326 



had suffered much from bowldering, but still bore sufficient 

 of its original form to give strong proof of its having be- 

 longed to this animal. 



The success attendant on the labours of Cuvier whilst 

 determining the generic characters of fossil bones ; the 

 distinguishing of the bones of the fossil elephant from those 

 of the rhinoceros, or those of the bear from those of the 

 hyaena, was not more than might have been expected. 

 But to detect in fragments of fossil bones such differences 

 as should determine with what recent species the fossil 

 species agreed, and in what respects they differed from all 

 known species, appeared to be a result beyond hope. His 

 exertions and successes, however, did not stop here : from 

 the discovery of a few detached bones in the plaster of 

 Paris beds, he was led to suspect the existence of the 

 remains of some animals of even different genera from any 

 which were known in a living state : his researches were 

 therefore continued with his usual perseverance, and ter- 

 minated in the discovery of seven or eight different species 

 of two entirely unknown genera. 



He ascertained that the grinders of these animals were 

 those of the herbivorous pachydermata ; those of the upper 

 jaw possessing a crown formed of two or three simple 

 crescents ; unlike those of the ruminants, in which the 

 crescents are double, and have each four lines of enamel. 

 These grinders he found, by a careful examination, were 

 decidedly of different characters, and belonged to two dif- 

 ferent genera, one of which possessed canine teeth, the 

 other not. To the former he gave the name palceotherium, 

 or ancient large animal or beast ; and, to the other, ano- 

 plotherium, or beast without weapons, thereby implying its 

 distinguishing character, its want of canine teeth. 



PalccotheriuHi., or large ancient annual. This animal, he 

 ascertained, had seven grinders on each side of the lower 



