320 THE NATURAL HISTOET REVIEW. 



Zoology of the Voyage of tlie Beagle,* established the species Ma- 

 craucJienia patacJionica. Professor Owen considered that this remark- 

 able quadruped, though " referable to the Order Pachydermata," 

 judging from the peculiar formation of the cervical vertebrae, must 

 have had " affinities to the Euminantia, and especially to the Came- 

 lid«." 



Further remains of the Macrauclienia pataclionica were discovered 

 by the Yicomte F. de Castelnau during his journey through South 

 America, and described by G-ervais,in the *' Zoology " of that travel- 

 ler's " Voyage." Professor G-ervais does not recognize any affinity 

 between Macrauclienia and the Camelidae, but insists on its close 

 alliance to Rhinoceros and Tapirnis, the structure of its foot being 

 nearly the same as in these two latter genera. 



In 1859, Mr. D. Forbes, F.E.S., obtained portions of a skeleton 

 from the copper mine of Santa Eosa, in Bolivia, upon which Professor 

 Huxley has founded a second species of Macrauclienia— M. holi- 

 viensis.\ Here again, only two very imperfect and mutilated por- 

 tions of the skull were present, so that the great question as to the 

 true position of the genus could not be definitely set at rest. It 

 will be evident, therefore, that the discovery by Bravard of a perfect 

 cranium of this animal, together with other portions of the skeleton, 

 near Buenos Ayres, was an event of no slight interest, and v/ell 

 worthy of the attention which Professor Burmeister has devoted 

 to it. 



M. Bravard made his discovery as long ago as 1856, and, not 

 recognizing that the cranium was that of Macraucheniai commenced 

 a description of it, in a new work intended to illustrate the fossil 

 Fauna of La Plata, under the name Opisthorhinusfalconeri. Bravard 

 unhappily perished in the fatal earthquake of Mendoza, leaving only 

 three plates of his proposed work completed, which have been used 

 by Professor Burmeister for the Spanish edition of his paper in the 

 " Anales." 



"We shall not follow Prof. Burmeister into his description of the 

 cranium, the dentition, and other particulars of the structure of 

 Macrauclienia y but shall content ourselves by giving a short analysis 

 of the results arrived at at the close of his paper as to the syste- 

 matic position of this remarkable Mammal. 



* Zool. Voy. Beagle, I., p. 35. f Troc. Gcol. Soc. Lond. XVII., p. 70. 



