared ; the incisors are, or are not, present; the molars and premolars are three and four in each half of each jaw. The visceral anatomy of the Rhinoceros has been much inves- tigated so far as concerns the Asiatic forms. A curious feature, which serves to discriminate some of the Asiatic species from others, is to be seen in the small intestine. In Rh. indicus! this gut is furnished with numerous long cylindrical narrow out- vrowths “like tags of worsted”; im the allied Lh. sondaicus these tags are present, but are flatter and broader; while in the two- horned Ah. sumatrensis there are no tags at all, but only smooth valve-like folds. Another mark Iy which these species can be distinguished depends upon the variation in the presence or absence of certain glands imbedded in the integunent of the foot —the so-called “hoof glands.” These occur in Lh. indicus and Rh. sonduicus, but are absent in Rh. sumatrensis. Sir W. Flower” studied some years since the skull features which serve to differentiate the existing forms. Ii Lh. sumatrensis the two long downward processes of the squamosal bone, termed respectively post-glenoid and post- tympanic, do not unite below the auditory meatus. In this the species In question agrees with the African forms but not with the one-horned Asiatic species, where the two processes completely fuse. Again, another character, though perhaps less important, ' Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 92; ibid. 1877, p. 707. Beddard and Treves, Trans. Zool. Soc. xii. 1887, p. 183. 2 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1876, p. 4438. x INDIAN RHINOCEROS 255 is the sloping backwards instead of forward of the occipital crest in all two-horned species, whether African or Asiatic. The Asiatic Rhinoceroses have, what the African animals have not, functional incisor teeth throughout life. It has been proposed on these and other grounds to separate generically the African and Asiatic forms. The Asiatic Rhinoccroses include three well-differentiated species, in all of which the skin is much thrown into folds. Rh. indicus is the larzest form. It is one horned, and has enormous folds of skin at the neck and hanging over the lmbs. Fic. 130.—Indian Rhinoceros. Rhinoceros indicus. x yo. So like artificial armour is this thick plating, that Albrecht Direr may be excused for having given the beast the appearance ot being actually mail-plated in a sketch which he made of a speci- men sent over to the King of Portugal in 1513. This particular beast, one of if not the first sent over to Europe, proved so in- tractable in disposition that the king sent it as a present to the Pope. But “in an access of fury it sunk the vessel on its passage”! The horn of this and of other species was held until almost our times to have medicinal and other more curious values. So recently as 1763 it was gravely asserted that a cup made of its horn would fall to pieces if poison were poured into it. “When wine is poured therein,” wrote Iv. Brookes in the year referred to, “it will rise, ferment, and seem to boil; but when 25 SONDAIC RHINOCEROS CHAP. mixed with poison it cleaves in two, which experiment has been seen by thousands of people.” John Evelyn also wrote of a well in Italy which was kept sweet by a Rhinoceros’ horn. This species seems to be long-lived, even in captivity; a specimen now to be seen in the Zoological Society’s Gardens has been there since the year 1864. Rhinoceros sondaicus, the Rhinoceros of the Sunderbunds, has a much wider range than the last species or Indian Rhinoceros — Fic. 131.—Sumatran Rhinoceros. Rhinoceros sumatrensis. x43. (From Notvre.) This is unknown out of India itself, and is there limited to a small region ; the Sondaic form is found in Bengal and in the Malayan Islands. It is a smaller species, and the armour has a tesselated appearance. The female generally, if not always, is hornless. The Sumatran species, Rhinoceros sumatrensis, is to be dis- tinguished from the last two by its two horns. It is also covered n HAIRY-EARED RHINOCEROS 257 by a much thicker coat of hairs, which are sometimes blacker and sometimes redder. On account of its two horns it has heen proposed to separate it from the other Oriental species into a distinct genus, Ceratorhinus. The animal has much the same range as the last species, but extends to Borneo. A variety of this species with hairy ears, from Assam, has been separated as a distinct form, under the name of Rh. lasiotis, by May. Selater. The animal upon which that species was founded was until quite recently living in the Zoological Society's Gardens. There are only two certainly-known species of Rhinoceros in Africa. These are the White Rhinoceros (Rh. simus) and the Fia. 132.—Hairy-eared Rhinoceros. Rhinoceros lasiotis. x 35. Black Rhinoceros (Lh. bicornis). The origin of the names is not easy to understand, since the “ white” animal is, if anything, darker in colour than the Black Rhinoceros. It is stated, however, that in past years the specimens of Lh. simus found in the south-west of Cape Colony were “ paler and whiter in colour than those in the north-east.” At present there are no grounds for distinguish- ing the species by their colour characters. But they are plainly distinguishable on other grounds. #hinoceros simus has a square upper lip, and in relation to this crops the herbage upon the ground. Rh, bicornis has a prehensile upper lip projecting beyond the lower, and in a corresponding fashion feeds principally upon the branches of shrubs. It has been pointed out by Mr. VOL. X 8 258 AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES CHAP. Coryndon! that the calf of Rh. simus “always runs in front of the cow, while the calf of Rh. bicornis invariably follows its mother.” Both animals of course have two horns, and upon the varying proportions of the horns a large number of “ species ” have been made in the past. It is stated that the longest horn of the “White Rhinoceros” known measures 564 inches; while that of Fic. 133.—Head of Rhinoceros bicornis. #. bicornis is shorter, 40 inches being apparently the maximum. But the animal is smaller. The possible third African species of Ahinoceros* has been provisionally named after Mr. Holmwood, and is based upon two horns 41 and 42 inches lone, which may be abnormal horns of Rh. bicornis ; but they are thinner and have a smaller pedicel. Extinct Rhinocerotidae.— The existing Rhinoceroses are thus confined to Africa, to certain parts of the continent of Asia, and to some of the large islands lying to the south of that continent. But formerly the genus, and allied genera, had a wider range. As far back as the Miocene we meet with remains of Rhinoveroses closely allied to existing forms. The more ancient forms have, as is natural, more ancient characters. Thus in 2h. schlevermacheri of the Miocene, canines appear to have been present. The Miocene dceratheriwm, primitive in the absence of horns as its 1 Proc. Zool, Soc. 1894, p. 329. See also Mr. Selous’ paper in Proc. Zool. Soe. 1881, p. 275. * P. L. Selater. Proc. Zool. Sov. 1893, p. 614. x THORNLESS EXTINCT FORMS 259 name denotes,' had also canines and, in one species, six incisors in the lower jaw. This Aceratheriwm had, moreover, four toes in the fore-feet. In the Miocene and later the Rhinoceros existed in Europe and America. There was even a purely northern form, the Rh. tichorhinus, which possessed a woolly covering and had the same range as the Mammoth. This Rhinoceros was two- horned. The post-Plocene and European £lasmotherium was a colossal rhinocerotine creature. This great beast had two horns and a body 15 feet long. Its limbs are not known, and as the teeth are different from those of Rhinoceroses in general, it may not have belonged to this group at all, though Osborn is inclined to derive it from are the nature of the horns already described, and the polycotyledonary condition of the placenta. Moreover the horns are usually present in both sexes, though there are exceptions, such as the Sheep and Goats, and various genera of Antelopes (7ragelaphus, Tetraceros, ete.). There are never the first two phalanges belonging to the rudimentary digits IL, V., as there are in all Deer excepting Cervulus. There is as a rule but one orifice to the lachrymal duct. There are never persistent upper canine teeth in either sex. It is exceedingly difficult to separate the Antelopes from the Sheep, Oxen, and Goats. Their inclusion along with these creatures in one family, Bovidae, shows that no differences of an important character exist. The term Antelope is rather of popular than 1 “On the Shedding of the Horns in the Prongbuck,” see Bartlett, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 718; Canfield, ibid. 1866, p. 105; Murie, ibid. 1870, p. 334; and Forbes, ibid. 1880, p. 540. 2 The distinction between the two families has been called “fanciful.” It may be admitted that it is not great. 