ELEPHANT AND MASTODON. 51 



Professor Owen, down to the close of 1844, appears to liave 

 held with Cuvier the opinion that the developed molars in the 

 Asiatic elephant amounted to seven or eight. This number, 

 adopted on the authority of Corse, is stated in his ' British 

 Fossil Mammalia.' ' But it was not likely that the true 

 numerical formula would escape the sagacity of this eminent 

 comparative anatomist when directed to the teeth of the 

 elephant in connection with those of the ordinary Pachyder- 

 mata. Accordingly, in the last part of his ' Odontography,' 

 while he agrees with M. de BlainviUe in attributing six 

 molars on each side of the jaws to this genus,^ he has made 

 a considerable step in advance of the latter anatomist in 

 regard to their signification. The occurrence of a vertical 

 successional premolar in the upper jaw of one or more species 

 of mastodon had previously established that the two anterior 

 grinding teeth in that genus are displaced, like the milk 

 teeth in the ordinary Pachydermata, by a vertical successor. 

 Professor Owen follows up this indication to its legitimate 

 conclusion, and infers that the third molar in the series of 

 antero-posterior succession in the mastodon is the last milk 

 molar, the vertical successional tooth by which it ought, nor- 

 mally, to be pushed out, usually remaining* imdeveloped. He 

 then extends this view to the dentition of the elephant, and 

 states that 'it is pi-obable that the three preceding teeth' 

 (namely, the three fii'st developed molars) ' are analogous to 

 the true deciduous molars of the ordinary Pachyderms.' ^ 

 The correctness of this opinion is susceptible of demonstration 

 by the dentition of an Indian fossil species which we have 

 named Elephas planifrons, to be described in this work. The 

 determination of the point was of great zoological interest, 

 by explaining the apparent anomaly which had hitherto 

 divided the teeth of the elephant from those of the allied 

 families in the order. 



Next, in regard to the establishment of the species. The 

 fossil remains of the mammoth had, during ages, attracted 

 more or less attention in every country in Europe, having 

 been found in England and in all parts of the Continent, 

 from Italy to Siberia. But it was only towards the close of 

 the last century that definite notions as to the species were 

 arrived at. Pallas, who had better opportmiities for deter- 

 mining the point than any of his contemporaries, upon the 

 perfect remains so commonly met with in Russia, erroneously 

 considered the fossil teeth to be identical with those of the 

 Indian species. A great advance was made in the inquiry 



' Owen, Brit. Foss. Mammal, part v. ^ Idem, Odontography, 1845, p. 626, 

 p. 225. and note p. 635. 



K 2 



^ Idem, loc. cit. p. G31. 



