208 THE MAMMALIA. 



however, be absolutely nothing to be gained by 

 such reactionary measures.' 



The same indications of the transformation 

 from Palaeotheriurn to our present Horse in an 

 uninterrupted line from the Eocene to the present 

 are manifested by the teeth. In connection 

 with this point we must first of all mention 

 lUitimeyer's classic studies on this question, 1 which 

 have been admirably supplemented by Forsyth- 

 Major. Owen had already recognised the change 

 in the formation of the jaw that accompanied the 

 transformation of the organs of locomotion. The 

 teeth of the Palseotheridae, which show less com- 

 plicated folds of enamel, and are adapted for 

 crushing juicy plants, gradually change into the 

 pillar-shaped molars of the horse, which, owing to 

 their strength and the foldings of enamel, are 

 suitable both for grinding corn and for chopping 

 gritty grasses. The principal parts of the crowns 

 are given on the accompanying drawing (Fig. 37). 

 Kvcii from Owen's illustration it is evident how the 

 complicated enamel lines of the horse's tooth 

 originated from the simple tracings on the tooth 

 of the Eocene animal. The much more careful 



1 Riitimeyer, Bcitragc zur Kenntniss der fossilcn Ffcrdc, 

 1863. 