308 ANTELOPES AND OXEN CHAP. of zoological significance. .As a rule there are horns in both sexes ; but this rule is not without exceptions, of which one is the genus Strepsiceros, the Koodoo. Many other Bovidae are horned in the males only, e.g. Suiga, Trageaphus. The Antelopes further differ from the true Oxen in their more graceful build, and in the fact that the horns, if they curve at all, generally curve backwards towards the neck. In the Oxen, on the other hand, the build is stouter, and the horns usually curve outwards. The same remarks apply to the Sheep. Such an Antelope, however, as the Eland (Orias) is very Ox-like in habit. Another feature which may be remarked upon, though not of absolute differential value, is that while the Antelopes are as a rule smooth and sleek in their skins, the Oxen tend to be rough and shagyy. The Zebu, however, in this, in its hump, and in general aspect, is far from being unlike an Eland. But then the Zebu is a domestic race, and we do not know what the wild stock was lke. It is perhaps with the Goats that the Antelopes have the nearest affinities, and it is difficult to place such a form as NMemorrherdus, and indeed some others. In the Antelopes as a rule the middle lower incisors are larger than the lateral ones ; in the Sheep and Coats they are alike in size. The parietal bones, too, in the Antelopes are moderately large and are much shortened in the remaining Cavicornia, especi- ally in the Oxen. As the Antelopes are the oldest, so far as we know, of all bovine animals, one would expect to find them com- bining the characters of the rest. But they do this so effectually that a disentanglement is really impossible. They date from the Miocene. Antelopes are now limited to Europe, Asia, and Africa ; they have always had the same range, though more abundant in former times in Kurope. They preponderate now in tropical Africa, and abound in genera and species. Messrs. Sclater and Thomas ' allow altogether thirty-five genera, of which twenty-four are exclusively Ethiopian in range. In the following summary of the group Messrs. Sclater and Thomas’s work is followed. They commence with a section or sub-family of which the type is the Hartebeest. Bubalis, or Alcelaphus as it is sometimes called, is an African genus, ranging however into Arabia. These Antelopes are characterised by the long skull and the doubly-curved horns. There are eight species of the genus, of which B. eaama is the l The Book of Antclopes, London, Porter, 1894-1900. x1 GNUS 309 best known; this is the animal known as the Hartebeest. The Bontebok and Blessbok belong to a closely-allied genus, Damadliscus, distinguished mainly by the fact that the bony base of the horn cores is not extended upwards, and therefore the parietal bones are visible when the skull is viewed from in front, which is not the case in Bubalis. The Gnus, Connochaetes, are familiar owing to their curious aspect. The hairy face, and rump and tail like those of a pony Fie. 160.—Brindled Gnu. Connochaetes taurinus. — x »\, are highly characteristic. The horns are bovine in appearance, standing outwards and then curving upwards.’ There are three species of Gnu, all from South Africa. They are C. gnu, C. taurinus, and CL albogulatus. Of the Cephalophine section there are two genera :— Cephalophus is an African genus. These animals are known as Duikerboks; they are small, and have short non-curved horns in the male sex only. Their general aspect is not un- like that of certain Deer with simple horns, such as Cervulus. Messrs. Sclater and Thomas allow thirty-eight species. The 1 They are straight in the young. 310 WATERBUCKS AND REEDBUCKS CHAP. smallest species do not exceed the dimensions of a Hare. None are really large. Tetraceros is an Indian genus characterised, as its name denotes, by the fact that it possesses four horns. It is the posterior pair which correspond to the single pair of Cepha- lophus. The anterior pair, which are much smaller and are sometimes absent, are a new pair. The female of this Antelope is hornless. Sheep are occasionally four-horned, and there is indeed a breed of such in Kashmir. A four-horned Chamois was described by the late Mr. Alston. The Klipspringer, Orcotragus saltator, is the first type of a third section; as its name denotes, it is an Antelope with Goat- like habits, being found particularly among rocks. The horns are short and straight. This, the only species of the genus, is African in range, of which its Dutch name gives evidence. A specimen in the Zoological Society’s Gardens (as has heen pointed out to me by Mr. Mercer) had the habit of depositing the secretion of the tear gland upon a mass of concrete in its enclosure, the secretion thus exuded forming a pointed heap of hardish matter. It may be that the object of this is to guide its fellows to its whereabouts. Ourehia is a less-known genus, larger in size, but with horns of the same character, though longer. The Grysbok and the Steinbok, genus Raphiceros, have similar horns. This as well as the last two genera have horns in the male only. One of the smallest of Antelopes belongs to an allied venus ; this is Veotraqus pygmaeus. It is known as the Royal Antelope, a name apparently derived from Bosman’s statement that the negroes called it “the king of the harts.” Its horns are very small. The height of the animal is only 10 inches. Horns are present in the male alone. The last three genera are African. The Cervicaprine series, which is also African,includesthe Water- bucks and Reedbucks, so called on account of their water-loving propensities. As in the last series, from which they are separated ly Sclater and Thomas, but with which they are united by Flower, there are horns in the male only. These horns, though not twisted, are long. The typical genus is Cobus, of which there are eleven species. The Waterbuck, C. ellipsiprymnus, and the Sing-sine, C. unetuosus, are perhaps the best-known species; the former is XI THE SAIGA ANTELOPE 311 blackish grey, the latter browner in colour. In (. maria and one or two other species the horns are more curved backwards and again forwards than in some of the others, where their form is sublyrate. The Reedbucks, Cervicupra, are closely allied to Cobus; they are, however, of smaller size. Here, as in that genus, the females are hornless, and the horns of the males are of medium size. Five species are referred to the genus. They are all of a brownish fawn colour. A venus Pelew, with but one species, P. capreolus, has been separated on account of the fact that the horns are nearly straight and that there is no naked patch of skin beneath the ears. This animal has received its name on account of its resemblance to the Roebuck. The Antilopine section includes a number of genera. The genus Antilope is Indian in range. It includes but one species, d. cervicepra. This Antelope is of medium size, with a brown pelave getting blacker with years; it is thus known as the Black-buck. The female, which is hornless, is ighter brown. The horns are long, spirally twisted, and closely ringed. Aepyceros, with two species, is African. The Palla (Ae. melam- pus) is a large Antelope, with longish lyrate horns in the male, which are half-ringed. The Saiga Antelope, genus Saiga, is one of the most remark- able types of Antelope in its outward appearance. Its nose is very large and inflated, the two nostrils being quite widely separated, a depression indeed lying between them dorsally. The horns are lyrate in the male, absent in the female. The “ovine expression” of this bovine animal is more pronounced in the female. Corresponding with the clumsy nose are very short nostrils, the commencement of the narial aperture being therefore very far back. It is almost suggestive of J/acrauchenia in this respect. The tleece is also Sheep-like. The genus occurred in this country during the Pleistocene. It is now an inhabitant of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The only species is S. tartarica. The Chiru, Pantholops, is allied to the Saiga. The horns of the male are long and nearly straight; they are ringed in front. The muzzle is swollen in the male; the nostrils are large, and provided with extensive sacs internally. The colour of this animal, which is exclusively Thibetan in range, is a pale fawn. The hair, in accord with its habitat, is very woolly. No living specimens have ever been brought to Europe. This creature has accumulated much 312 LODER’S GAZELLE CHAP. legend. Its blood is believed by the Mongols to possess virtues, and by means of the rings on the horns fortunes are told. Natur- ally the animal is on these grounds hard to stalk and shoot. The Gazelles, genus ('azella, are fairly numerous in species, which are both Palaearctic and Ethiopian. There are altogether twenty-five of them. The genus as a whole is characterised by the small or moderate size, the sandy coloration with white belly, Fic. 161.