THE PLIOCENE PERIOD. 323 



which case it must have possessed a long tail. The Mesopi- 

 thecus of the Upper Miocene of Greece is also one of the lower 



Fig. 248. Lower jaw of Pliopithecus antiqnns. Upper Miocene, France. 



Monkeys, as it is most closely allied to the existing Macaques. 

 On the other hand, the Dryopithecus of the French Upper 

 Miocene is referable to the group of the "Anthropoid Apes/' 

 and is most nearly related to the Gibbons of the present day, 

 in which the tail is rudimentary and there are no .cheek- 

 pouches. Dryopithecus was, also, of large size, equalling Man 

 in stature, and apparently living amongst the trees and feed- 

 ing upon fruits. 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE PLIOCENE PERIOD. 



The highest division of the Tertiary deposits is termed the 

 Pliocene formation, in accordance with the classification pro- 

 posed by Sir Charles Lyell. The Pliocene formations contain 

 from 40 to 95 per cent of existing species of Mollusca, the re- 

 maindes belonging to extinct species. They are divided by Sir 

 Charles Lyell into two divisions, the Older Pliocene and Newer 

 Pliocene. 



The Pliocene deposits of Britain occur in Suffolk, and are 

 known by the name of " Crags," this being a local term used 

 for certain shelly sands, which are employed in agriculture. 

 Two of these Crags are referable to the Older Pliocene, viz., 



