Florida and Some Snakes 231 



Before Dr. T. E. White went to the Army, he left a 

 manuscript concerning the finds at the Thomas Farm. 

 Since he is a speciahst in the study of fossil mammals, I can 

 give a better outline of the material which has been ex- 

 cavated than I could do with my own knowledge unaided. 



The high lights were the discovery that no less than 

 five species of little three-toed horses apparently lived in 

 this part of the world at the same time. These varied in size 

 from that of a collie dog to that of a Shetland pony — a 

 small pony. The situation must have been somewhat similar 

 to that on the Athi Plains in East Africa where one may see 

 Impallah, Thompson, and Roberts gazelles all mixed up 

 together in great herds. They are just about as different, 

 one from the other, as these little horses were. Of course 

 the fact that these fossil remains, disassociated and re- 

 deposited, have been water-borne from the place where 

 they were first laid down may well mean that they are not 

 strictly contemporaneous — but that we can't tell about 

 now. 



There were two types of rhinos, a small one and an 

 enormous, long-legged beast which must have been an im- 

 pressive animal to see. 



There were also an unusual number of doglike animals, 

 some the size of coyotes, and others at least as large as the 

 grizzly bear. There is very little evidence of the presence 

 of any feline forms but most astonishing of all are the two 

 genera of an extinct group of mammals called the Hyper- 

 tragulids. These are relatives of our deer but they have 

 skulls so elongated that I once facetiously described one of 

 them as a hoofed anteater. It is difficult to imagine what 

 specialized feeding habits may be tied up with this peculiar 