—Loder’s Gazelle. Gazella loderi. x 435. the presence of dark and light stripes on the face and on the flanks. These streaks, however, are not always present, and their presence or absence serves to differentiate some of the species. The horns are usually present in both sexes. The horns are of fair length, ringed, and of lyrate form. The Springbok is separated from the rest of the Gazelles, to which genus it is clearly most nearly related, as a genus Anti- dorcas. This genus differs from Gazella by having only two lower premolars as in Saiga. Otherwise it resembles the Cazelles ; there is but a single species, A. ewchore, which is African. XI GAZELLE-LIKE FORMS 313 Ammodorcas is closely allied to the Gazelles, but differs from them in having an elongated neck and also a long tail. A. clarkei, the only species, is limited to Somaliland. Inthocranius, not unlike the last, has a still longer neck, which makes it almost Giraffe-like ; its tail, however, is short. The scientific name is derived from the “ solid stony character of the cranium.” In running, this Gazelle carries the head forward in a straight line with the body. It is African. Dorcotragus with one species, D. megalotis, is a pigmy Gazelle restricted to Somaliland. Its likeness, on account of size and in some other superficial features, to the Klipspringer, led to its original confusion with that genus (Oreotragus). A sub-family Hippotraginae, or Hippotragine section, includes Fic. 162,—Sable Antelope. Hippotragus niger. zy. The horns of the specimen figured have not nearly reached their full dimensions. a number of Antelopes which agree in the possession of four mammae, and of molars more like those of the true Oxen, of 314 SABLE AND BEATRIX ANTELOPES CHAP. horns of some length, present in both sexes, and of a longish tail. They are all African in range. The type genus Hippotragus has its horns placed above the orbits; they are not twisted, but curved backwards. There are three species in the genus. Of these the best known is H. niger, the beautiful Sable Antelope. Its general colour is a rich, dark, glossy brown with white stripes on the face, and with a white bey. The other species are the Roan Antelope, A. equinus, and the Blaaubok, /Z. leucophaeus, of which the last specimen was probably killed in 1799.1 The genus Oryx (chiefly African, but also Arabian and Syrian) Fic. 163.—Beatrix Antelope. Oryx beatriz. x5. (From Nature.) 6 also contains a number of species, which are fairly familiar through the fact that several of them are always on view in the Zoo- logical Society’s Gardens. The genus differs from Hippotraqus in that the horns, present in both sexes, are placed behind the orbits, and slant backwards in a line with the face. They are annulated. The Leucoryx (0. lewcorya) is of a pale colour, but TW, L. Sclater, The Fauna of South Africa, Mammals, i. 1900. XI KUDUS AND ELANDS 315 this is not so marked as in 0. heafriv, which is largely white with, however, brown legs. The Gemsbok is a handsome creature with greyish tawny colour, much darker on the legs, and with a Gazelle-like, dark, side stripe. It has received its vernacular name on account of its supposed likeness to the Chamois (“ Gemse ”), just as the Rehbok was so-called from its supposed likeness to the Roe Deer, and the Eland to the Elk. The Beisa (O. beisa) is of a sunilar tawny colour to the last, and also with darker stripes. The Addax (adder) of North Africa, Arabia and Syria, has but one species (4. nesomaculatus). The horns are spirally twisted. The Tragelaphine section includes the Kudus, Elands, Nilgais, Fic. 164.—Speke’s Antelope. Tragelaphus spekti(@). x qy. and Harnessed Antelopes. They are all long-horned (when the horns are present in both sexes), the horns being twisted; the nose is naked with a slight median groove, and all are Ethiopian or Oriental in range. The genus Zragelaphus includes the Harnessed Antelopes, so called on account of the direction of the stripes suggesting harness. The females are hornless, and the colours of the two sexes are different. The hoofs are long and the toes rather unusually separable, which state of affairs is in accord with the 316 LIVINGSTONE'’S ELAND CHAP. swampy country affected by many. 7. gratus and 7. spekei are larger forms; the Boschbok, 7. sylvaticus, is smaller. The Kudus, genus Strepsiceros, have more markedly twisted horns, which are absent in the female. The body is vertically striped with white. The largest species is S. hudu; a smaller form, S. amberbis, is from Somaliland. The last genus of this section or sub-family is the African Eland, genus Oreas' (which it appears should be spelt Orias). The Elands WES Fie. 165.—Eland. Orias canna. x oh are perhaps more Ox-like in appearance than the other members of this croup, and in both sexes have horns, in which the spiral twisting is more close. Orias canna is the name of the common Eland. 0. livingstonii has been applied to an East African variety, which has thin and faint lateral stripes like the other members of the group to which it belongs. The genus Boselaphus includes only B. tragocamelus, the Nilgai, which is purely Indian in range. The female is hornless, and the horns of the male are smooth and not long. 1 Taurotragus oryx has unfortunately been discovered to be the correct name for the Eland. XI HYBRID OXEN 317 The members of the Bovine section or Oxen are to be dis- tinguished from other hollow-horned Ruminants by their stouter build and by the fact that the horns stand out from the sides of the skull and are simply curved, not twisted; and smooth, not annulate like those of other Ruminants. The muftle is naked, broad, and moist. The Oxen are widely distributed; but are entirely absent from the Australian region and from South America and Madagascar. The true Oxen are perhaps best considered to form but a single genus, Bos. They have, however, been divided into a number of genera. Even the supposed aberrant Anow depressivornis of Celebes hardly differs sufficiently to warrant its separation. In favour of this view, too, is the extraordinary easé with which different “ genera” will cross with each other and produce fertile offspring. The following is the pedigree of un animal lately living in the Zoological Society’s Gardens. The female offspring of a male Zebu anda female Gayal was mated with a male Bison. The female calf was again mated with a Bison and produced a calf, also a female, which contained therefore the three species, Bos indicus, Bibos frontalis, and Bison americanus. It is clearly unwise in view of this fact to insist too much upon generic dis- tinctions in any of those types.’ Of this genus the Oriental Gaur (Bos gaurus), the Gayal (2B. frontalis), and the Banteng (ZB. sondaicus) form a well-marked section, characterised by their dark coloration and by the some- what flattened horns. The Gaur, Bos gaurus, has a more concave forehead than its allies; the horns are less curved than those of the Banteng, and less so than the horns of the Gayal (Bos frontalis). It inhabits the Indian Peninsula; and extends through Burmah to the ex- tremity of the Malay Peninsula. The Malay name of this animal is Sakiutan, which simply means wild cattle. It chiefly frequents wooded hills and is an excellent mountain climber. Bos frontalis, the Indian Gayal, has a white caudal dise like the last species, but the forehead is flat and the horns curve but little. It is chiefly known as a tame animal, and its occurrence in the wild state has been doubted. It has furthermore been suggested that it is merely a tame race of the Gaur altered 1A. D. Bartlett, ‘(On some Hybrid Bovine Animals bred in the Society’s Gardens,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1884, p. 399. 318 AUROCHS AND WISENT CHAP. shehtly through domestication. It is, however, said not to cross in a state of nature with the Gaur! Fie. 166. Gayal. Bos frontalis. x ay The Banteng, 2B. sondaicus, is distributed through Chittagong, Tenasserim, and the Malay Peninsula to Java and Borneo. There are apparently two races of this animal. The species differs from the others hy the fact that the horns are smaller and more curved ; there is a white caudal disc; the forehead is narrower and the skull longer than in the others. The American Bison and the European Aurochs form another section ; they are indeed extremely alike, specific differences being hardly recognisable, The Bison of America, formerly present in such numbers that the prairies were black with countless herds, has now diminished to about a thousand head. One of the largest of existing Bovidae is the Aurochs, Wisent, or European Bison, Los bonasus (or Bison europaeus). It is exceedingly like its American relative. Formerly the animal was much more widely spread than it is now, extending its range from Europe into North America. It is now limited to certain districts on the Urals, in the Caucasus, and a herd of them are kept up through the fostering care of the Emperor of Russia in the forest of Bielovege in Lithuania. The term “ Aurochs” should not really be apphed to this species but to the Wild Cattle, Bos tawrus. It is, however, so venerally used for the Wisent (which is the German name) that it 1 See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 592. XI EXTINCT OXEN 319 is not necessary to change it. The Sclavonic name is Zubr or Suber. It is a great beast, standing 6 feet or so in height at the shoulder. It ranged further over Europe well within the historic period. In the days of Charlemagne it was spread over Germany and was a beast of the chase. In the year 1848 the Emperor of Russia presented a pair of these Oxen to the Zoological Society of London. At the time of their presentation an interesting communication was made to the Society by M. Dolmatoff, on the method of the capture of these two examples. The creature is not easy to capture and is alarming to confront. “The eyes,” Fic. 167.—Bison. Bison americanus. x gs. says an old writer, “are red and fiery; the looks are furious and commanding.” It has of course the shaggy mane and hump of the American animal, The herd in Lithuania was said to be 1900 in the year 1856. Mr. E. N. Buxton,’ who has lately visited the forest, quotes M. Neverli to the effect that at present the numbers are not more than 700. Allied to this animal, and apparently still nearer to the American Bison, is the extinct B. priscus of Europe. The Pleistocene Bisons of North America, B. antiquus and BL. latifrons, are not remote from the living forms. Finally, the Miocene B. sivalensis from India, and the Pliocene B. feroxw and B. allent of North America, take back this group to as remote a period as any other genus of Oxen. 