Makoh 1, 1895.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



69 



latter seeming out of all proportion to the former. In this 

 respect, indeed, the skull presents a curious resemblance 

 to the so-called dog-faced baboons of Africa ; as it 

 also does in the strongly-marked ridges it bears for 

 the attachment of powerful muscles. Such resemblances, 

 however, it is almost needless to observe, are merely 

 superficial, and must by no means be taken as indi- 

 cative of any genetic relationship between the two 

 groups ; and if a young skull were forthcoming, it is 

 probable that we should find this much less unlike ordinary 

 lemurs. Another peculiarity of the giant lemur is to be 

 found in the more lateral position and wider separation of 

 the sockets of the eyes, which are also relatively smaller 

 than in existing forms, thus indicating that the habits of 

 the animal were less completely nocturnal than those 

 of the latter. The molar teeth of the upper jaw are 

 characterized by the presence of only three tubercles 

 on the crown, owing to the fusion of the two inner ones of 

 the four-columned molars of ordinary lemurs ; a few of the 

 smaller existing species having, however, teeth of a nearly 

 similar type. Although in the type skull the front teeth 

 are wanting, the form of their sockets shows that they 

 must have been very similar in general form to those of 

 living lemurs. In many respects the skull shows a 

 marked resemblance to that of the European Tertiary 

 lemur known as Ada/n's, a feature of especial interest in 

 regard to what we have said as to the origin of the 

 Malagasy fauna from that of the Eocene period in Europe. 



The remains of the giant lemur were discovered in the 

 great marsh of Ambolisatra, and their slightly mineralized 

 condition indicates their comparatively recent age. Indeed, 

 there is but little doubt that the creature has been killed 

 off within the human period, and in his history of 

 Madagascar, published iu 1658, De Flacourt writes in the 

 following terms of an animal then inhabiting the island, 

 which, if not actually the giant lemur, would appear to 

 to have been a closely allied form. He writes that 

 " Tretretretri: ou Tmtratratra, c'est un animal gros comme 

 un veau de deux ans qui a la tete ronde et une face 

 d'homme ; les pieds de devant comme un singe et les pieds 

 de derriere aussi. II a le poil frisote, la queue courte et 

 les oreilles comme celles d'un homme. II resemble au 

 Taitiiche d'escrit [sic] par Ambroise Pare. II s'en est vu 

 un proche I'etang de I.ipomani, aux environs duquel est 

 son repaire. C'est un animal fort solitaire, les gens du 

 pays en ont grand peur et s'enfuient de lui comme lui 

 aussi d'eux." With the exception of the roimded head 

 and the size (which is doubtless exaggerated), this 

 description accords remarkably with the giant lemur, and 

 when the head was covered with fur it is probable that it 

 would appear much less elongated than does the bare 

 skull. 



The giant lemur is, however, not the sole extinct member 

 of the group recently brought to light, since the hinder 

 part of a skull indicates another large species belonging to 

 a new genus, but apparently allied to the existing Malagasy 

 lemurs known as Hiip<ilcmur. 



Although the extinct Malagasy hippopotamus (H./«'»)?>7('() 

 was named as far back as 1868, it is only recently that we 

 have become fully acquainted with its affinities. In spite 

 of its smaller size, it appears to have been nearly allied to 

 the living African species. As it is somewhat difficult to 

 believe that a hippopotamus and a bush-pig could have 

 swum a channel of the width of that separating Madagascar 

 from the mamland, it is not improbable that in the latter 

 part of the Tertiary period this was much narrower — 

 perhaps not more than ten miles in width. 



From the same marsh of Ambolisatra which yielded the 

 remains of the giant lemur have been obtained the eggs 



and bones of the gigantic Malagasy birds known as 

 .¥,pyonuf:. From the enormous dimensions of the eggs 

 (one of which was recently sold in London for upwards of 

 sixty-seven pounds) it was evident that some of these birds 

 must have been of gigantic proportions, but till lately bones 

 had not been obtained of commensurate size. Certain 

 limb-bones recently received by Mr. Walter Rothschild 

 enable us, however, to realize the gigantic stature attained 

 by the largest species of these birds— a leg-bone, or tibia, 

 measuring no less than thirty-two inches in total length. 



Probably some of the species of these giant flightless 

 birds lived within the human period, although we have no 

 historical evidence to this eftect. The same is the case 

 with regard to the large land-tortoises of Madagascar, two 

 very fine shells of which have been acquired within the 

 last few years. 



From the foregoing observations it will be gathered 

 that the new discoveries regarding the latest extinct 

 animals of Madagascar merely serve to amplify our know- 

 ledge of the fauna, and in nowise invalidate the con- 

 clusions previously drawn as to its past history. Investiga- 

 tions carried on among the older rocks have, on the other 

 hand, thrown au entirely new light on the state of the 

 island during the secondary epoch of geological history, 

 and have likewise a very important bearing on the evolution 

 of the surface of the earth as a whole. For many years 

 it has been known that marine rocks of .Jurassic and 

 Cretaceous age occur on the west side of the island, but 

 there does not appear to have been any decisive evidence 

 that during these epochs Madagascar itself was in existence. 

 The recent discovery of remains of land reptiles corre- 

 sponding very closely with some of those from the .Jurassic 

 rocks of Europe, enables us now to say with confidence that 

 land here existed in this region from at least the date of the 

 earlier of the two epochs in question. The first of these two 

 reptiles is known by portions of the skull and jaws, which 

 prove that it belonged to a European Jurassic genus of long- 

 snouted primitive crocodiles, to which the name of Steneo- 

 saunis has been applied, this genus having been hitherto un- 

 known elsewhere than iu Europe. Still more interesting are 

 a number of gigantic vertebrfe and limb-bones described in a 

 paper just read by the writer before the Geological Society. 

 If our readers can recall an article entitled " Giant Land 

 Eeptiles," published some years ago in Kno^xedge,* they 

 may remember that the so-called dinosaurs are divided 

 into three main groups, one of which has been designated 

 by the name of sauropodous, or lizard-footed. These 

 enormous reptiles, which are the largest known to science, 

 and are well represented in the .Jurassic and Cretaceous 

 rocks both of Europe and the United States, are specially 

 characterized by the presence of large cavities on each side 

 of the vertebrfe of the neck and trunk, such cavities 

 generally communicating with honeycomb-like excavations 

 in the body of the bone itself. The Malagasy representative 

 of the group, which appears to have been fully as large as 

 its European cousins, belongs to a hitherto very imperfectly 

 known genus, first described from the Jurassic rocks of 

 England, under the name of BotJiriospowIi/lus. Thanks to 

 the new specimens, we are now enabled to state that this 

 genus diii'ers fi'om the others of the group in that the 

 lateral cavities of the vertebrfe had no connection with any 

 honeycombing of the interior, which was, in fact, solid. 

 Interesting as is this circumstance, it fades into insignificance 

 in comparison with the light thrown by these and other 

 representatives of the same group on the past history of the 

 globe in general. 



•Republished in ''Forms and Phases of Animal Life," by the 

 present author. 



