Prof. A. Nehring on Myodes lemraus crassidens. 299 



for lemming-remains in Central Europe (Germany, Poland, 

 Hungary, Belgium, Switzerland). For other localities in 

 wliich these remains occur consult Woldrich, W. Blasius, 

 M. Schlosser, and E. T. Newton. It is now certain that Myodes 

 lemmus (resp. ohensis) and Myodes torquatus had a wide distri- 

 bution in Central and Western Europe during the Glacial 

 period. In some localities, as Thiede, tor instance, M. lemmus 

 is most abundant, in others M. torquatus. In other places 

 only one of the two species occurs; tor instance, M. torquatus 

 is principally found in the hilly parts of South Germany, as well 

 as in Schweizersbild, nearSchaffhausen (Switzerland). In my 

 book ' Ueber Tundren und Steppen ' (Berlin, 1890), I have 

 given on p. 147 et seq. all the known localities for fossil 

 lemming-remains brought up to date, and thoroughly dis- 

 cussed their scientific significance, so that I need not treat 

 the subject here. 



In France lemming-remains have, so far as I know, only 

 been found in small numbers ; they are known from Auvergne 

 in the case of M. torquatus, while 31. lemmus has been found 

 in Perigord. Gadow's lemming-bones from Portugal point 

 to the conclusion that the region lying between Central 

 Portugal and the district of Perigord was once inhabited by 

 lemmings or touched by them in their migrations. One must 

 otherwise assume that during a certain portion of the Glacial 

 period Portugal was joined to South England, where also 

 fossil lemming-remains are found, by a land-connexion, and 

 obtained its lemmings from there. 



In any case, the lemming-remains under consideration 

 are very interesting objects which deserve the attention of 

 zoologists, as well as of palaeontologists and geologists. 



As I have already said, I would not believe that they 

 belonged to the Pleistocene period (resp. Glacial) when ' I 

 obtained access to them at Cambridge, because they certainly 

 look like parts of recent skeletons which had been prepared 

 from animals preserved by drying and afterwards soaked in 

 water. In accordance with the above-mentioned statement 

 by Prof. Barboza du Bocage, that it can hardly be imagined 

 there is a recent race of lemmings anywhere in Portugal, I 

 have come to the conclusion that we must ascribe the lemming 

 skeletons from the cave at Athouguia to the Pleistocene 

 period, in spite of their fresh state of preservation and the 

 portions of the (dried) soft parts still adiiering to them. 



What the cold of the frozen ground in Siberia has done in 

 preserving the dead bodies of mammoths, the great dryness of 

 the cave has effected for the lemming-remains — to wit, a 

 prevention of putrefaction and consequent preservation of 

 the soft parts. I have a large series of ancient Egyptian 



