326 Reviews — Dr. Max Schlosser on the Ungulata. 



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I. — Dr. Max Schlosser on the Ungulata. 1 



THE author of this memoir, which aims at giving a complete 

 pedigree of all the Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, is to be con- 

 gratulated on the amount of information he has brought together, and 

 the strong thought characterizing the whole of it. The pedigrees 

 are indeed given as though they were certain, but we have no doubt 

 that the author himself would admit that they must be regarded as 

 indications only of the way in which the line of evolution may have 

 advanced, rather than the absolute line itself. The author's American 

 experiences render his observations as to the probable identity of 

 many American and European genera of especial value. 



The Condylarthra the author regards as the primitive stock from 

 which both the Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla have originated, and 

 points to Phenacodus as being very closely allied to Hyracotherium. 

 Instead of the nine or ten families into which the Perissodactyla are 

 usually divided, Dr. Schlosser proposes to reduce the number to four. 

 Thus the Lophiodontidaa gives its type genus to the Tapiridas, while 

 Hyracotherium and its allies, together with the Palasotheriidaa, are 

 included in the Equidaa. That there is very much to be said in 

 favour of the inclusion of the Palaeotheriidse in the latter is perfectly 

 true, since the division between them is but an arbitrary one ; and 

 there is an equal transition from the Palaaotheriidas through Pachy- 

 holophus to Hyracotherium. It seems, however, hardly consonant 

 with the usual acceptation of the term to include in one family such 

 widely different forms as Hyracotherium and Equus, even although 

 the one be the ancestor of the other ; and the total separation of the 

 former from Lophiodon, to which it seems to us to be more nearly 

 allied than is that genus to Tapirus, appears decidedly inadvisable. 

 Dr. Schlosser appears, indeed, to think it necessary that all the 

 members of one line of evolution must be included in a single 

 family ; but we would point out to him that since he admits the 

 descent of the suborder Perissodactyla from the suborder Condylar- 

 thra, there is no objection against adopting the same view in the 

 case of families, and regarding the Equidas as descended from the 

 Palaeotheriidae, and the latter from the Lophiodontidaa, which may 

 have also given rise to other groups. The Chalicotheriidae forms the 

 third family, which is taken to include both the Mesodontidse and 

 Macraucheniidas ; and we confess we should like more conclusive 

 evidence in favour of this view, as the dentition of the latter appears 

 to indicate affinity with Palceoiherium. The Ehinocerotidae includes 

 the true Ehinoceroses, Hyrachyus and Elasmotherium. 



We may here be permitted to express some surprise that while the 

 author so reduces the number of families, he follows the example of 

 Gray in retaining a vast number of genera ; and we regret (even if 

 it be only on the lowly ground of pity to the power of memory of 

 average mortals) that he did not follow the excellent example of 



1 " Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Stammesgeschickte der Hufthier, etc.," Morphol. 

 Jahrbuch, vol. xii. pp. 1-136, pis. i.-vi. (1886). 



