526 DR. C. W. ANDREWS ON THE 



Museum for purchase ; it was then examined and I'eported on by 

 Buckland and Owen. The purchase was not completed, and 

 the skull seems to have been sent back to Darmstadt. About 

 1866, Klipstein sold his collection to Dr. Oldham, the Director 

 of the Geological Survey of India, and from him the British 

 Museum acquired not only this, but also some other valuable 

 specimens, including the skull of Dorcatherium naui and the front 

 of the skull of Tapirus ■priscus. 



Dr. W. D. Mathew, when visiting the Museum recently, 

 pointed out to me that there is a widely-spread idea on the 

 Continent that the skull now under discussion was broken up 

 on its journey to London. This mistake has even appeared in 

 print : thus Weinsheimer in his memoir on Dinothernmn (Pal. 

 Abhandl. Bd. i. 1883, p. 244), in speaking of the cast of this 

 specimen, states that " The original of this cast no longer exists, 

 since on its journey to London it was irretrievably broken into 

 fragments." Examination of the skull shows that, in fact, at some 

 time it has been much broken, but has been, on the whole, skilfully 

 mended, the figures and cast no doubt having been followed 

 in making the restoration. 



In addition to Kaup's oi^iginal descriptions and figures, 

 de Blainville has given a very good account of the skull so far as 

 he was able to examine it, and numerous other writers have 

 referred to it. The most complete summary of the various views 

 that have been held as to the aflinities of Binoilieriimn is given by 

 Stefanescu in his paper on Dinotheriii'm gigantissiimtm ( Anuarulu 

 Museului de Geologia, etc., Bukarest, 1894, p. 126). It is now _ 

 proposed to give a short description of the skull as it now is, 

 followed by some discussion of the reasons for its peculiaiities 

 and of the relationships of Dinolheriuni to the other Proboscidea, 

 The occipital condyles {o.c.) nre very large and prominent; 

 ventrally and laterally they are limited by a deep groove, but 

 dorsally they seem to pass uninterruptedly into the occipital surface 

 (oc.s.).^ The articular surface of the condyles from above down- 

 wards makes rather more than a semicircle, so that the range of 

 movement of the head up and down was extensive. Ventrally the 

 condyles are separated by a broad, deep notch, in front of which 

 the basioccipital runs downwards and forwards as a broad ridge, 

 narrowing a little towards its junction with the basisphenoid, at 

 which point, however, there is a prominence. The basisphenoid 

 is not quite in the same straight line as the basioccipital, but seems 

 to have been directed a little more upwards. The basis cranii as 

 a whole slopes rather steeply downwards, making an angle of about 

 135 degrees with the plane of the teeth and the posterior part of 

 the palate, which is regarded as being horizontal. From the outer 

 ano'le of each condyle a ridge (r.) runs outwards and a little 

 upwards, terminating in the outer angle of the squamosal («.s.), 

 which projects outwards far beyond the level of the zygomatic 

 processes. These ridges, which towards their outer ends rise into 

 thick and prominent crests, separate the upper occipital surface 



