near St. Andrews. 207 



to have slowly fallen back to their present station. Additional 

 evidence might be given, from the strata on other parts of the 

 coast, as well as on the authority of various obseners, which 

 would go far to show that these recent oscillations of the land 

 had partaken much more of a general than of a local character. 

 The present object, however, is mainly to endeavour to define 

 the geological position of the shell-clay of this district, and to 

 prove, as far as possible from the evidence borne by the strata 

 of the immediate neighbourhood, that the land on this part of 

 the coast had subsided many feet after marshy plants had grown 

 apparently in abundance on these glacial beds. 



The Mammalian bones already referred to as found in the 

 lower bed, associated with the shells, comprise some bones of an 

 ox and a horse. The remains of the ox {Bos longifrons) consist 

 of the frontal bones and horn-cores : the latter are a little larger 

 than those described by Prof. Owen ; otherwise there is no dif- 

 ference between them and the description and measurements of 

 this species given in the ' Fossil Mammals.' The bones of the 

 horse consist of part of the cranium, the left tibia, the oa caleis 

 of the right side, and a hoof-phalanx. The skeleton seems to 

 have been complete at the time it was discovered ; and it is much 

 to be regretted that, owing to its lying on one side of the trench, 

 the rest of the bones were not dug up, in order to allow a more 

 complete comparison between them and the skeleton of the re- 

 cent species. At the same time, the result of a comparison 

 of these fragmentary remains with the bones of the horse of the 

 present day may not be unworthy of a little notice. 



This portion of the skull comprises the superior maxillary, 

 the intermaxillary, the malar, and part of the lachrymal bones, 

 along with a part of the palatine bone of the right side, of the 

 left side, the greater part of the intermaxillary, and the palatal 

 portion of the superior maxillary. All the teeth of the right upper 

 jaw, and the two middle incisors, the canine, and the second 

 molar of the left upper jaw are likewise present. This cranium 

 bad belonged to a horse (judging from the condition of the 

 incisor teeth) of not less than six or seven years of age. The 

 respective bones do not differ in shape from the corresponding 

 bones of the recent horse ; neither do the grinding-surfaces of 

 the teeth differ, except in the last molar, the enamel and dentine 

 folds being very similar in both. The molar teeth differ, how- 

 ever, from those of the horse of the present day, in the first 

 molar having a less acute anterior angle, and in the smaller 

 transverse diameter of the second and third molars compared 

 with their antero-posterior diameter. So far these characters 

 agree with those of Equus fossilis ; but the last molar differs 



