THE TAPIR AND RHINOCEROS. 



197 



perhaps a contemporary of Man, and one of the 

 most gigantic phenomena of the primeval world, is 

 the Elasmotherium. It likewise possessed a bony 

 partition between the nostrils, and was armed with 

 an immense horn, as is proved by the rough and 

 huge elevation on its forehead. Its skull is over 

 three feet in length. The form of the molars, with 

 elaborately folded plates of enamel, is another 



FIG. 33. Skull of the Elasmotherium. One-twelfth nat. size. 

 After Brandt. 



peculiarity. This giant of the Diluvial period was 

 also unable to preserve its existence. The few 

 remains among which is an almost complete 

 skull have scarcely been found anywhere except 

 in the southern basin of the Volga. 



The size of the present animals of the Rhinoceros 

 species, and of most of the primary species, will 

 seem less striking if we take into consideration the 



