180 I'KoOEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1885. 



of the fossil are more than twice as long as in the moose ; this 

 increase of length of the nasals, together with the shortening of 

 the face renders the appearance of the anterior nares very dif- 

 ferent from those of the moose. The edge of the nares in the 

 latter measures nearly 1 1 inches, in the fossil hardly 8 ; in a large 

 skull of* Gervus canadensis the measurement is 44 inches. 



The Premaxillse are like those of Cervus and not at all like 

 those of Alee s ; they lie external to the anterior ends of the 

 maxillae and reach up to the nasals with which they articulate by 

 a surface nearly an inch in length, while in the moose the ascend- 

 ing ramus of the premaxilla is inserted into a groove in the 

 front edge of the maxilla and does not reach tfle nasals by several 

 inches. This is not due merely to a shortening of the nasals, for 

 though the ascending ramus is very long, its direction is so ob- 

 lique that it does not rise to the level of the nasal, and no pro- 

 longation of the latter would effect a junction. The shape of the 

 premaxilla is also very different in the two species, the horizontal 

 portion being shorter, the ascending portion longer, and the 

 posterior angle between the two sharper in the fossil than in the 

 recent form. In all these respects the former shows an approxi- 

 mation to the shape of the bone in Cervus. Seen from the side 

 the edge of the nasal opening is very different from that of the 

 moose. In the latter this edge is very long and directed ob- 

 liquely downwards and forwards (see fig. 1), while in the former 

 the descent is much more abrupt. The whole tube inclosing the 

 nasal cavity is much longer than in the moose, in which animal 

 the turbinal bones project beyond the edge of the premaxillse 

 (fig. 3), and so can be seen from the side, while in the fossil they 

 do not quite reach the edge of the nares (fig. 2). 



The Maxillae are more like the corresponding bones of Cervus 

 than those of the moose. The difference, however, is almost al- 

 together in the anterior part. The front edge is much less 

 oblique and takes no part in the formation of the anterior nares. 

 The edentulous part of the bone in advance of the molars is 

 much shorter than in the moose, but the upper facial portion is 

 of about the same length. As in Alces, the palatine plates in 

 front of the molar teeth arc contracted much more than in Cervus. 

 There is a further difference from either of the genera in the fact 

 that the alveolus behind the last molar is very narrow and short, 



