658 REPORT— 1901. 



disposed quite irregularly, thus indicating that in the regiou where the bones 

 eventually accumulated the water by which they had been transported either 

 became still or moved only in gentle eddies. 



Very few nearly complete skeletons occur, and even when chains of vertebrje 

 are preserved most of the ribs are lacking. The only approximately complete 

 skeletons observed during the recent excavations were those of 8ome Carni-\-ora 

 {Ictitherium, Aletarctas, and Maclicerodus). It is, however, obvious that many of 

 the bones were still held together by ligaments at the time when they were 

 buried, for numerous complete feet and nearly complete limbs are found with all 

 the bones in their natural position. It is also to be noted that in most cases these 

 limbs are sharply bent, so that the two or throe segments are almost parallel, as if 

 they had retained the contraction assumed at death. Some decomposition of the 

 .soft parts had already taken place even in these instances ; for a few of the 

 phalanges of the hipparions and ruminants are often wanting when the other bones 

 of the limb are still in their natural association, while the phalanges of the 

 rhinoceros-feet seem to be always lost, though the three associated metapodials are 

 quite common. Similarly, the loosely articulated mandible of the Ungulata is 

 nearly always removed from the skull; it is only commonly preserved in place in 

 the Garni vora and Quadrumana. 



The majority of the bones are quite isolated, and most of the skulls of the 

 antelopes are so much broken that only the frontlets with horn-cores remain. A 

 large proportion of the limb-bones are also sharply fractured, some having 

 completely lost both extremities ; and small pointed splinters of bone — apparently 

 most of Rhinoceros — are often very numerous. Some of the breaking must have 

 taken place before the soft parts had entirely decayed, as is shown by certain feet 

 of Rhinoceros and many limbs of Hipparion and antelopes. In a few cases I 

 found the three associated metapodials of Rhinoceros with the distal ends as 

 •sharply removed as if they had been cut off with one blow of a hatchet. In 

 several instances I carefully extracted the nearly complete hind limbs of 

 Hipimrion from the soft marl, and in all except one I found that the tibia ended 

 iibruptly in a sharp, oblique fracture at its middle, with no trace of the proximal 

 end of this bone or of the femur. jMoreover, nearly all the isolated tibias 

 of Hipparion were similarly fractured ; while among about fifty examples of 

 humerus of the same animal only three complete specimens were found, all thi' 

 others being sharply broken at the weakest point of the shaft. It is therefore 

 evident that the limbs were often torn from the trunk by a sharp break at their 

 weakest point before the decomposition of the soft parts iiad proceeded far enough 

 to destroy the ligaments. 



The new researches make scarcely any additions to the known fauna of the 

 Pikermi bone-beds, and confirm Professor Gaudry's statement that the smaller 

 rodents, insectivores, and bats are absent. The only striking discovery consists 

 in fragmentary evidence of a gigantic tortoise, at least as large as the largest 

 hitherto found in PZurope. Many specimens, however, afford important new 

 information concerning the species already described. Notable among these are a 

 few portions of skull and a mandible of Flioht/rax, a skull of Samotheriwn, a skull 

 of Hi/strix jirimigeuia, and the greater part of a skeleton of Metarcfos. Remains 

 of Hipparion are the most abundant fossils, and the new series of specimens 

 illustrates variations and growth-stages more satisfactorily than any collection 

 hitherto made. Isolated bones and skulls of Rhinoceros are also common ; and 

 antelope-remains occur everywhere in great profusion. Limb-bones of Girafhdfe 

 are found abundantly in the lower bone-bed. 3Iastodo7i is rarer ; but two small 

 skulls were obtained from the new excavations, and several very large limb-bones 

 were found. Among Carnivora Ictitherium is the commone.st form ; but remains 

 of Hycena ai-e not infrequent, and evidence of four individuals of Macha-rodus was 

 discovered during the present diggings. Coprolites of some bone-feeding 

 Carnivore, probably Hycena, also occur. Skulls and other portions of Mesojnthecus 

 are frequently met with. The shells of the small Testudo marmoritm are some- 

 times complete, but always lack the skull and other bones of the skeleton. The 

 Chelonian shells themselves are, indeed, more frequently broken and disintegrated ; 



