202 



SUBAPENNINE EPOCH. 



in many parts of Touraine, of Guienne, of Gascony, Languedoc, 

 Provence-, Dauphiny, and also in all Switzerland, &c. ; lakes 

 were formed, often extensive, sometimes isolated, and sometimes 

 communicating with the sea; and it is this which indicates the 

 contemporaneous deposits, some of which are fluviatile, and other* 

 marine. In opposition, more or less considerable upheavals took 

 place at the same time in many parts of the northern gulf, in Bel- 

 gium, in Picardy, in the isle of France, and all the coast of Eng- 

 land. The marine limestone, laid bare, escaped in all this extent 

 ihe succeeding deposits, and the sites of London and Paris were 

 brought to light, although surrounded by water in which the mo- 

 lasse was deposited ; it was the same in the gulf of Bordeaux, 

 where all the northern part of the Parisian formation was up- 

 heaved, and escaped the deposit of the molasse, which is found in 

 all the rest of the present basin which was from that time sub- 

 merged. 



This epoch was accompanied by a new change in the creatures 

 which lived on the surface of the soil; and from that moment, 

 besides some new species of paleothe'rium, mastodons, and the 

 dinotherium giga'nteum, appeared in Europe (the last nearly of 

 the form represented, fig. 810), as well as the rhinoceros, hippo- 

 po'tamus, monkeys, and many rodents, as castors, squirrels, &c. 

 The flora was principally composed of coni'fers, with dicoty'ledons, 

 which, however, had not attained, in all probability, the develop- 

 ment they acquired in the succeeding epoch. There still existed 

 palms, the remains of which are found in deposits of lignite, and 

 particularly in those of Liblar, near Cologne, as well as in the 

 plaster-works of Aix. 



Fig 3\Q. Restoration of the Dinothe'rium giga'ntcum. 



Subapennine epoch. The upheaval of the western Alps caused 

 i new disturbance. Not only the soil comprised between Con- 

 stance and Marseilles, rendered mountainous by preceding events, 

 suddenly assumed a considerable height, and a great part of the 

 relief it now presents, but still the movement extended over all 

 Europe. The greatest part of the Anglo-French gulf was rilled 

 by an elevation, which brought "to day" all that is referred to the 



