140 BRITISH AND EUROPEAN FOSSIL ELEPHANTS. 



figured or described in the ' British Fossil Mammalia ; ' but 

 Professor Owen states that he had seen a very similar molar 

 of the Mammoth from the Norfolk freshwater deposits in the 

 collection of Mr. Fitch, of Norwich. 1 The authority for the 

 Staffordshire origin of Parkinson's molar being unreliable, 

 no weight can be attributed to it as indicative of the dis- 

 tribution of the species over England. 



b. Cranium. — No cranial fragment of E. meridionalis has 

 hitherto been recorded from strata in England. 



c. Lower Jaw. — A very fine lower jaw in the Irstead col- 

 lection has already been mentioned (antea, p. 132). It con- 

 sists of a right ramus, showing the whole of the body as far 

 as the middle of the symphysis, and the contour of the 

 posterior margin as high as the neck of the condyle ; the 

 coronoid apophysis and leafy expansion of the ala are broken 

 off. The greater j>art of the diasteme is present. 



The following are the principal dimensions : — 



Extreme length from the posterior margin of the ascending ramus to the broken 

 edge of the symphysis, 27'5 in. Length of alveolar border from the anterior mar- 

 gin of the ascending ramus to the diasteme, 9 - 5 in. Breadth of ascending ramus 

 in a line -with alveolar border, 12 - in. Height of alveolar border at outer edge 

 of ascending ramus, 5'7 in. Height of alveolar border in front near the diasteme, 

 7 - 7 in. Length of diasteme and symphysis remaining, 6'5 in. Vertical height of 

 ascending ramus to neck of condyle, 12-25 in. Transverse diameter at bulge of 

 ramus below the coronoid apophysis, 7'2 in. Length of crown occupied by the two 

 molars, 14 - in. Length of grinding-surface in use, 7'5 in. Number of plates in 

 use, 11. 



The peculiarities distinctive of this specimen from the 

 lower jaw of the Mammoth are: — 1, the comparatively low 

 elevation of the anterior end of the ramus, both absolutely 

 and relatively to the height at the coronoid margin ; in the 

 Mammoth the jaw attains, in old specimens, as much as 10|- 

 to 11 inches in vertical height ; in the Irstead specimen it is 

 but 7\ inches : 2, the long and gradual slope of the diasteme 

 into the beak; in the Mammoth it descends with a pitch 

 deviating but slightly from the vertical : 3, the long sym- 

 physis : 4, the greater length of the horizontal ramus in 

 relation to the width of the ascending ramus : 5, the less 

 sudden curve in the contour of the posterior angle and margin 

 of the ramus. The Irstead specimen differs appreciably also 

 from the lower jaw of E. (Euelephas) antiquus in points 

 which will be noticed in the comparison of that species in 

 the sequel. 



The Norwich Museum contains a very fine lower jaw of E. 

 meridionalis, comprising both horizontal rami, and, on the 

 right side, part of the ascending ramus, the leaf of the ala 

 being broken off. The diastemal ridges are perfect, and a part 



1 Catalogue of Fossil Mammalia and Aves, p. 240. 



