PALEONTOLOGY SINCE CUV1ER. 61 



' It is unjustifiable to dispute the existence in 

 the Greece of that period, of aquatic animals such 

 as the river-horse, sea-cow, crocodile, which are of 

 frequent occurrence in Africa simply because their 

 remains have not yet been discovered there. For 

 the stratum of Pikermi is essentially the result of a 

 mere landslip, inasmuch as the layer of mud which 

 surrounded the bones was washed down from the 

 heights, where there could be no waters inhabited 

 by those gigantic animals. As little does the 

 absence of anthropomorphous apes prove that they 

 'never existed among the fauna of Southern Europe ; 

 the gorilla, for instance, inhabits silent forests 

 where scarcely any other four-footed animals are 

 met with. 



' In Attica, therefore, more species of large 

 mammals are met with than in any other part of 

 the present world. I have no means of determin- 

 ing the number of the individuals of the different 

 species, but there is no reason to suppose that 

 this number was smaller than those of the present 

 species. Notwithstanding the great number of 

 animals observed in different parts of Africa, no- 

 where could a greater quantity of individuals be 

 found, on a space of the same size, as where I made 

 my excavations. This space only a small portion 