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1899, p. 64. 320 THE THIBETAN YAK CHAP. The Yak, Bos grunniens, is a long-haired peculiar type, confined Pee Fic. 168.—Yak. Bos grunniens, x 5. to the Thibetan plateau. 2B. (Anow) depressicornis of Celebes is characterised by its straight horns; allied to it is B. mindorensis f> Fic. 169.—British Wild Ox. Bos taurus. From Vaynol Perk, Bangor. x 3). (Philippine Islands), supposed, however, to be a hybrid between XI CHILLINGHAM CATTLE 321 it and some other species. Africa has at least two Buffaloes. We may finally mention the Wild Ox of Europe, B. primigenius, the supposed progenitor of our domestic cattle, believed to be still surviving in the herds at Chillingham, Chartley, and elsewhere. This animal is sometimes called the Aurochs. The Romans spoke of it as the Urus, and it appears to have formerly attained to more gigantic proportions than at present. It is the small size of the present race that is the chief objection to tracing them back to the large Oxen existing near London in 1174, and found sub-fossil in the Cambridgeshire fens. Of the true sheep, genus Ovis, there are a considerable number Fig. 170.—Punjab Wild Sheep. Ovis vignei. x Yo. of species. The Sheep are to he distinguished from the Goats by their rather stouter build and by the absence of the beard in the male. The horns are developed in both sexes, and are usually twisted and often of large size. The Sheep are almost entirely Palaearctic and Nearctic. They only just get into the Oriental region. One of the finest species is the great Pamir Sheep, 0. poli, whose length reaches 6 feet VOL. X ¥ 322 AMERICAN SHEEP CHAP. XI 7 inches, and height 3 feet 10 inches. The horns of this fine Sheep may measure more than five feet round the curves. The Rocky Mountain Bighorn (O. montana) is a Sheep ranging along the Rockies as far south as New Mexico, and also to the far north; they are not confined to the chain of mountains mentioned, but occur also on the mountains of British Columbia down to those of California. The horns are not quite as large Fic. 171.—Himalayan Burrhel Sheep. Ovis burrhel. x qs. (From Mature.) as those of the last species, but measurements give a length (along the curve) of 52 to 40 inches. Just as the Goats are often limited to islands and small stretches of country, so are the Sheep. Thus Cyprus has a species, O. ophion, peculiar to itself. This, which is known as the Cyprus Moutlon, is limited to a range of mountains, the Troodos, in that island. In 1878 it was believed that the animal was nearly exterminated, a flock of twenty-five members alone surviving. They have, however, since increased. Confined Null TUN) SS ZA INR a Fic. 172.—Blanford’s Sheep. Ovis blanfordi. x5. (From Nature.) mm Fra. 173.—Barbary Sheep. Ovis tragelaphus. x 45. 324 SHEEP AND GOATS CHAP. to the Thibetan plateau are O. hodgsoni and O. nahura. Corsica has the Mouflon, O. musimon; and the Barbary Sheep or Arui, O. tragelaphus, is found only in Northern Africa, Ovis burrhel and O. blanfordi are Indian forms. Ovis nahura is chiefly responsible for the impossibility of strictly separating the Sheep and Goats. It has no suborbital glands or lachrymal fossae, which are as a rule present in the hie a if Fic, 174,—Thar. Capra jemlaica, x yy. (From Mature.) Sheep and absent from the Goats. On the other hand inter- digital glands are present, which is the case with Sheep. Its habits, too, are a blending of those of the Sheep and the Goat. It lives largely on undulating ground like Sheep, and frequently hes down during the day on its feeding ground. On the other hand it is, like the Goats, a splendid climber. The Goats, genus Capra, differ from the Sheep in their shighter build and in the fact that the horns are not spirally curved, but arched over the back. There is also the characteristic beard, x1 THE WILD GOAT 325 and the male is odorous. The true Goats are almost exclusively Palaearctic in range. They show the limited distribution of the Sheep, a distribution which follows from their mountain-loving habits. Thus we have the Spanish Ibex (C. pyrenaica), limited to the Pyrenees and other mountain ranges of the peninsula; Fie. 175.—Sinaitie Ibex. Capra sinaitica. x 75. C. ibex, the Steinbok of the Alps and the Tyrol; the Markhoor, C. falconert, of certain mountain ranges of Afghanistan; the Caucasian, Sinaitic, and Cretan Ibexes, and the Thar. Cupra aegagrus, the Persian Wild Goat, ranges from the Caucasus to Sind. It is this animal which produces the true “)ezoar stone.” The substance in question is a secretion appar- ently found in the stomach. It is still, according to Mr. Blan- ford, regarded as an antidote to poison in Persia. Buffon called this Goat the “Pasan,’ which is evidently a corruption of the word bezoar. When the substance was in repute as a medicine of the “alexipharmic” kind, the supply naturally came up to the demand. Thus the bezoar stones of the Lama in South America gained repute, and there were “ Oriental bezoar, cow 326 BEZOAR STONES CHAP. bezoar, hog bezoar, and monkey hezoar”! As concretions of one kind or another are not uncommon objects in the alimentary tract of mammals it was easy enough to obtain a fair amount of some substance which was sure to sell well. It is said that stone weighing four ounces was once sold in this country (or at any rate in Europe) for £200. “There can be no doubt,’ observes Mr. Blanford, “that C. aegagrus is one of the species, and probably the principal, from which tame goats are derived.” The Chamois (Rupricapra) and the Goral (Vemorrhaedus) are Wa \ S; ih NZ Fic. 176.—Japanese Goat Antelope. Nemorrhaedus crispus. xs. (From Nature.) best described as Goat-like Antelopes; but, as already said, it is difficult to split up the Bovidae satisfactorily. The Rocky Mountain Coat, Haploceros montanus, is a large Goat-like creature, XI THE MUSK OX 327 which has the peculiarity of having the shortest cannon bones of any Ruminant. Its name denotes its range. Fic. 177.—Goral. Nemorrhaedus goral. x 4!5. nee era The Musk Ox, Ovibos moschatus, has been thought to be on the borderland between the Sheep and Oxen, as indeed expressed in its scientific name. It is a purely Arctic creature, now con- fined to the Nearctic region; but it formerly existed in the Arctic regions of Europe. The anatomy of the “soft parts” of this genus has lately been investigated by Dr. Lonnberg.'| The animal has no foot glands such as occur in Ovis. Its kidneys, however, are non- lobate, and it has orbital glands. The cotyledons of the placenta are unusually large, and the cow has the “ primary four” teats. It cannot, in fact, be definitely referred to either the Caprine or the Bovine section of the Cavicornia, and while possibly most allied to Budorcas, it may be regarded, at least for the present, as entitled to form a separate sub-family of its own. The muzzle ! ! Proc. Zool. Soc. 1900, p. 142. EXTINCT PIG-LIKE ANIMALS CHAP. Gs to ioe) has a slight naked strip above the nostrils, as in the Sheep, but there is no fissure of the upper lip. Extinct Families of Artiodactyla. The origin of the Artiodactyla is placed by Cope in the family Pantolestidae,! allied to the genus Protogonodon of the Condy- larthra. As, however, this family is represented by but a few back teeth and a fragment of the hind-foot, it seems premature to regard it as the necessary starting-point of the Bunodont and Ruminant groups. Fam. Anthracotheriidae.— This well-known and ancient family consists of creatures of for the most part a Piv-like form, with teeth approaching the selenodont shape, and a complete dentition. The carpals, tarsals, metacarpals, and metatarsals are all free. The toes are four (or five) to each foot, with the outer- most beginning to be reduced. These of course are all generalised and primitive characters, pointing nowhere in particular, except, of course, to an Artiodactyle stock, on account of the teeth and the two predominating toes. The type genus of the family, Anthracothertum, is not, as its name might seem to denote, a relic of the Carboniferous period ; its remains were found in lignite, which may also show that it was at least semi-aquatic in habit. Its form, however, must have been Pig-like, so at least one would presume from the elongated skull and shortish legs. There were species as great as a Rhinoceros, and smaller forms. The genus began in the Oligocene and continued down to the Phlocene. It is known from Europe, Asia, and America. The skull is long with a prominent sagittal crest. The facial part is also very long, and the orbits are not closed by a bony ring. The premolars are simple teeth; the molars dis- tinctly bunodont with a tendency in one or two to the seleno- dont condition. The canines are powerful, as are also the incisors. The scapula has been specially compared with that of the Camel. It has no acromion, which is usually though not always absent in Ungulates. An ally of the present animal, for instance, the Tippopotamus, has the acromion developed. The radius and ulna, the tibia and fibula, are all fully developed. ) The name Z'rigonolestes has to be substituted for Puntulestes. XI EXTINCT PECORINES 329 alneodus (or Hyopotamus, as it has been called) is also Oligo- cene in range, and its remains have been found in the same countries as have those of Anthracotheriwm. Both genera are indeed closely allied. dineodus seems to be a imore slightly- built creature. The skull looks weaker, but presents much the same features of organisation. In A. velawnus, a species found in French rocks, a metacarpal of digit I. was present in the manus, while A. brachyrhynchus had a completely five-fingered manus. The Miocene genus Jerycopotamus (from the lower layers of the Siwalik formation in India) is more distinctly selenodont than the forms already discussed. On this ground it has been placed in a separate sub-family. As, however, in other respects it does not depart from the Anthracotherian type of structure, this proceeding seems to be hardly necessary. There are two species known, of which one, J/ nanws, is, as its name denotes, a dwarf form. Fam. Cacnotheriidae.