236 EXTINCT MONSTERS 



quadrupeds which frequent the water much." But was it really 

 aquatic ? 



Xiphodon, 1 so named by Cuvier on account of the shape of 

 its teeth, was a small and delicate animal, long, with slenderer 

 limbs than the Anoplotherium ; its feet were provided with two 

 toes, and the tail was short (see restoration in Plate XXXIX.). 

 X. gracilis was obtained from the lignites of Debruge, near 

 Apt. It was some three feet high, and of about the size of a 

 chamois, but lighter in form, and with a smaller head. Cuvier 

 says of this creature, " Its course was not embarrassed by a long 

 tail ; but, like all active herbivorous animals, it was probably 

 timid, and with large and very mobile ears, like those of the 

 stag, announcing the slightest approach of danger. Neither is 

 there any doubt that its body was covered with smooth hair, and 

 consequently we only require to know its colour in order to paint 

 it as it formerly existed in this country, where it has been dug 

 up after so many ages." Instead of resorting to rivers and lakes, 

 this graceful little creature probably kept to the dry land and fed 

 upon aromatic herbs. 



Discoveries, chiefly made since Cuvier's day, have shown that 

 these ancient herbivorous mammals had carnivorous enemies, 

 which doubtless kept down their numbers not lions and tigers, 

 but certain lower and less " specialised " creatures, from some of 

 which the latter are descended. 



The nearest living ally of our Palaeothere, that once inhabited 

 Europe in great numbers, must be sought for a long way from 

 home ; and it is highly instructive to observe that the further we 

 wander away from the present down " the corridors of time," 

 the further we must travel, geographically, to find creatures at 

 all matching those that lived in early ages of the world's history. 

 1 Greek xiphos, sword ; odous, odontos, tooth. 



