332 PALEONTOLOGY. 



joined sketch. (Fig. 242.) -The singular mode of growth 

 of the molar teeth in the elephant accounts for the ine- 

 quality of their number in the jaws. In mammals, in 

 general, the teeth rise from below upwards, whilst in the 

 elephant they grow from behind, forwards. We know from 

 six to eight fossil species; the best known is the mammoth, 

 JE. primigenius, characterised by molars, with narrow plates, 

 which resembled those of the Asiatic more than the African 

 species. (Fig. 242.) The skull was larger, the tusks longer, 

 and more bent. The remains of this gigantic mammal 

 attest that it had a very wide geographical range during 

 the period that preceded the last great catastrophe of the 

 earth, as it is found in the drift of Europe, North America, 

 and the north of Asia, towards the polar circle, but especi- 

 ally in Siberia; a mammoth was found near the borders 

 of the glacial sea, recently detached from a block of ice, 

 with its flesh preserved. Its skin was covered with a species 

 of long woolly hair, evidently adapted to protect it from the 

 rigours of a cold climate: the teeth of this species are found in 

 the drift (fig. 239) and caverns of England. Those of Banwell, 

 in the Mendip Hills, may be cited as localities where many 

 fine tusks, molars, and portions of the skeleton have been 

 discovered.* Other species have been found imbedded in 

 the superficial deposits of France, Italy, and Belgium. A 

 fine skull, with tusks, of a new species, was obtained by 

 Cautley and Falconer from the sub-apennine stage at the 

 base of the Himalaya Mountains. 



4th Order. EDENTATA. This order forms a transition 

 series between the mammifera with nails, and those with 

 hoofs. Their feet are surrounded with a thick scaly integu- 

 ment, and the toes are often armed with arched robust claws, 

 which embrace the phalanges : with one or two exceptions, 

 they have no incisor teeth ; hence the name of the order. 

 Their movements are very slow : the irritability of the 

 muscles remains for a long time after death : their brain is 

 small, and the tegumentary membrane is covered with a 

 scaly, horny, or bony armour. They appear to connect the 

 classes mammalia and reptilia with each other. In our day, 

 the Edentata are found only in the tropical regions of the 



* Mr. Beard, of Banwell, has made a large and most interesting collection 

 of tussil bones from these caverns. 



