i 7 4 EXTINCT MONSTERS. 



suggested by any of the small species of tortoises now living in 

 India, and consequently is inclined to think that the monster was 

 seen by man many centuries ago, long before he began to write 

 history. We have already alluded to the large number of 

 mammalian forms of life that were contemporary with the 

 Sivatherium and Colossochelys, but if we examine this old Sivalik 

 fauna we find it presents several very interesting features. In 

 the first place, it exhibits a wonderful richness and variety of 

 forms, compared to the living fauna of India. Take the pachy- 

 dermata, for instance an old order established by Cuvier to 

 include the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, etc. and we 

 find there were, in the period under consideration, about five 

 times the number of species now known in India. Elephants and 

 mastodons, too, of various species abounded. So it is with the 

 ruminants ; besides a large number of species allied to those now 

 living, such as the ox, buffalo, bison, deer, antelope, musk-deer, 

 and others, there were giraffes and camels, as well as the strange 

 Sivatherium. And so it is with the other orders, such as carnivora, 

 rodents, insectivora, etc. 



Secondly, this great and varied fauna of the past shows 

 a striking resemblance to that of India at the present day. 

 Darwin found the same resemblance in South America ; and now 

 it is accepted as a general law, that the living fauna of a country 

 resembles its extinct fauna, especially that of the latest geological 

 period. Dr. Falconer found that India's living fauna is but, as it 

 were, a remnant of that which it once possessed. 



Thirdly, this extinct Sivalik fauna presents a singular mixture 

 of old and new forms. And lastly, it points to a very different 

 geographical distribution of animals. Thus the giraffe the hippo- 

 potamus, and the ostrich are now confined to Africa. Facts such 

 as these serve to throw light on the geography of the past ; but 

 we cannot stay to enlarge on that subject here. 



Much might be said about the fossil elephants and mastodons 

 from the Sivalik Hills, so fully described by Dr. Falconer, but since 



