OF CREATION. 285 



teeth being placed in a continuous series without any 

 interval between the incisors and the molars, as is 

 the case with all other Mammalia except man. For 

 this reason, namely, the absence of tusks, or canine 

 teeth longer than the other incisors, the animal has re- 

 ceived its name of Anoplotherium, or "weaponless ;" 

 and there are three well-marked sub-genera, all of 

 which appear to have been abundantly present dur- 

 ing the older tertiary period. They none of them 

 had a proboscis or produced snout ; and in this and 

 other respects they rather resemble the ruminants than 

 the pachyderms ; but one species seems to have been 

 well adapted to live in swamps and marshes, and pro- 

 bably for that reason its remains are more common 

 than those of the other forms. 



This first species belongs to a division considered 

 typical, and attained the largest dimensions. It was 

 about as tall as a dwarf ass ; but its body was longer 

 in proportion, and its tail of enormous size, giving the 

 animal the general aspect of the otter. It is most 

 likely that this species lived chiefly near the water, 

 feeding on roots and the succulent leaves of aquatic 

 plants. Its total length, including the tail, would be 

 nearly eight feet; its skin was probably either naked 

 or covered with smooth hair like the otter ; its ears 

 were no doubt short, and its whole appearance must 

 have been that of an animal fitted to inhabit and 

 seek its food in water. By far the most remarkable 

 peculiarity in this species is the tail, which was com- 

 posed of nearly thirty vertebrae, and equalled, if it 

 did not surpass, the length of its body. Cuvier has 

 observed that no living animal, with the exception of 

 the kangaroo, has so long and so powerful a tail. 



