CAMEL. 



233 



I 



Here we may express a regret as to the want of careful super- 

 intendence in excavating- and removing these fossils from the 

 stratum. It is possible, in the present case, that the whole 

 of the upper portion of this specimen might have been 

 obtained had proper care been taken in removing the cir- 

 cumjacent matrix. It will be seen that the upper portion 

 has been as it were cut off on a line with the alveoli of the 

 upper molars, leaving not only them but also the upper 

 canines in position. 



Fig. 5 ' represents the lower jaw of the existing Camel, and 

 placed in juxta-position with the fossil will convey a tolerable 

 idea of the form and character of both. The measurements 

 of the lower jaws are amiexed. 



This fossil is the remain of a very old animal ; the canines 

 and pointed teeth are worn down to a flat surface, and the 

 molars which can be partially examined, from the circum- 

 stance of the two jaws having been fossilized obliquely on each 

 other, appear to have lost all their enamel excepting the 

 exterior border. We before stated that, although the cranium 

 and facial bones were entirely removed, the lines of molars 

 on both jaws were in position ; the animal had, partly from 

 age and partly from accident, lost the first molar from the 

 right side of the upper jaw. This tooth must have dropped 

 out at an earlier period than nature had ever intended, and 

 the coronal surface of the corresponding tooth in the lower 

 jaw, for want of the wear which it ought to have had under 

 the natural course of detrition, is distinctly marked with its 

 crescentic lines of enamel. The fall of the tooth has further 

 led to a tendency on the part of the rear teeth to incline for- 

 wards and partially occupy its place ; this inclination had so far 

 ' Refers to Plate xx. vol. xix. of ' Asiatic Researches.' — [Ed.] 



