70 



MIOCENE FAUNA. 



d. Mammalia. 



The remains of Mammalia which have been preserved, partly 

 in the lignites and partly in the sandstones and marls, are of 

 much greater importance. Where only single bones occur they 

 are difficult to determine; but, fortunately, the teeth of many 

 species have come down to the present time ; and these permit 

 of the exact determination of the animals, as the dentition fur- 

 nishes the most important characters for their identification. 

 The great abundance of species formerly existing in the Swiss 

 Miocene fauna may be seen from the following Table : 



This summary shows that the Miocene mammalian fauna 

 must have had a very different appearance from that now ex- 

 isting. In the present Mammalia, bats, insectivorous shrews, 

 and rodents (through the house- and field-mice) constitute the 



* The numbers given here (as at p. 61) for the existing Swiss Verte- 

 brate are derived from a Catalogue prepared by M. Victor Fatio of Geneva, 

 and kindly communicated to Prof. Heer by him. Schinz's previously pub- 

 lished Catalogue has been greatly enlarged. 



