332 



Paraguay. The bones found at Luxan were sent to Madrid, 

 and, being carefully connected, formed a skeleton, which is 

 preserved in the Royal Museum. 



From a general view of the skeleton some well-founded 

 conjectures may be formed of the animal itself Cuvier in- 

 structs us, that his teeth prove he lived on vegetables ; and 

 his fore feet, robust, and armed with sharp claws, point out 

 that roots were the chief objects of his search. His claws 

 supplied him with arms sufficient for his defence. His pro- 

 gress was not swift, nor was it requisite that it should be, 

 since he was not under the necessity of flying or of pursuing. 

 Cuvier adds. If he still exists, where can he be ? or can he 

 have escaped from all the researches of naturalists and 

 huntsmen ? The bones of the megatherium are one-third 

 larger than those of the megalonyx. 



Gnawers. — In different peat mosses, and in other situ- 

 ations in which their remains might be expected to be found, 

 the remains of beavers have been discovered, though not 

 very frequently. Their teeth are known by the enamel of 

 their crown, in those of the upper jaw, being so disposed as 

 to form a line with three turns inwards, on the outer border, 

 and on the inner side a single one ; and by the arrangement 

 of the enamel, in the teeth of the under jaw, being exactly 

 reversed. But in none of the heads, which have been thus 

 found, have any characters been observed different from 

 those of the existing animals. 



In the beds of calcareous and marly schists of Oeningen, 

 &c. were found the remains of one of this class of animals, 

 which Cuvier believes to have belonged to a species o£ cavia* 

 Another was also found, in a similar situation, at Walsch, in 

 Bohemia, resembling mus terrestris. 



Fossil Bones in Caverns. — The phenomena which are 

 here offered to our observation differ essentially from those 



