126 EARLY MAN IN BRITAIN. [CHAP. vi. 



tree did not then exist ; hence very probably it had its 

 original home in the extreme north, and has since 

 extended southwards. We first meet it in Europe in 

 the forest bed of the Norfolk coast, and in the inter- 

 glacial lignites of Switzerland, At that time, there- 

 fore, it had come into our regions, arid has ever since 

 formed a principal constituent of our forests. Its 

 extreme northern limit is now in Scandinavia, latitude 

 69t| N.; and it is now spread over about 25 of latitude, 

 whilst during the Meiocene period it was limited to the 

 Arctic zone." 1 



Mammalia inhabiting Early Pleistocene Forests. 



If the reader could have penetrated these forests 

 of the North Sea, he would have found himself in the 

 midst of a group of animals of very singular character. 

 Were he conversant with those of the Pleiocene age, 

 he would have recognised the following species : Two 

 kinds of elephants, both of gigantic size (E. antiquiis 

 and E. meridionalis) , two kinds of rhinoceros (R. etrus- 

 cus and R. megarhinus) from time to time would have 

 appeared before him, and he would have had to guard 

 himself against the attacks of the sabre-toothed lion 

 (Machairodus) and the bear of Auvergne. He might 

 have hunted Sedgwick's deer, an animal with wonder- 

 fully complex antlers (identical with the (7. dicranios of 

 Nesti, of the Val d'Arno (Fig. 16), as well as the deer 

 of Polignac), and on the sides of the rivers he might 

 have seen the African hippopotamus. All these species 

 are to be looked upon as survivals from the preceding 



1 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Land, xxxiv. p. 68. 