— While the last family consisted of animals rather more akin to the Pigs, the present is more Pecorine in its characters. The molars are selenodont ; but as in the Tragulidae the premolars are more of the nature of cutting teeth. The dentition, like that of so many of these early Ungulates, is complete, and the canines are not prominent. The feet are four-toed, the lateral toes not reaching the ground. The principal genus is the Eocene and Miocene Caenothervwm. Of this genus there were a considerable number of species all European in range, and of small size—not more than a foot or so in length. Their small size is suggestive of the Chevrotains. In the skull the orbital cavity is nearly or quite surrounded by bone, and the tympanic bulla is large and inflated. A common feature of Artiodactyles, a failure of the nasals and maxillae to meet at the side of the face, is to be seen in this ancient forerunner of the Pecora. Plesiomeryx, also European, and from the same geological horizon, is a very closely allied form. Fam. Xiphodontidae.— This family consists of slender, small Artiodactyles which are, like the Caenotheriidae, related to the Pecora. They are confined in their range to Europe. The type genus Xiphodon has selenodont molars and elon- gated, slender, cutting premolars. The dentition was complete and the canines not highly developed. Like Caenotherium, 330 OREODON AND AJESOREODON CHAP. Aiphodon was a hornless creature, but with only two toes, the two lateral digits being represented hy the merest rudiments of metacarpals. The other metacarpals were unusually long. Amphimeryx (also called \Viphodontotherium) is much more imperfectly known, but belongs to this family or to that of the Caenotheriidae. Dichodon is another member of the same family. Fam. Oreodontidae.—This family, consisting of numerous genera, is limited to the North American continent. Its range in time is from the Eocene to the Lower Pliocene. The family as a whole is to be distinguished by a number of primitive characters. The dentition is complete; the feet are four- or even five-toed; the orbit is sometimes open behind. The canines of the lower jaw are not more pronounced than the i.cisors. The characteristics of the group will be further developed by a consideration of some of the principal genera which are in- cluded in this family. Oreodon is a Miocene form about as large as a Peecary. The skull has a short face with a completely-closed orbital cavity. In front of the orbit is a deep pit, not a mere deficiency of ossification, such as occurs in many yp a i : Bulaenoptera. In the Odontocetes the ribs have, some of them, the normal attachment by capitulum and tuberculum. In the Mystacocetes the at- tachment, where it exists, is very loose, and the tuberculum alone is attached to its vertebra. This allows of the freer play of the ribs during re- spiration. The scapula hae aver ciara UO Sina ot ena nates ie istic form in_ these 4, Ischium 7 It femur ; ¢, accessory ossicle repre- animals. The acro- oe Eschricht and Reinhardt) mion, where it exists, is placed near the anterior margin of the shoulder blade, and overlaps the generally long coracoid process. Clavicles are totally absent. The pelvis is very rudimentary, consisting merely of a single bonelet, to which are attached the rudiments (4m some cases) of a femur, and, in Balaena (Fig. 188), of a tibia also. Whales are to be divided into three great groups :—(1) the Whalebone Whales or Mystacoceti; (2) the Toothed Whales or Odontoceti; and (3) the entirely-extinct Archaeoceti or Zeu- glodonts. Sus-Orper 1. MYSTACOCETI. This division is thus characterised :—Teeth are never function- ally developed; they are present in the young, but replaced in the adult by the baleen or whalebone; the external respiratory aperture is double; the skull is perfectly symmetrical; the rami of the mandible are arched outwards and do not form a true symphysis; the sternum is always composed of a single piece of bone; the ribs articulate only with the transverse processes of the vertebrae. : The Mystacoceti are nearly invariably huge creatures, the sole exceptions being the Pygmy Right Whale, Neobalaena, and VOL. X 2A 354 WHALEBONE CHAP. a small Lorqual. But even these are larger than the majority of Toothed Whales. The most characteristic feature by which the Whalebone Whales are to be distinguished from other Whales is that which gives to them their name, the presence of whalebone. Whale- bone is a horny product of the epithelium lining the mouth, and is comparable to an exaggeration of the transverse ridges which are found in the mouths of all mammals upon the palate. In non -Cetacean mamumals these ridges vary in depth, and are arranged as a rule transversely, but with an oblique inclination. This is precisely how the plates of baleen are disposed in the mouth of a Whale. Each piece of “ bone” is triangular in shape, the broader end being that of attachment while it narrows gradually ; the inner side of the blades is frayed out into a number of threads which form the strain- ing apparatus. The plates vary in length up to as great an ex- treme length as 15 feet, which occurs In the Right Whale at Fia. 189.—Section of upper jaw, with vanes phe colour is black or baleen plates, of Balaenoptera. a, paler, even white. The number ne oe cen Fa em of these plates in the mouth is out surface of baleen plates. (After Very great. As many as 370 et blades have been counted. They diminish in length towards both ends of the series. Though whalebone has been in use for a long period, whence the whale- bone came was formerly one of those things not generally known. A very prevalent notion was that the whalebone formed the eyelids or perhaps the eyelashes of the creature. Scaliger, com- menting upon Aristotle, held that the whale had “lamellae upon the eyebrows, which, when the head is plunged below the surface, were raised by the water; but when the animal raised its head xn A STRANDED RORQUAL 355 above the waves the lamellae fell and covered the eyes.” Whale- bone, too, has been often spoken of as “the fin of a whale,” “the finnes that stand forth of their mouths.” The value of whale- bone is still great, in spite of various substitutes which are now used in its place. In the year 1897, for example, the value of this article was £2000 per ton. As a single Whale may produce several tons of this material, it is not surprising to find that the results of a whaling voyage may be very profitable. Fam. 1. Balaenopteridae.—This genus Balaenoptera includes the Rorquals, which are Whalebone Whales of large size, differing from the Right Whales in three important external characters : the head is comparatively small; there is a dorsal fin; the throat is marked by numerous longitudinal furrows. The bones of the cranium are not so arched as in the Right Whales, and as a consequence the plates of baleen are shorter. The hand is only four-tingered. The cervical vertebrae are for the most part all free. One of the earliest records of a Whale stranded in the Thames was probably of a species of this genus in the year 1658, and is thus described by John Evelyn :—*“ A large whale was taken betwixt my land butting on the Thames and Greenewich, which drew an infinite concourse to see it, by water, horse, coach, and on foot, from London and all parts. It was killed with a harping yron, struck in the head, out cf which spouted blood and water by two tunnells, and after an horrid grone it ran quite on shore and died. Its length was 58 foot, heighth 16 ; black skinn’d like coach leather, very small eyes, greate taile, onely two small finns, a picked snout, and a mouth so wide that divers men might have stood upright in it; no teeth, but suck’d slime onely as thro’ a grate of that bone which we call whale- bone, the throate yet so narrow as would not have admitted the least of fishes all of it prodigious, but in nothing more wonderful that an animal of so greate a bulk should be nourished onely by slime thro’ those grates.” Professor Collett has recently given’ an elaborate account of the characters and habits of this great Whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Though a large beast (44 to 67 feet in length) it is exceeded by other Rorquals; it is of a dark grey blue colour above, white, for the most part, below. The dorsal fin is large and high; the flippers relatively slender and small. The whole throat from the 1 In Proc. Zool. Soc. 1886, p. 2438. 