1899] THE PATAGONIAN GROUND-SLOTH 267 



more evidence. Professor Seeley and Mr. E. T. Newton favoured the 

 theory of Drs. Moreno and Ameghino and Mr. "Woodward. Several 

 speakers alluded to the difficulty of believing that the specimen had 

 been naturally preserved in a cavern since prehistoric times ; but Dr. 

 Garson thought the discovery of the ancient human mummy in the 

 same neighbourhood was conclusive proof of the favourable nature of 

 the climate. 



More about Neomylodon. 



The pieces of the skin of Neomylodon collected by Dr. Otto Nordens- 

 kjold have been turned to good account by Dr. Einar Lonnberg, of 

 Upsala, who has just issued a detailed description of them in the 

 report of the Swedish expedition to the south of Patagonia. 1 Dr. 

 Nordenskjbld took his specimen when the piece of skin was about 1*5 

 metres in length — it is now only half a metre square. He was also 

 first to explore the cave scientifically (in 1896), and there he found 

 the sheath of a claw which might very well belong to a large ground- 

 sloth. Unfortunately, however, there was not a trace of the bones of 

 the animal. 



Dr. Lonnberg considers that Neomylodon was an animal of the ap- 

 proximate size of a small rhinoceros, or one of the Pampean mylodons ; 

 and this leads him to conclude that the living animal stated to have 

 been seen in Patagonia by Lista, and compared to an Indian pangolin, 

 must have been a totally different creature, and not, as Ameghino 

 supposes, identical with Neomylodon. 



That the latter was a relative of Mylodoa, and not a cousin of the 

 glyptodonts and armadillos, is considered by Dr. Lonnberg to be 

 practically certain. Not only are the dermal ossicles akin to, although 

 apparently to a certain extent different from, those of Mylodon, but 

 the claw is of a mylodont, as distinct from a glyptodont type. With 

 regard to the hair, Dr. Lonnberg considers that in his specimen the 

 outer sheath has in each case been removed, and that only the core 

 remains. And he is thus led to believe that a very close analogy 

 exists between the hair of the -Patagonian animal and that of the 

 sloths. If, as he is inclined to think probable, some of the hairs of 

 the former were coated with an alga, there would seem undoubted 

 evidence of bradypodine affinity in this respect. But before the theory 

 that the hairs in their present condition are nothing more than cores 

 be definitely accepted, it would be wise to wait and see what Mr. 

 Smith Woodward has to say on the subject. 



Apparently Dr. Lonnberg is of opinion that Neomylodon is generic- 



1 " On some Remains of JVcovi[/Iodon listai, Ameghino, brought home by the Swedish Ex- 

 pedition to Tierra del Fuego, 1896," Svenska JExped. Magcllansland, ii. pp. 149-170. pis. 

 xii.-xiv. Stockholm, 1899. 



