430 ZOOLOGY. 



of the b'owing-lioles of Cetacea, we find here nostrils constructed like tliose 

 of other mammals. There exists no external ear ; the ejes, proportionally 

 small, are provided with a nictitating membrane, which is wanting in Ceta- 

 cea ; the upper lip and snout are beset Avith thick beard-like bristles ; the 

 skin itself is generally smooth, and deprived of hair. Of the locomotive 

 organs, the anterior ones alone are present, as in Cetacea, and similarly 

 constructed for swimming ; for this its adaptation is very great. The pos- 

 terior limbs are completely wanting. Sirenidia live in society, not far from 

 the shores, and at the mouths of rivers. They often go ashore to feed upon 

 marine or aquatic plants, and may occasionally drag themselves on dry land, 

 which Cetacea never do. 



Several fossil genera of this group have already been described, and we 

 may expect some more to be discovered hereafter. The living genera are 

 only three, Manatus^ Halicore^ and Rytina^ comprising a very small number 

 of species. We shall first introduce the extinct members, as the oldest data 

 of the history which we endeavor here to relate. 



Fam. 1. DiNOTHERiD^. The genus Dinotherimn is founded upon a gigan- 

 tic fossil from the tertiary beds of Germany, which created a great sensation 

 at the time of its discovery. Different opinions have been entertained with 

 regard to its true zoological affinities. First placed near the tapir and mas- 

 todon, it is now generally associated to the Manati and other Sirenidia. At 

 any rate, the Dinotheria are pachyderms, and were never mistaken as such. 

 And when brought in the same group Avith Manati, this fact ought to have 

 revealed to us the affinities of the so-called herbivorous Cetacea with pachy- 

 derms, of which they form the lower grade, and among the latter the Dino- 

 theria are the lowest. Their lower jaw is terminated by two tusks, curved 

 downwards and backwards. The existence of great sub-orbital holes, and the 

 form of the nasal bones, have induced the belief that Dinotherium was pro- 

 vided Avith a proboscis similar to that of the tapir and elephant. The molar 

 teeth, five above and five below, remind us of those of the tapir and manatee. 

 Several species have been described from the tertiary beds of Europe. 

 D. giganteum is the largest and best knoAvn. Its habits are thought to have 

 been similar to those of the Manati ; it frequented the mouths of rivers, 

 feeding upon aquatic plants; the tusks Avere occasionally nsed to force 

 them out of the ground. A species of Dinotherium has been announced 

 from the eocene of South Carolina. 



The genus Metaxytheriiim possesses aU the osteological characters of the 

 Dugong, as also its tusks, but the grinding teeth resemble those of the 

 Manati. Although several species are known to have existed in Europe 

 during the tertiary epoch, they are imperfectly characterized. Some of 

 their remains have previously been refei'red to the genera Hippopotamus and 

 Manatus, until Christol created the genus Avhich we here record. 



The genera Hcditherium and Pygmeodon come near the Manati and 

 Dugong, but are too imperfectly knoAvn to alloAV its to give a more detailed 

 account of their history. 



The genus Clieirotherium^ with a skull and skeleton constructed like the 

 skuil and skeleton of the Dugong and Manati, is provided Avith teeth, 

 034 



