THE EECENTLY DISCOVERED TERTIARY VERTEBRATA 



OF EGYPT.« 



By C. W. Andrews, D. Sc, F. R. S. 

 British Museum {Natural History). 



As in most branches of science, the growth of our knowledge of the 

 fossil vertebrates of the world takes place, as a rule, by the slow 

 accumulation of isolated facts; but occasionally some fortunate dis- 

 covery not only leads to the bridging over of long-recognized gaps, 

 but also throws much light on points the significance of which was 

 previousl}^ obscure. The discovery that the remains of vertebrates 

 are comparatively common at several horizons in the Tertiary forma- 

 tions of Egypt was such a happy chance, and has resulted in the solu- 

 tion of several long-outstanding problems. 



Until within the last few years the paleontological history . of 

 Africa, so far, at least, as the mammalia were concerned, was an 

 almost complete blank. It is true that so long ago as 18T5 Owen ' 

 described the occurrence of a primitive Sirenian in the Middle 

 Eocene of the Mokattam Hills, near Cairo, and a few years later 

 Schweinfurth discovered bones of Zeugiodonts in the Middle Eocene 

 deposits of the Fay Cim ; but in both instances the animals in question 

 are of aquatic habits, and therefore throw no light on the mammalian 

 fauna of the Ethiopian land mass that must have existed throughout 

 Tertiary, and probably also Secondary, times. 



The highest horizon in the Egyptian Tertiary beds at which verte- 

 brate remains are found is the Middle Pliocene, beds of this age 

 occurring in the Wadi Natrun, a depression in the Libyan desert 

 some GO miles from Cairo. From this locality collections have been 

 made by Captain Lyons and Mr. Beadnell, and also by Doctors 

 Stromer and Blanckenhorn. They have been described by Doctor 

 Stromer and the present writer. The chief mammals recorded are 

 Hipparion, Hippopotamus^ Lihytheriimi or Samotherium, and Masto- 

 don, as well as carnivora, including a saber-toothed tiger and mem- 

 bers of the Canidse, Lutrina^, and Phocidse. The next bone-bearing 



a Reprinted, by permission, with author's corrections, from Science Progress in 

 the Twentieth Century, No. 4, April, 1907. London, John Murray. 



295 