356 RORQUALS CHAP. symphysis of the jaws to the middle of the belly is, as in other species, marked by furrows, forty to fifty-eight in number. The hairy covering is reduced (in an adult female) to thirteen hairs on each side of the lower jaw; in a foetus there were also seven hairs on each side of the upper jaw, as well as rather more on the lower jaw—altogether, forty-eight. This Whale appears to feed chiefly upon small Crustacea, especially the Copepod, Culanus jinmarchicus. The number of baleen plates is about 330 on each side of the jaw. This Whale sometimes swims singly, but usually in schools of even as many as fifty. Rudolphi’s Rorqual (£. borealis) seems to be a_ perfectly inoffensive beast; it is said to be able to stay under water for as long a time as twelve hours. A smaller species than the last is B. rostratv—at the outside 33 feet in length. Here the hairy covering is reduced * to “ two small hairs on the integument covering the apex of the lower maxilla.” The colour is greyish black above, the underside white. On the other hand, B. sibbaldii, the Blue Whale, is the giant of its race, reaching a length of 85 feet. Its colour is a dark bluish grey, with small whitish spots on the breast. The dorsal fin is small and low with straight margins. B. musculus, the Finner, is intermediate in size—not more than 70 feet. It seems doubtful whether the “ sulphur bottom,” B. australis, of Antarctica and B. patachonica differ specitically from this.” The genus Megaptera is very near Balaenoptera, but differs from it mainly in the following external and internal characters. The dorsal fin is not very prominent, and its place is taken by a lowish hump, whence, indeed, the common name of this Whale, “Humpback.” The pectoral fin is unusually long, and the creature uses it to beat itself, the surrounding water, and, more playfully, its mates. The general outline of this Cetacean is more clumsy than that of Lalaenoptera. The most important internal difference is in the form of the scapula, which has at most a slight acromion and coracoid process. These are rather more pronounced, according to Messrs. van Beneden and Gervais,” 1 Perrin, ‘‘ Notes on the Anatomy of B. rostrata,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 805. ° von Haast, ‘‘ Notes ona Skeleton of Balaenoptera australis,” Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 592. 3 Ostéographie des Cétacés, Paris, 1880, p. 130. XII THE CALIFORNIAN WHALE 357 in the southern form of the genus, which is known as JL lalandit. The head, it should also be remarked, is studded with large tubercles about the size of an orange, which seem to be hyper- trophied rudiments of the hairs, which should be present in this region of the body. As is, the case with other Whales, numerous species have been made out of individuals of Jeguptera. Captain Scammon, who observed many “ vams” or herds of these Whales, remarked! that he had extreme difticulty in finding any two individuals precisely alike! The best-known species in any case is the northern JZ longimana, which occurs on our own coasts. The genus is, like so many Cetaceans, world-wide in range; and it is possible that the difference in the scapula already referred to may justify the separation of a southern JZ lalandii (with which in that case, perhaps, J/ capensis and IW. novae zelandiae will be synonymous). Quite recently M. Gervais has insisted upon a Meyapteru indica from the Persian Gulf. Jdegaplera grows to a length of 50 to 60 feet. Seventy-five feet have been stated, but measurements of Whales have usually to be received with caution. Rhachianectes, with but one species, R. glaucus, the “ Cali- fornian Grey Whale,” is the last genus of the family Balaenop- teridae. This Whale is but imperfectly known anatomically ; but quite sufficient has been ascertained to show its great divergence from Balaenoptera or Megaptera. The dorsal fin is completely absent, and the throat pleats, so characteristic of the typical Balaenopteridae, are reduced to two. It has, however, the general outline of a Rorqual, with a relatively small head. In osteo- logical characters it tends to unite the two families Balaenop- teridae and Balaenidae (if they are really necessary subdivisions). The skull is on the whole Rorqual-like; but its fore-part is narrow as in the Greenland Whale, and the premaxillaries are pinched up in the middle line so as to be visible from the side ; this again is a Balaenid character. The cervical vertebrae are free as in Rorquals, and the sternum is quite as in that group. The scapula has more the shape of that of Bulaena, Rhachianectes glaucus is confined to the Pacific, and has been extensively hunted from the shore. It is not, however, a very valuable Whale, since the baleen is short as in Rorquals, and the 1 Marine Muimuels of the North-West Coast of North America, 1874. ° Ct, Scammon, doc. cit. 358 SPECIES OF RIGHT WHALES CHAP. beast, moreover, appears to be fierce, a somewhat rare attribute of Whales. It has been spoken of, indeed, as “a cunning, courageous, and vicious” animal. Sehachianectes is essentially a coast Whale, and loves to lie in the surf in quite shallow water waiting for the tide to float it off. This Whale varies much in colour from black to mottled grey and black, and reaches a length of about 40 feet. / Fam. 2. Balaenidae.— The Right Whales of the genus Balaenw are to be distinguished from Neobalaena and from the Rorquals by the following characters :— The size is large, 50 to 60 feet. There is no dorsal fin. The head is more than or nearly one-fourth of the entire length of the animal. The baleen is very long. The throat is not grooved. The orbital process of the frontal is not wider than the down- ward process of the maxilla. The cervical vertebrae are all fused. The scapula is rather high. The hind-lmb has the rudiment of a tibia. The intestine has no caecum. A vast number of different genera have been founded on detached bones, bits of whalebone, and more or less complete skeletons of Right Whales coming from different parts of the world. In Dr. Gray’s catalogues we find the following allowed, viz. Balaena, Hubalacna, Hunterius, Caperea, Macleayius. The number of “species” distributed among the genera is some thirteen or more, with whose names we shall not trouble the reader. As a matter of fact there are not more than two species which can with certainty be identified and distinguished, both of which are so close that they cannot possibly be placed but in the same genus, Balwena. In no group of Whales—in no group of animals probably—has imagination run riot to so terrible an extent in the formation of genera and species as in these Right Whales. This multiplication or rather division of genera has arisen from an old idea that Whales coming from different seas must be of different kinds, a notion now thoroughly exploded. The term “ Right Whale” simply. means that the Whales of this genus are the right kind of Whale for the whaler to pursue. Their whalebone is longer and more valuable, while the oil is not only more abundant but of a superior quality. The two species demand a separate account. The Greenland Whale, Balaena mysticetus, is one of the rare instances of a Whale which has an exceedingly Jimited range in XU GREENLAND WHALE 359 space. It is absolutely confined to the Arctic Ocean, and reported occurrences on our coasts are due to a confusion with B. australis, to be presently described. At the “ Devil’s Dyke,” near Brighton, there is, or was, the skull of a most flagrant Rorqual, which is carefully labelled “Greenland Whale.” This Whale grows to a length of 50, 60, rarely 70 feet. It is black in colour, save for a white patch on the under side of the jaw. The head is quite one-third of the body in leneth. There are a few scattered hairs at the extremity of the jaws. The length of time which this Whale can endure immersion has been variously stated. The utmost limit of endurance is stated by Scammon to be one hour and twenty minutes. The pursuit of this Whale is attended by dangers, not in the least because the animal is itself fierce and ready to attack, but simply on account of the velocity with which, and the great depth to which, it will dive, and also to the huge muscular force which is exerted in its struggles to free itself from the harpoons. It is indeed an extremely timid beast. It has been remarked that “a bird alighting upon its back some- times sets it off in great agitation and terror.” Combined with this timidity of disposition is an intense affection for its young, “which would do honour,” observed Scoresby, “to the superior intelligence of human beings.” Yet that trader and observer goes on to remark that “the value of the prize cannot be sacrificed to feelings of compassion”! The fact that this Whale and its congener, B. australis, feed among swarms of minute pelagic creatures, which they engulf in their huge mouths, led the ancients to believe and assert that they fed upon water only. When the Whale feeds it moves along with some velocity, taking in huge mouthfuls of sea water with the contained organisms, which are then strained off by the whalebone and left stranded upon the tongue. Unlike its congener, the southern Right Whale, £. australis,! is world-wide in distribution, avoiding only the Arctic regions. Where the Greenland Whale is found &. australis does not exist. The principal differences which it shows from 2&. mysticetus are firstly in the relatively shorter head and shorter and coarser whalebone. In the second place it has more ribs, fifteen pairs as against thirteen ; but there is apparently some little confusion in the matter of ribs. An additional rib at the end of the series 1 The name that has priority seems to be g/acialis. 