64 LIFE OF 



fossil mammalia, completed in 1840; G. Waterhouse's 

 of the living mammalia, in 1839; Gould's of the birds, 

 in 1841 ; L. Jenyns's of the fish, in 1842 ; and Thomas 

 Bell's of the reptiles, in 1843 all in quarto, with 

 beautiful plates, were a solid testimony to a splendid 

 success. Darwin furnished an introduction to each part, 

 and the portions of the text referring to the habits and 

 ranges of the living animals. Three species of mastodon 

 and the gigantic megatherium were the only extinct mam- 

 malia known from South America previous to Darwin's 

 voyage. To these were now added the Mylodon Darwinii, 

 a giant sloth ; the scelidotherium, a somewhat smaller 

 form; the great camel-like, yet odd-toed, macrauchenia; 

 and the toxodon, as large as a hippopotamus, yet having 

 a strange resemblance to the little rodents. All these 

 belonged to geological deposits not far anterior to the 

 present age. The collections of living vertebrates were 

 less profoundly interesting, but the number of new 

 species was large ; and the habits and localities being 

 recorded by so good an observer, gave them additional 

 value. 



The fossil mammals were given by the generous traveller 

 to the London College of Surgeons, the mammals and 

 birds to the Zoological Society, the reptiles to the British 

 Museum, and the fishes to the Cambridge Philosophical 

 Society. Nor was this all. The collections of insects, 

 shells, and Crustacea were described by many able 

 specialists in scientific publications. The flowering 

 plants were described by Hooker, and the non-flowering 

 by Berkeley ; and, altogether, no expedition ever yielded 

 a more solid result to the scientific naturalist, while fur- 



