G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 243 



mastodon remains, which were submitted by Professor Henry 

 to Professor Leidy for examination. These were found to 

 indicate the existence of a very remarkable species of masto- 

 don (3f. obscurus), very different from the common M. ameri- 

 camcs, and previously known only by a few fragments from 

 California and a tooth found many years ago in the miocene 

 formation of Maryland. 



One peculiarity of this species consists in the existence of 

 enamel on the tusks of the upper jaw, which does not occur 

 in the more modern americanus. It also had tusks in the 

 lower jaw, projecting from the prolongation of the jaw, as in 

 the adult of the miocene Mastodon angustidens of Europe, 

 and known only in the young animal of M. americanus. 



The specimen referred to will be figured by Professor Lei- 

 dy in his forthcoming report to Dr. Hayden on the vertebrate 

 fossils of the Western Territories. 



NEW DISCOVERIES OF THE MAMMOTH IN SIBERIA. 



Great interest was excited by the announcement many 

 years ago of the discovery in Siberia by Mr. Adams, a mer- 

 chant in St. Petersburg, of the carcass of a mammoth, which 

 had been melted or washed out from the frozen soil, and 

 which for a lonsr time had served as food for the doo:s of the 

 nomad tribes. When visited by Mr. Adams, however, only 

 the skeleton remained, together with a small portion of the 

 skin and of the hair, all of which are now preserved in the 

 museum of the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. More 

 recently several additional discoveries of a somewhat similar 

 character have taken place, although, unfortunately, none of 

 them were made public in time to be utilized in the interest 

 of science. 



The latest discovery of the kind is one mentioned by Dr. 

 Von Schrenck, in the form of a communication to the Acad- 

 emy of Science of St. Petersburg, in which he gives the his- 

 tory of the steps detailed in a letter to him from Mr. May- 

 dell, dated February, 18G9 to secure such a specimen. It 

 seems that certain persons in Mr. Maydell's employ reported 

 to him that the foot of a mammoth was found protruding 

 from the frozen soil in a locality betwen Indighirka and Ala- 

 seja, on the route to Nishne-Kolinsk. An agent was sent to 

 this locality, who reported that little else could be detected 



