IS92. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 89 



Pikermi constitutes one genus (Chalicothevium), that from the some- 

 what lower beds of Sansan, in the Gers, must be referred to another 

 {Macyotherium), distinguished by the structure of its foot. 



When discussing the age of the Samos, Pikermi, and 

 Maragha strata, the author refuses to admit the view of their 

 PHocene age, and continues to regard them as Miocene. We fail, 

 however, to see how he has accounted for the presence of beds with 

 marine Pliocene shells among and below the Pikermi strata, or 

 for the alleged upward passage of those at Maragha into the 

 Pleistocene. The author proceeds to consider the relations of these 

 beds to the Siwaliks of Northern India, which he concludes to be 

 somewhat newer, and more nearly related to the mammaliferous 

 strata of the Val d'Arno, in Tuscany. We may, however, point out 

 that the Siwaliks embrace an immense thickness of strata, which may 

 represent the whole period during which both the Pikermi and Val 

 d'Arno beds were deposited ; and this would well harmonise with the 

 occurrence in the Siwaliks both of the three-toed horses {Hipparion) 

 of the former and the true horses of the latter beds. Moreover, in 

 such correlations something must be allowed for zoological regions, 

 which probably existed to a certain degree even in those early days. 



The discovery of the extinct mammals of Samos, and of those 

 of Maragha a few years previously, has largely increased our know- 

 ledge of the relations of the ancient vertebrate faunas of Europe and 

 Asia ; but a full exploration of Baluchistan is still required before 

 we can obtain definite information as to the connection between the 

 fauna of Maragha and the Siwalik fauna of the Punjab. Eastwards 

 of India, the extension of the extinct mammals of the Siwaliks into 

 the islands of the Malayan region and China has been gradually 

 made known of late years, and a small collection of remains from 

 Mongolia recently described by Mr. Lydekker {Records Geol. Survey, 

 India, vol. xxiv., 1891, p. 207) now indicates that the same fauna 

 ranged far into the heart of Central Asia. 



A FINE skull of the new variety of the extinct Irish Deer [Cervus 

 giganteus, var. ruffi.) is described and figured by Dr. A. Nehring in the 

 Deutsche Jdger-Zeitung for February 7. This variety was first 

 indicated in 1891 from a shed antler obtained near Kottbus in Bran- 

 denburg, and the new " find " was dredged from the Rhine near 

 Worms. The peculiarity of this variety is that the antlers, instead 

 of extending nearly horizontally outwards, are directed upwards like 

 those of a fallow deer, and have a similar inclination of the plane of 

 their expanded portion. Although they agree with the ordinary Irish 

 deer in their palmated brow-tine, they indicate a decided approxi- 

 mation to the fallow deer type, this being especially shown by the 



