E. (LOXODON) MERIDIONALIS. 113 



being intact. In consequence of the plane of advanced wear 

 intercepting the ridges obliquely, the enamel-plates appear 

 to slope a great deal where they emerge from the cement, 

 and the edges project much above it. The ninth ridge, 

 which is but slightly abraded, exhibits eight or nine distinct 

 thick digitations. The crown contracts a good deal towards 

 the hind talon, which is enveloped by a thick mass of cement. 

 The principal dimensions are — 



Extreme length of crown, about 11-0 in. Width, of crown at the fourth ridge, 

 4-3 in. Width of ditto at base of ninth ridge, 4-0 in. Height of enamel-plate at 

 tenth ridge, 4 - 5 in. 



In this specimen, all the characters noticed as distinctive of 

 the anterior true molars are strongly marked. There are 

 thirteen main ridges in a length of 11 inches, being an 

 average of about 0*85 inch to each ; and, taking the talons 

 into account as distinct ridges, there would still be an ave- 

 rage of about 0*75 inch to each ridge. The relatively low 

 elevation of the ridges and the very great width of the 

 crown are also remarkable. 



The last molars present in the crania above referred to 

 differ hi no respect from the one just described, more than 

 is necessarily dependent on their more advanced state of 

 detrition. The lower down they are ground the wider is the 

 expansion of each disc, and the more approximated are the 

 enamel-plates of the contiguous ridges. In all of them the 

 enamel-plates are thick, deeply channelled on the outer 

 surface, but hardly ever plaited, the inner edge being even 

 or disposed in easy flexures. 



A very fine illustration of the characters of the palate and 

 two last true molars on either side is presented by the Monte 

 Pulgnasco specimen discovered by Cortesi, and figured by 

 him in the ' Saggi Geologici,' tab. 1, fig. 1. It was found at 

 no great distance from the classic cranium of Monte Zago, 

 upon which Cuvier founded his Rhinoceros leptorhinus, as an 

 extinct species devoid of any bony partition between the 

 nostrils. Both specimens are now preserved ha the Natural 

 History Museum of Milan, and, by the permission of Dr. 

 Emilio Cornalia, I had an opportunity of examining them 

 minutely. The precise identification of both is of consider- 

 able importance in the general argument of the Mammalian 

 Fauna of the Pliocene period in Europe. The skull of the 

 Rhinoceros is exactly as Cuvier in the first instance, and 

 Dr. Cornalia subsequently described it, i. e. without a trace 

 of an external nasal septum. The mutilated cranium of the 

 Elephant is a superb fragment, comprising the maxillaries 

 and palate, with the penultimate and last true molars of E. 

 meridionalis. The penultimate is nearly worn out, the discs 



VOL. II. I 



