354 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Sept. 



Prehistoric Horses. — Much interest attaches to the remains 

 of horses in the more modern deposits both in the Old World 

 and in America ; which latter Continent, though destitute of wild 

 horses when dif-covered, exhibits the remains of several extinct 

 species ; but much difficulty has been felt from the time of 

 Cuvier to that of Leidy in distinguishing one species or variety 

 from another. 



Professor Owen has recently examined some interesting 

 specimens from a pre-historic cave at Bruniquel in France where 

 bones of horses occur with those of rein-deer, and in such circum- 

 stances as to show that both animals afforded food to some aborigi- 

 nal tribe. He has described these remains in a paper read before 

 the Royal Society, and has in a subsequent conmunication com- 

 pared them with equine remains from South and Central America. 

 The toilowing abstracts are from the Proceedings of the Royal 

 Society. 



" Referring to the want of figures of the natural size, 

 or of any figures of the characteristic surface of the teeth of the 

 molar series in the known species of the existing Equines, the 

 auti or gives a description thereof in the Horse (Equns caballus), 

 Ass (E. asinus), Kiang (^E. hemiconus), Quagga {E. quogga), 

 Dauw {E. Burchelli), and Zebra (^E. Zebra), indicating by 

 comparison their respective characteristics. These descriptions 

 are accompanied with drawings (of the natural size) of the 

 working-surface of the dentition of each species, with lettered 

 details of such surface in the teeth of both upper and under 

 jaws. 



" The Equine fossils from the Cave of Bruniquel are then des- 

 cribed and compared with each other, with the above-named 

 existing species of Equus, and with previously defined 

 fossil species of Equidoe. Two varieties in respect of size and 

 some minor characters are pointed out in the Bruniquel series, of 

 one of which figures (of the natural size) of the grinding- 

 surface of the upper and lower molar series, and of the second 

 variety, figures of the same surface of the upper molar series are 

 given. 



" The author, remarking that such evidences of mature and 

 filll-grown animals are rare from the Bruniquel Cave-deposits, 

 selects evidence of certain phases of dentition in the Cave 

 Equines which lend aid in determining their affinities; these 

 phases being illustrated by four drawings of the natural size. 



