THE MALTESE EOSSIL ELEPHANTS. 61 



Although the head and great trochanter are wanting, it is apparent that the contour 

 of these parts, as in the above, resembles the Asiatic Elephant rather than the African, 

 as seen by the relative breadth of the head and the shallower digital pit. Again, like 

 the African, it is flat on the posterior aspect ; and the rudimentary trochanter minor a, 

 as in the old bone, forms a rough prominence on the posterior and internal border. 

 Further, looking at the epiphysial surface and its outline as compared with those of E. 

 falconen of Busk\ it seems to me that the pronounced hollow caused by the pre- 

 trochanteric fossa in them has no such character in fig. 18, which, in the outline of its 

 head at the same point, resembles the adult bone PI. XIV. fig. 1, and the foetal 

 African femur in the British Museum, figured by Busk^. As to the outline of the 

 same part in E. melitensis (Busk)', the bone in question is still more dissimilar, except 

 that both have their anterior surface rounded. Therefore, whatever form PI. XIV. 

 fig. 1 belongs to, the same type, I apprehend, is PL XXI. fig. 18. 



2. The next specimen represents about three and a half inches of the distal end of a 

 left femur belonging to a larger individual than the last. It has the rounded shaft and 

 general characters of a young bone. Instead of having the flat surface anteriorly close to 

 the epiphysis at b, as shown in PI. XIV. flg. 3, it is rounded as at b in fig. 2 of the same 

 Plate ; whilst the lower epiphysial surface shows a longer outline for the internal con- 

 dyles, as obtains in the adult and in the African. I therefore cannot disassociate this 

 fragment from that of PI. XIV. figs. 1 & 2 and the last, or, in other words, from the 

 large form. 



IX. Tibia. 

 The materials for determination under this head are confined entirely to the large 

 form. 



1. The almost perfect left tibia (PI. XV. fig. 1) most probably belongs, as just stated, 

 to the femur PL XIV. fig. 1, inasmuch as both lay close together, and when approxi- 

 mated to the condyles of the right side (PL XIV. figs. 2 8c 2a} they fit exactly, so as 

 to lead to a belief that a skeleton was deposited in the flesh. The specimen (PL XV. 

 fig. 1) is entire as regards length, but was injured during removal, yet not to the extent 

 to prevent the preserving of the following data: — Breadth of upper condyles is 5'3 inches, 

 breadth of external depression 2'5 by 2-4, breadth of internal depression 3*1 by 2*5, girth 

 at middle of shaft 7. The astragaloid aspect is 3-2 by 2'6. The latter is somewhat injured 

 and imperfect; but fortunately the distal extremity of the right tibia (figs. 2 & 2«) 

 supplies the defect. 



2. The latter represents a profile and lower view, to which was attached in the same way 

 as in fig 1 an astragalus of precisely the same dimensions ; indeed, in all probability, 

 all belonged to the same individual. 



3. Fig. 3 represents the proximal articulation of a right tibia somewhat smaller than 



' Trans. Zool. Soo. vi. p. 267. ' Ibid. p. 277. no. 38 a. ' Ibid. p. 267. 



