3848  W. Davies—On the Bones of the Lynx from Teesdale. 
“the latter hypothesis the most tenable,’ because bones of the 
tichorhine Rhinoceros, Mammoth and Bison have been found in a 
cave in the neighbourhood; also, that “the carnivore in question 
must have crossed over into Derbyshire while Britain formed part of 
the mainland of Europe.” From these circumstances he concludes 
that ‘its Post-glacial age, therefore, may be assumed with a very 
high degree of probability, although not with absolute certainty.”? 
Although concurring with these views, I must remark that no bones 
of extinct Pleistocene Mammals have been found in or about 
Teesdale; and the question naturally arises, if the animal under 
consideration was contemporary with its congeners the Cave Lion 
and Wild Cat, and was as generally distributed in area and in time, 
as we may assume it would be, in Britain, how is it that its remains 
are so rare, and in each instance derived from caves in which they 
are associated with bones of animals whose date of deposit cannot be 
satisfactorily assigned to any one of the three periods named? Its 
haunts and general habits are much alike to those of the Wild Cat; 
and while the bones of the latter, and also of the Lion, are far from 
rare, and are disseminated in many localities, not only in caves, but 
also in Pleistocene aqueous deposits (those of the Lion always, and 
of the Cat frequently, being associated with the remains of extinct 
species of Mammalia), no bone of the Lynx has been found under 
similar conditions ; it must, therefore, be admitted that the period 
when the Lynx prowled in Britain is still a moot question. 
The subjoined note has been forwarded to me by Mr. James 
Backhouse, and is inserted together with a view of the interior of 
the cave near the spot where the bones of the Lynx were found. 
(Plate XII.) 
[The “Cave,” above referred to by my friend Mr. Davies, is 
situated on the ridge of hills separating Weardale from Teesdale, 
and is at an elevation of about 1600 feet above the sea, and 500 feet 
or more above the adjacent valley of the Tees. 
It consists of a series of nearly parallel fissures, varying in width 
from 13 to 4 feet, intersected by transverse ones at right-angles with 
the main lines. These fissures are, in some places, 20 to 30 feet 
high, the “roofs” being gothic, and the lower portions tapering 
downwards. In a few places, where the width is greatest, the roof 
is “flat.” 
Stalagmitic deposits beautifully incrust the sides in many parts, 
and here and there form the floor of the galleries, In a few places 
only stalactites occur. 
The plateau of Carboniferous Limestone above the cave covers 
many acres. Up to the present time we have only penetrated about 
250 feet, but it is probable that the rock is fissured more or less 
throughout its entire area, and that considerable advance may yet be 
made. 
Connected with the main cavern, but by a fissure so narrow as to 
be impassable, is a smaller one, traditionally known as “ The Fairies’ 
Hole.” This we opened out, and explored first; and bones were 
1 op. cit. p. 173. 
