Dr. J. Murie— On the Sivatherium giganteum. 445 



proaclies that of the bullock. Falconer (MS.) avers, " the fore arm 

 presents a sort of transition from the ruminants to the pachyderms." 

 To his able descriptive remarks thereon I can but acquiesce. The 

 carpus is fashioned as is that of a buffalo, and the other bones of the 

 fore limb evince considerable resemblance to those of the same 

 animal. 



What has been said of the anterior limb applies in a great 

 measure to the posterior one. Both long and short bones dividing 

 their characters somewhat betwixt the Camelidse and Bovidas. The 

 middle shaft of the femur has not been discovered, so that the 

 precise length of this bone is unknown. With this deficiency, it 

 may be said broadly that all four limbs have not the delicacy of 

 pattern of the antelopes ; nor are they by any means equivalent to 

 the giraffes in length. Furthermore, they present a greater com- 

 parative stoutness relative to length than is found either in sheep, 

 goats, or deer. As has been hinted, with some faint resemblance to 

 camels, they most nearly assimilate to the heavy-limbed cattle tribe, 

 a dawning of pachyderm-like structure being intermingled. 



7. General taxonomic inferences, etc. — Revising, as I have done, 

 the data from which Falconer and Cautley drew their inferences, and 

 incorporating such new facts as science has furnished, it devolves 

 upon me to elucidate the creature's alliances, and suggest its probable 

 appearance, with hints as to habit. 



The most recent division of the ruminants into families gives the 

 grouping as follows' : — 1. Camelidce ; 2. Giraffidce; 3. Antilocapridce ; 

 4. BovidcB ; 5. Cervidce ; 6. MoscJiidce ; 7. Tragididce. 



The first and two last mentioned for obvious reasons may be 

 excluded as apart from our horned Sivathere, they being deficient 

 in such appendages. 



To the antlered Cervidce the Sivatherium only approximates in 

 seeming aspect. Its horns, while deciduous, being hollow and dif- 

 ferently situated, as has been proved. The Sivatlierium again is no 

 cerf, inasmuch as the fossil skull shows no supra or ant-orbital fissures. 

 Neither does the co-adaptation of lengthened nasals to maxillse and 

 premaxillge at all agree with what is the rule in all true deer. 

 Although the back of the skull and its base show a tendency to cervine 

 type, yet is the line of demarcation sufficiently distinct to strengthen 

 separation. Of cranial features, fleshy and bony, the Elk [Alces) is 

 almost the only deer exhibiting likeness to what obtains in Siva- 

 therium. But even it is trenchantly separate. 



The form of the lower jaw, and the dentition of Sivatlierium, are 

 those points which best ally it with the Cervidm. Nevertheless, it is 

 possible that some extinct forms may have existed bridging over the 

 line of separation spoken of. 



Although the Giraffidfr, can only boast of a single living species, 

 yet this family in geological epochs undoubtedly was a numerous 



1 Vide respectively Drs. Gray and Sclater, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1866, pp. 

 326, 401, and a previous paper by the latter, Brit. Assoc. Eeport, 1866. 



