A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



called Irish elk (Cervus giganteus], reindeer (Rangtfer tarandus), domestic- 

 ated sheep (Ovis aries), wild horse (Equus caballus fossi/is), woolly 

 rhinoceros (Rhinoceros antiquita tis) , and mammoth (Elephas primigenius] . 

 The bones of the sheep are probably of later age than the other remains, 

 and may have been introduced by human agency. The most interesting 

 of the remains is undoubtedly the bone assigned to the Arctic fox, since, 

 with the exception of specimens from Kent, it appears to be the only 

 evidence of the former existence of that animal in Britain. The bone 

 in question is the second or axis vertebra of the neck. ' This single 

 bone, however,' writes Prof. Busk, ' appears to me to be amply sufficient 

 to identify the species to which it belonged.' This interesting specimen 

 is now in the Manchester Museum. Another noteworthy species is the 

 wolverine, or glutton, since its remains are of very rare occurrence in 

 British caverns. 



From another of the caverns in Cresswell Crags, the * Robin Hood ' 

 cave, the following fauna was recorded in 1877 by Professor Dawkins 1 : 

 sabre-toothed tiger (Machcerodus latidens), cave-lion (Felis leo spe/aa), 

 leopard (F. part/us), wild cat (F. cafui), cave-hyaena, wolf, fox, brown 

 bear, reindeer, giant fallow deer, Pleistocene bison (Bos priscus), wild 

 horse, woolly rhinoceros, mammoth, and hare (Lepus europaus). In a 

 former list* the wild boar and the water-vole were also mentioned, but 

 from their absence in the present one it may be concluded that the 

 determinations were incorrect. From the superficial deposits of the 

 same cave were obtained remains of the wild cat, dog, fox, marten, stoat, 

 badger, red deer, roe, Celtic shorthorn, sheep or goat, pig, hare, rabbit, 

 and a few undetermined birds. 



From another cave, ' Mother Grundy's parlour,' in the same locality, 

 Prof. Dawkins 8 records remains of the cave-hyasna, fox, brown bear, 

 bison, reindeer, hare, leptorhine rhinoceros (Rhinoceros leptorhinus), woolly 

 rhinoceros, and an undetermined species of elephant. In 1889 Mr. R. 

 Laing* described jaws of a cat from Cresswell which he identified with 

 the continental Pliocene species Felis bre^nrostris. If the identification be 

 correct, it is the only known occurrence of that species in Britain. 



From yet another cave in the county, that of Pleasley Vale, have 

 been obtained, in addition to those of other mammals, remains assigned 

 to the lynx (Felis, lynx) ; this being one of the three British caves from 

 which bones referred to that animal have been recorded. 



It may be added that among rare remains from the Cresswell caves 

 is part of the upper jaw of a mammoth-calf containing the first two 

 cheek-teeth now preserved in the British Museum. The same collection 

 also contains a magnificent pair of red deer antlers, apparently referable 

 to the Caspian or eastern race (Cervus elapbus maraf), from a fissure in 

 a quarry at Allport, Youlgreave near Bakewell. The specimen is 

 described in vol. Ixxv. p. 353 of the Philosophical Transactions ^ published 

 in 1785. 



1 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. xxxiii. 590. 8 Ibid, xxxii. 247. 



3 Ibid. xxxv. 729. 4 Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1889. 



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