FAUNA OF THE POST-PLIOCENE. 373 



than a large variety of the existing Lion (Felis leo}. This 

 animal inhabited Britain and Western Europe in times pos- 

 terior to the Glacial period, and was a contemporary of the 

 Cave-hyaena, Cave-bear, Woolly Rhinoceros, and Mammoth. 

 The Cave-lion also unquestionably survived into the earlier 

 portion of the human period in Europe. 



The Post-Pliocene deposits of Europe have further yielded 

 the remains of numerous Rodents such as the Beaver, the 

 Northern Lemming, Marmots, Mice, Voles, Rabbits, &c. to- 

 gether with the gigantic extinct Beaver known as the Trogon- 

 therium Cuvieri (fig. 270). The great Castor oides Ohioensis of 



the Post-Pliocene of North 

 America is also a great ex- 

 tinct Beaver, which reached 

 a length of about five feet. 

 Lastly, the Brazilian bone- 

 caves have yielded the re- 

 mains of numerous Rodents 

 of types now characteristic 



Fig. 270.-Lowerjawof Trogontherlum of South America, such as 

 Cuvieri, one-fourth of the natural size. Gninea-ni<r; Cam/bara* trpp 



Post-Pliocene, Britain. guinea pigs, uapyoaras, ti 



inhabiting Porcupines, and 

 Coypus. 



The deposits just alluded to have further yielded the 

 remains of various Monkeys, such as Howling Monkeys, 

 Squirrel Monkeys, and Marmosets, all of which belong to the 

 group of Quadrumana which is now exclusively confined to 

 the South American continent namely, the " Platyrhine " 

 Monkeys. 



We still have very briefly to consider the occurrence of 

 Man in Post-Pliocene deposits ; but before doing so, it will be 

 well to draw attention to the evidence afforded by the Post- 

 Pliocene Mammals as to the climate of Western Europe at 

 this period. The chief point which we have to notice is, that 

 a considerable revolution of opinion has taken place on this 

 point. It was originally believed that the presence of such 

 animals as Elephants, Lions, the Rhinoceros, and the Hippo- 

 potamus afforded an irrefragable proof that the climate of 

 Europe must have been a warm one, at any rate during Post- 

 Glacial times. The existence, also, of numbers of Mammoths 

 in Siberia, was further supposed to indicate that this high tem- 

 perature extended itself very far north. Upon the whole, how- 

 ever, the evidence is against this view. Not only is there great 



