EXTINCT ANIMALS 



than does that of the elephant, and this would 

 lead us to suppose that the mastodons are more 

 primitive, that is to say, more like the ancient 

 ancestors of elephants, than are the true ele- 

 phants. An interesting fact in this connexion 

 is that the young new-born elephant has a more 



^ 2>rT. 



Fig. 72. — Photograph of the skull of the American Mastodon 

 {Mastodon americanus), from the specimen in the Natural 

 History Museimi. 



" snouty " skull than the grown-up elephant, 

 as is shown by Figs. 73, 74 and 75. It is often 

 the case that very young animals show features 

 in which they resemble their ancestors, which 

 disappear as the young creatures grow to full 

 size. 



io6 