360 WHALING IN THE BAY OF BISCAY CHAP. is apt to get lost, and in the skeleton of so huge and unmanage- able a beast there is nothing more unwise than to insist upon, as specific characters, what may be due merely to defective prepara- tion. This Whale has often, and the Greenland Whale also, a rough horny protuberance upon the snout known as the “bonnet.” The causation of this is not clear. It has been spoken of as “a rudimentary frontal horn.” But this suggestion of an Ungulate affinity can hardly be accepted. It seems to be more like a kind of corn. This Whale was once more abundant on the coasts of Europe than it is to-day; it was much hunted by the Basques in past time. The Whale which frequented the Bay of Biscay was usually called the Biscayan Whale or B. biscayensis ; but there is prob- ably no specific difference. Among the small towns which fringe the Bay, it is very common to find the Whale incorporated into the armorial bearings. “Over the portal of the first old house in the steep street of Guetaria,” writes Sir Clements Markham,’ “there is a shield of arms consisting of Whales amid waves of the sea. At Motrico the town arms consist of a Whale in the sea harpooned, and with a boat with men holding the line.” Plenty of other such examples testify to the prevalence of the whaling industry on these adjoining coasts of Spain and France. It appears that though the fishery began much earlier—even in the ninth century—the first actual document relating to it dates from the year 1150. It is in the shape of privileges granted by Sancho the Wise to the city of San Sebastian. The trade was still very flourishing in the sixteenth century. Rondeletius the naturalist described Bayonne as the centre of the trade, and tells us that the flesh, especially of the tongue, was exposed for sale as food in the markets. M. Fischer? who, as well as Sir Clements Markham, has given an important account of the whaling industry on the Basque shores, quotes an account of the methods pursued in the sixteenth century. It was at Biarritz—or as Ambroise Pare, from whom Fischer quotes, spelt it, Biaris—that the main fisheries were undertaken. The inhabitants set upon a hilla tower from which they could see “the Daluimes which pass, and perceiving them coming partly by the loud noise they make, and 1 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 969. 2 Aetes Linn. Soc. Bordeaux, 1881. XII NEOBALAENA 361 partly by the water which they throw out by a conduit which they possess in the middle of the forehead.” Several boats then set out in pursuit, some of which were reserved for men whose sole duty it was to pick out of the water their comrades who had overbalanced themselves in their excitement. The harpoons bore a mark by which their respective owners could recognise them, and the carcase of the animal was shared in accordance with the numbers and owners of the harpoons found sticking in the dead body of the Whale. At this period the fishery was at its height. But it continued to be an occupation along those shores until the beginning of the eighteenth century, after which it gradually declined. The fishery of Whales began to be carried farther afield than the shore, and for a long time the Basques furnished expert harpooners to whaling vessels proceeding to the «Arctic seas. A curious example of the continuance of the fishery until at least 1712 is given by Sir C. Markham. In the parish records of Lequeito for that year, it is noted that a couple were married who possessed between them all the necessary outfit for a whaling cruise. The genus .Veobalaena is interesting from more than one point of view. Its size compared with its gigantic relatives is small, some 16 or 17 feet. The genus bears the same kind of proportion to Balaena that Kogia does to Physeter among the Physeteridae. It is one of those Whales which are very restricted in habitat ; up to the present it is only known from the Antarctic region in the neighbourhood of New Zealand and South Australia. Structurally it is in a few points intermediate between the Right Whales and the Rorquals. The head is proportionately (as well as, of course, actually) not so large as in Balaena. There is a faleate dorsal fin; but the head in outline is not Rorqual-like in spite of its similar proportions. The whalebone is long. The throat is not grooved. Neobalaena has forty-three vertebrae, of which the cervicals are all fused. There are as many as seventeen or eighteen dorsal vertebrae, the largest number in any Cetacean as far as is known. With these are articulated not eighteen but only seventeen ribs. The first dorsal vertebra appears to be with- out a rib. The ribs are very broad and flat. The body thus gets an appearance of a Sirenian. The lumbar vertebrae are fewer than in any other Cetacean, being only two. The scapula is more like that of the Rorquals than that of the Right Whales ; 362 TOOTHED WHALES CHAD. that is to say, it is long and not very high. The skull is most like that of Balaenw, but the process of the frontal arching over the eye is broader relatively than in Balaena, and thus approaches Buluenoptera. Nothing is known of the viscera of this Whale. The whalebone is white, and the animal was first described by Iv. Gray from pieces of “bone.” It is not always that so fortunate a diagnosis of specific or generic difference has heen made from a structure which apparently offers so little aid for discrimination. There is but a single species of the genus which is named Neobalaena marginata? Sup-Orper 2. ODONTOCETI. The Odontoceti have teeth but no whalebone; the blow-hole is single; the skull is not symmetrical; some of the ribs are two-headed, Fam. 1. Physeteridae.—This family of the Odontocetes may be thus defined :—AlIl or most of the cervical vertebrae are fused together. The costal cartilages are not ossified. In the skull the pterygoids are thick and meet in the middle line; the sym- phlysis of the mandible is long. Teeth, more or fewer, are found in both jaws, but those of the mandible are alone functional (2exe. Avgiv). The pectoral linb is smallish. The throat is grooved by two or four furrows. This family of Whales is again susceptible of division into the two sub-families—Physeterinae or Sperm Whales and the Ziphiinae or Beaked Whales. Professor P. J. van Beneden was strongly against any subdivision of what is here regarded as a perfectly natural family, embracing the Physeters and the Beaked Whales. There are, however, some reasons for the subdivision. The Ziphiinae have a reduced series of teeth, never exceeding two on each mandible, which contrasts with the fully-toothed mandibles of both Physeter and Aogia. The stomach of the Ziphioids is extraordinarily complicated even for a Cetacean. The small head of the latter group, which recalls in a curious way that of Mosasauroid reptiles and some Dinosaurs, is in contrast to, the 1 for osteology see Hector, Trans. New Zeal. Inst. vii. 1876, p. 251; and 3eddard, Trans. Zool. Sov. xv. 1901, p. 87. XI SPERM WHALES 363 enormous head of the Cachalot and the very fairly-developed skull of the “Pygmy Sperm Whale.” Both, however, furnish spermaceti, and in various osteological details come near together. On the whole we incline towards separating the Cachalots from the Ziphioids, and shall therefore commence with the former as being in some respects the more primitive members of the family Physeteridae. Sub-Fam. 1. Physeterinae.—This sub-family may be thus defined :—Teeth in lower jaw numerous. No distinct lachrymal bone. Stomach with only four compartinents (?as to Aogia). Of this sub-family the best-known genus is Physeter, including the Sperm Whale or Cachalot. Of other reputed species we shall speak later. The genus is characterised in the first place by its large size—as much as 82 feet of length have been assigned to Physeter macrocephalus ; but Sir Wilham Flower thought that 55 or possibly 60 feet might he a better approximation to the greatest length of the Cachalot. The head is enormous, a third of the length of the body, and terminates in a massive and bluntish snout. This is, however, not so abruptly truncated as is often represented in figures. According to Messrs. Pouchet and Chaves,’ it slopes forward two metres beyond the end of the lower jaw; the mouth is thus ventral and almost shark-lke in position, as is the case also with the Pygmy Sperm Whale, to he considered later. In connexion with this peculiar position of the mouth, it has been asserted—-Mr. F. T. Bullen figures it *— that the Sperm Whale turns over upon its back to bite. The blow-hole is single, and shaped like the sound-hole of a violin ; it lies upon one side, and is not median in position. The throat is grooved as in the Ziphioids ly two grooves. The dorsal fin is represented by a whole series of lowish humps, decreasing in elevation from before backwards. The pectoral fins are not large relatively speaking. The great square head is not occupied entirely by the skull; the cavity lying above, which is of course traversed by the tube ending in the blow-hole, is filled with the spermaceti, which is fluid fat during the life of the animal. Spermaceti also occurs in other Whales; and that of Ayperoodon, whence it has heen extracted for commercial purposes, is said to offer no differences of importance from the spermaceti of the 1 Journ. de V Anat. xxvi. 1890, p. 270. 