THEORY OF THE EARTH. 293 



tigers, wolves and foxes ; but the remains of bears 

 are of excessively rare occurrence in them *. 



However this may be, we see that, at the epoch 

 of the animal population which we are now pass- 

 ing under review, the class of carnivora was nu- 

 merous and powerful. It reckoned three bears 

 with round canine teeth, one with compressed ca- 

 nini, a large tiger or lion, another feline animal, 

 of the size of the panther, a hyena, a wolf, a fox, 

 a glutton, a martin or pole-cat, and a weasel. 



The class of glires, composed in general of weak 

 and small species, has been little observed by the 

 collectors of fossil remains ; and, in all cases, 

 where the bones of these animals have been found 

 in the strata or deposits of which we speak, they 

 also have presented unknown species. Such, in 

 particular, is a species of Lagomys found in the 

 osseous breccias of Corsica and Sardinia, some- 

 what resembling the Lagomys alpinus of the 

 high mountains of Siberia : so true is it that it is 

 not always in the torrid zone only, that we are to 

 seek for the animals which resemble those of this 

 period. 



These are the principal animals, the remains 

 of which have been found in that mass of earth, 

 sand, and mud, that Diluvium, which every- 



* See Mr Buckland's excellent work, entitled Reliquiae 

 Diluviance. 



