1853. 



THE "MASTODON GIGANTEUS." 



231 



Dr. Wari'ea lias the rare pleasure of possessing the noblest 

 s]iecinien of the Mastotlon Gigantoiis that has yet been diseov- 

 ered ; and fortunate it is for tlie old inastodoii, that it has found 

 a final testing jjlaee with one who has had the generosity and 

 uliiiity to laise so mnnifieent a inansoleuiri to its memory. A 

 second skele'.on was afterwar^is pur^-hased by Dr. Warrea. to aid 

 him in his researciies; and, for the same purpose, he has also 

 added to his collection ihe skeleton of an elephant. This ele- 

 ]>l!ant — the one at'oidentally drowned a few years since in the 

 Delawa:e — staiuls in his fine hall, by the side of the huge masto- 

 don, and although a large animal of the kind, it is a ]igmy in 

 comparison. Dr. Wai-ren was thus well equijiped for the pros- 

 ecution of his researches ; and no labor or expense has been 

 spai'ed, either in carrying forward his investigations, or in the 

 publication of his results. 



The title page of the volume presents a view cf the region near 

 Newbuigh on the Hudson, where the skeleton was exhumed. 

 Among wooded hill lies a large morass, part of which in the front 

 of the scene, has been excavated by the remo\'al of the surface 

 peat of the bog, and the subjacent marl, leaving the skeleton as 

 it was found lying s]irawling out, with the ribs and nearly every 

 bone in its place. The fore-feet extended beyond the head, and 

 the hinder are thrown forware near the body. 



It was in the summer of 1845 that this burial place of the 

 ancient giant was first disturbed. The swampy land was then 

 dry. Mr. Brewster, while digging in the place to obtain the earth 

 for fertilizing his fields in the \iciiiity, after penetrating through 

 two feet of peat bng, one foot red moss, and a foot of the shell 

 marl, struck upon the head of the animal. The exhumation went 

 on rapidly the next day, and the cranium, " bones of the spine, 

 tail, pelvis and ribs were successively found, for the most part in 

 their natural relation to each other ;" and at the end of the 

 second day, nearly the whole skeleton had been exposed. The 

 bones were in an admirable state of preservation. It seems from 

 the i)osition. Dr. Warren obsei'ves, as if the animal had stretched 

 out its fore feet in a forward direction, to extricate itself from a 

 morass into which it had sunk. 



Even the undigested food of the animal appears to have been 

 partly ]iresei'ved. Dr. Prime testifies that* " in the midst of the 

 ribs, imbedded in the marl, and unmixed with shells or carbonate 

 of lime, ^\as a mass of matter composed principally of twigs of 

 trees, broken into pieces of about two inches in length, and vary- 

 ing in size from very small twigs to half an inch in diameter, 

 'i'here was mixed with these a large quantity of finer vegetable 

 substance, like finely divided leaves; the whole amounting to 

 from four to six bushels. From the appearance of this and its 

 situation, it was supposed to be the contents of the stomach ; and 

 this opinion was confirmed on removing the pelvis, underneath 

 which in the direction of the last of the intestines, was a ti-aiu of 

 the same material, about three feet in length, and four inches in 

 diameter." The subsequent examination of a portion of this 

 material by Dr. Warren, Prof Gray, and Dr. Carpenter, supports 

 the opinion here expressed; and both from this case and other 

 examples of exhumed mastodons, it is shown that the mastodon 

 lived on stems or twigs of trees ; part of the material found was 

 probably " some kind of spruce or fir." 



Such are some of the facts which are here pubhshed by Dr. 

 Warren concerning the discovery and food of the mastodon. 



In his account of the animal, after his historical sketch, and 

 some oliser\ ations on the name of the species, he enters upon the 

 description of the various parts of the skeleton, in detail ; and ex- 



♦ p. H4, 



cellent lithographic plates illustrate these chapters. One of these 

 plates, of very large size, rejiresents, in admirable style, the entire 

 skeleton. The following are some of the dimensions gi\en: 



FEET. INCH. 



Height of Skeleton, 11 



Length fioin anterior exti em. ty of face to the commence- 

 ment of the tail, 17 



Circumference of the trunk afound the ribs, 10 5 



Length of tail, 6 8 



" "trunk, 10 3 



" " head from the occipital condyles in a straight 



line to anterior edge of tusk-socket, 3 2 



Entire length of tusk, 10 11 



Depth of socket of tusk, , 2 3 



External length of tusk, 8 8 



There ai'e 7 cervical vertebra;, 20 dorsal, 3 lumbar, and 5 sacral. 

 The ribs are twenty in number, 13 true, and 7 false. From the 

 6th to the 1 1th their length is between 52 and 54f inches. The 

 first hiis more the appearance of a cla\'ical than a rib, and is 28 

 inches long. Bearing on the number of ribs. Dr. Warren ob- 

 serves, (p. 31,) 



"The last two false ribs on the right side are co-ossified fertile 

 space of 8 inches ; — the result of a fracture near their vertebral 

 attachments: the union of these ribs, at its broadest part, mea- 

 sures 8 inches. These bones ai-e perfectly smooth within, and 

 without are quite strong, at the place of union and massive. 

 This fracture is of great importance, as by the union is verified 

 the remark of Cuvier, who found only 19 ribs, but stated that 

 there would, in his opinion, be hei'eafter found twenty — a fact 

 entirely established in this specimen, first by the articular surface 

 on the side of the 20th dorsal vertebras; and second, by the co- 

 ossification of the 19th and 20lh ribs." 



After describing the several bones throughout the structure, the 

 author treats at considerable length of the characters of the teeth. 

 Those of the elephant are first described by way of comparison, 

 their number (twenty-four exclusive of the tusks.) composition, 

 and form being considered. On taking up the ondontography 

 of the mastodon, the author commences with some general ob- 

 servations, and then proceeds to a minute account of each of the 

 teeth in succession. Omitting the mass of details, we cite the 

 following from his General Remarks, pages 61 and 64 : 



" While the teeth of the elephant are, rs already said, composed 

 of three kinds of hard matter, dentine, enamel, and cement, those 

 of the Mastodon giganteus are constituted principally of two of 

 these substances, dentine and enamel. Pi'of Owen has shown 

 that a layer of cement invests the fangs, aud is spread over the 

 crown, but the b;vsis of the crown and of the fangs is formed by 

 the dentine ; while in the teeth of the elephant, and some others 

 of the Pachydei'mata, the cement, by it perpendicular iiitei'spersed 

 layers, constitutes a substantial part of the body of the tooth, as 

 well as a protecting covering if its surface. A great portion of 

 the Mastodon tooth is formed by dentine. The mamillary emi- 

 nences, or mastoid projections also have a basis of the same sub- 

 stance, but they are in\'ested with a covering of enamel, which in 

 molar teeth in my possession, measures from the sixth to the 

 fourth of an inch in thickness. In teeth which have been worn, 

 the enamel is ground down in various degrees; thus altering the 

 surface of the crown to an appearance approximating, in the 

 Mastodon giganteus, to the lozenge-shaped ridges of the African 

 Elephant. 



-* * * * * * 



The number of the teeth was long involved in mystery. The 

 genius of Cuvier opened the way to a knowledge of their num- 

 ber, difterences and developement. He advanced no farther in 