2 The Cruise of the Cachalot, London, 1900. 364 SPERMACETI AND AMBERGRIS CHAP. Sperm Whale. Spermaceti as a drug appears to have been first mentioned in the pharmacopoeias of the famous medical school of Salerno towards the year 1100. But it was confounded with a totally distinct substance, viz. ambergris. The confusion was also made by the famous alchemist Albertus Magnus, and by the observant Archbishop of Upsala, Olaus Magnus, in his work De gentibus septentrionalibus. It was supposed in fact by these writers to be the liberated sperm of the Whale, hence obviously the name. Later on, the substance in question was regarded as the brain of the Cachalot, in fact as late as the middle of the eighteenth century. It was Hunter and Camper who really discovered the true nature of the substance, oil of course, in the cavities of the skull! The huge skull of Physeter “is perhaps the most modified from the ordinary type” of skull in the whole mammalian class. The top of the skull rises into a huge crest lying transversely, and from it slope forward two lateral crests formed from the maxillary bones; in this great basin lies the spermaceti already referred to. The skull, as in Toothed Whales generally, is ex- ceedingly asymmetrical. The right premaxillary and the left nasal bones are much larger than their fellows; indeed the right nasal is hardly present as a separate bone. The parietal if pre- sent is fused with the supra-occipital. The jugal is large, and is not divided into two pieces as it is in the Ziphioids. The ptery- goids meet below for a considerable distance, as in many Dolphins, and in the Edentata among other mammals. The symphysis of the lower jaw is very long, but the bones do not appear to be ankylosed. The length of the symphysis recalls that of the Gangetic Dolphin, Platanista. In the vertebral column the atlas alone is free, the remain- ing cervicals being fused. There are only eleven dorsal vertebrae, eight lumbars, and twenty-four caudals. The breastbone of this Whale is a roughly-triangular bone made up of three pieces. Four cartilaginous sternal ribs are attached to this bone. The scapula is remarkable for the fact that it is concave on the outer and convex on the inner surface; otherwise it is quite typically Cetacean in form. The shortness of the pectoral hmb is shown by the phalangeal formula, which is as folows:—TI 1, II 5, III 5, IV 4, V 3. 1 See Pouchet, ‘‘Contribution a histoire du spermaceti,” Bergens Musewms slurbog for 1893, No. 1. XI FEROCITY OF THE CACHALOT 365 One of the reasons for the pursuit of the Sperm Whale is the desire to obtain that extremely valuable product ambergris. This substance has long been known; but its true nature was for centuries in dispute. In Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary (so recently as the edition of 1818!) ambergris is provided with alternative definitions ; it is either the excrement of birds washed off rocks, or honeycombs that have fallen into the sea! An old writer asserted of ambereris that it was “not the scum or excrement of the whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, alwaies shoots forth its roots towards the sea, seaking the warmth of it, thereby to deliver the fattest gum that coms out of it, which tree other- wise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed.” These “explanations” were caused by the fact that ambergris is sometimes found floating in the sea. Ambergris is, of course, a product of the intestinal canal of the Sperm Whale; it seems to be of: the nature of cholesterin, and its place of origin was con- clusively proved by finding the beaks of cuttle-fish imbedded in it. When first extracted from the alimentary canal it is of greasy feel and consistency; later it hardens, and acquires its characteristic sweet earthy odour. Ambergris is used mainly as a vehicle for scents, and is a costly substance. .A piece weighing 130 Ibs. was valued at £500. Though now entirely used in connexion with perfumery, it was held by the ancients to be of great value as a specific in certain diseases. The Sperm Whale is chiefly a tropical animal. Examples that have been cast up on our shores are strayed individuals. It often goes about in herds, which seem to be composed of females. Its food is chiefly cuttle-fishes, and it is said to have a pre- dilection for those colossal cuttle-fishes whose existence has until recently been doubted. Mr. Bullen has sketched a conflict between these two giants of the deep. On the other hand it is said that its large throat, more than big enough to swallow a man (the Whale is credited with being that which swallowed Jonah), does not usually admit fishes larger than Bonitos and Albacores. The ferocity of the Cachalot has been denied and affirmed. It certainly has great strength, for it can throw itself com- pletely out of the water. Captain Scammon thinks that ships which are mysteriously lost at sea, with no obviously assignable cause, are sometimes the victims of the furious rushes of a bull 366 THE IIGH-FINNED CACHALOT CHAP. Sperm Whale. Marco Polo took much the same view, but suggested that the Whale did not deliberately attack the ship, but was deceived by the foam following in its wake into thinking “there is something to eat afloat, and makes a rush forward, whereby it shall often stave in some part of the ship.”? Sir W. Flower and many others are of opinion that there is but one species of Cachalot. But many names have been given to supposed other forms. The genus itself has even been divided, and to a set of vertebrae from the south Dr. Gray gave the perfectly supertluous name of J/eguneuron krefti. The “ High- finned Cachalot ” rests mainly upon the suggestions of Sir Robert Sibbald. It 1s supposed to have a high dorsal fin, and teeth in the upper as well as in the lower jaw. Common though it was asserted by its deseriber to be, there is not a bone, not a fragment even of a bone, alleged to belong to Physeter tursio in any museum in the world! It seems premature, therefore, to include this mysterious creature in any list of Cetacea, though that was done by no less a uaturalist than the late Ma. Thomas Bell. It is this creature round which most of the stories of ferocity con- vregate. It is held to be the monster from which Perseus delivered Andromeda, and which was about to devour Angelica upon the shore of Brittany. The fact of the matter is, that the Sperm Whale, like so very many other Whales, is world-wide in range; and those naturalists who did not believe in so wide a distribution found themselves obliged, in order to satisfy their own views, to create new species for those of distant localities. Hence the dozen or so of synonyms which refer to what is to be called Physeter macrocephalus. The genus Avy (sometimes written Cogia), the so-called “Pygmy Sperm Whale,” is a southern form of much smaller dimensions than its gigantic ally just described. Kogia does not exceed 15 feet or so in length. It differs from Physeter also in the well-marked and falcate dorsal fin, in its generally delphinoid form, in the short snout, and the more normal (for a Whale) shape of the blow-hole, which is crescentic. There are also a number of osteological characters in which the two Vhyseterines differ from each other. In Xogia all the cervical vertebrae are ankylosed together; the skull is short, though equally asymmetrical; the ribs are as many as twelve or 1 Yule, Travels of Marco Polo, ii. London, 1874, p. 231. XI BEAKED WHALES 367 fourteen; the scapula has not the coneave face that it has in Physeter, The functional teeth of the lower jaw seem to be reinforced by two on each side of the upper jaw. Moreover, the articulation of the ribs with the vertebrae does not show the very anomalous state of affairs that characterises Physeter, where the two heads of a rib may be upon one vertebra. While there is no doubt as to the generic distinctness of Koyiw, there is again the same difficulty that is met with throughout the whole of the order in settling into how many species the genus requires dividing. We can dismiss, as unnecessary, additional generic names (Buphysetes, Callignathus), but there do appear to be reasons for allowing two species, if the accounts of their osteology are to be depended upon. One of these is A® breviceps, with thirteen pairs of ribs, no teeth in the upper jaw, fourteen or fifteen on each side of the lower jaw, vertebral formula C 7, D 13, L 9, Ca 25, and phalangeal formula I 2, IT 8, IIT 8, IV 8, V 7. The other will then be A s¢mus, with fourteen pairs of ribs, two teeth in the upper jaw, nine in each ramus of the lower jaw, vertebral formula C 7, D 14, L 5, Ca 24, and phalangeal formula I 2,115, U1 4, 1V 4, V 2. A Californian species has been called A. flowert, whose teeth seem to be particularly long and recurved. And the New Zealand K. pottsi has been held to be also a distinct form. There seems to be nothing of special interest to record about the way of life of these Cetaceans, which are but imperfectly known. Sub-Fam. 2. Ziphiinae—Teeth in the lower jaw not more than two on each side.