XL MAMMALIA OF STONESFIELD. 231 



AMPHITHERIUM PREVOSTII. 



Speaking of the fossil remains of Stonesfield, the author of the 

 * Ossemens Fossiles ' observes q : ( Parmi ces innombrables fossiles 

 marins sont toutefois quelques os longs qui ont paru venir d'oiseaux 

 de 1'ordre des echassiers, et meme, a ce qu'on assure, deux fragmens 

 de machoire qui, lors d'une inspection rapide que j'eu pris a Oxford 

 en 1818, me semblerent de quelque didelphe/ And in a note on 

 this passage : 



' M. Prevost, naturaliste bien connu, qui voyage dans ce moment 

 en Angleterre, vient de m'envoyer le dessin d'une de ces machoires ; 

 il me confirme dans 1'idee que la premiere inspection m'en avoit 

 donnee. C'est celle d'un petit carnassier dont les machelieres res- 

 semblent beaucoup a celles des sarigues; mais il y'a dix de ces 

 dents en serie, nombre que ne montre aucun carnassier connu. 

 Dans tous les cas, si cet animal est vraiment du schiste de Stones- 

 field, c'est une exception notable k la regie, d'ailleurs si generale, 

 que les couches de cette anciennete ne recelent point les restes de 

 mammiferes.' 



This passage may be taken as an index of the state of geological 

 opinion of the time, as well as an example of the masterly intellect 

 and superior knowledge by which so many errors and prejudices 

 were swept away. 



Buckland, adopting the opinion of Cuvier, declared positively 

 the mammalian nature of the Stonesfield jaws, and this decision 

 appeared for a while to satisfy geologists that the ' rule' to which 

 Cuvier referred was at least liable to exception r . As time rolled 

 on, other specimens appeared and were examined by Broderip, who 

 added his valuable authority to the opinion of his friend. But this 

 additional information was followed by a revival of the old scepti- 

 cism in a new form. M. Prevost admitted the mammalian character 

 of the jaws, but denied the antiquity of the deposit 8 . To this 

 objection Dr. Fitton's ' Memoir on the Stonesfield Strata * ' was a 

 complete and satisfactory answer. 



A new ground of objection was then taken, and comparative 



i Vol. v. p. 349. Second Edition, 1825. The long bones belonged to rhampho- 

 rhynchus. 



1 Geol. Trans., 1823. Second Series, vol. i. p. 399. 



Ann. des Sci., iv. 396. (1825). . * Zool. Journal, 1828. 



