ELEPHANT1D.S!. 1 75 



Elephas primigenius, Blumenbach ' . 



Syn. JEkielephas primigenius^ auct. 



The ridge-formula of the molars (exclusive of talons) may be 

 approximately given as MM. gfrgfrgff. M. gff^gSg. 

 The frontal aspect of the cranium is elongated, the incisive alveoli 

 are long and divergent, the temporal fossa? intrude largely on to the 

 frontal aspect, and the interval between the narial aperture and the 

 vertex is very great, the symphysial channel of the mandible being 

 very wide and short. In general contour the cranium agrees very 

 closely with that of E. indicus, but is relatively narrower. The 

 incisors are usually long, spiral, and not very thick near the 

 alveolus ; they are, however, subject to great variation. The molars 

 are relatively wide in proportion to their length ; their ridges are 

 narrow and closely packed, with the cement, enamel, and dentine very 

 thin ; the plication of the enamel is usually slight ; the worn dentine- 

 disks are very narrow ; and the crown is usually characterized by the 

 extreme flatness of its wear. Variations are common, and those 

 molars in which the ridges are thicker and less numerous and the 

 enamel more plicated approach very closely to certain examples of 

 E. antiquus. The existing Indian species presents a close approach 

 in dental and skeletal structure, but the molars are decidedly of a 

 less specialized type, and thereby indicate that the living species is 

 not a descendant of the Mammoth. E. armeniacus, as mentioned 

 above, is intermediate between the two in respect of molar-structure, 

 although nearer to E. indicus. 



Hob. Northern Europe, Asia, and America. In England the 

 species first appears in the Norfolk Forest-bed 2 , and continues 

 throughout the whole of the Pleistocene : if, therefore, the view of 

 including the Forest-bed in the Pleistocene be followed, the species 

 may be considered characteristic of that period. 



*. The cranium, with the well-worn i. 3 of either side in situ ; from 

 (Fig.) Ilford. Essex. Described and figured by H. Woodward in 

 the ' Geol. Mag.' dec. ii. vol. v. p. 544, pis. xxii., xxiii. 

 (1868), and by Leith-Adams in his 'British Fossil Ele- 

 phants ' (Mon. Pal. Soc.), P- 128, pis. vi. & vii. The right 

 side has been partly restored, the right incisor having 

 been found detached. Presented by W. Hill, Esq., 1864. 



1 Handbuch der Naturgeschichte, 1st French ed. vol. ii. p. 407 (1803). 

 3 See Leith-Adams, 'British Fossil Elephants ' (Mon. Pal. Soc.) p. 173. 



