:2()8 lierieics—Di: C. W. Andreics— 



Taking the collections in the British i\IustMim and in the 

 Geological IMusenin at Cairo as a whole, we find that both in point 

 ot nnnibors ami interest the IManunals are by far the most important; 

 next to these come the Keptiles, while the Birds are represented by 

 mere tragnients of a single species. The IMammals fall under three 

 sections — (1) those truly endemic to the Ethiopian region ; these occur 

 both in the Upper and ^liddle Eocene beds, and include such genera 

 as Narithcrlnm, J\ihfoinat^lodon, Arsiuoitlwriiim, JJanjthciiiim, Mrgalo- 

 hyriu; Soijlialherinm, and perhaps iicuiolnnts ; (2) forms of which 

 close allies occur in other regions in approximately contemporary 

 deposits; these, so far as at present known, occur only in the Upper 

 Eocene beds, and include such genera as Aucodon, llhatjathcrium, 

 llt/icnoiion, Tterodon. ^Iptcrodon. and i^^inopa ; (o) the aquatic 

 Mammals so far not found in the Upper Eocene beds, and comprising: 

 Eosireu. Zeuijlodon, and Fro-ettglodou. It seems probable that some of 

 these last, like the genera included in section (1), are of endemio 

 origin, having originated from land-mammals inhabiting the region. 

 Of the Snbnngnlates, by far the most striking of the new forms 

 is AfsiHoitheriiim, first discovered by Mr. Beadnell in 1900. and 

 since found in considerable numbers, so that nearl}' all parts of the 

 animal are known, and a complete figure of the skeleton is given on 

 p. 00. -,V iiat. size. Figures of the great bicorned skull were given 

 in the (iKouhuoai, IMagazink for lOOo, Blates XXIII and XXIV. 



In general appearance Arsinoithcriitm nuist have been somewhat 

 like a large and heavily-built Bhinoceros, with two pairs of horns, 

 the larger pair upon the front of the head and the smaller ones 

 behind. Unlike the horns of Bhinoceros, these were solid bony out- 

 growths of the skull, although most likely they were, in life, sheathed 

 in horn. The uui?//.le was very narrow, and not suited for grazing, 

 and the animal probably browsed on low bushes and herbage, 

 grasping its food by nieans of a prehensile tongue or by a mobile 

 extension of the snout as in the Tapir. The height from the ground 

 to the back in the skeleton did not exceed (5, or in life G^ to 7 feet. 

 xVlthough Arsiuoitherinm is certainly the most extraordinary of the 

 Ungulates found in these beds, the remains of the primitive membei'S 

 of the Broboscidea are perhaps of greater scientilic interest, as they 

 help to fill, at least to a large extent, one of the most obvious gaps 

 in our knowledge of the extinct IMammalia. 



Brevious to tlieir discovery the earliest Broboscideans known were 

 from the Ijower Pliocene oi' Europe and North Africa, no other 

 earlier deposits yielding any trace of them. It had been suggested 

 by Tullberg and others tliat Africa was a centre of mammalian 

 radiation, and among other groups that the Broboscidea probably 

 migrated thence in the early Miocene. 



The researches of Dr. Andrews have proved that the earliest 

 traces of land animals from the Eocene of Africa include remains of 

 prlmltire Broboscidea as well as early forms of Hyracoidea, Sirenia, 

 and perhaps some other gronj^s. 



The earliest known form of Proboscidean was Maritherium from 

 the Middle Eocene extending to the Upper Eocene. The animal 



