£66 



EXISTING INDIAN ELEPHANT. 



urged, that they were possibly of distinct species, if they had 

 been procured from different parts of the Continent. 1 



The cases above adduced appear to establish the fact 

 beyond question, that the African Elephant varies in the 

 number of dorsal vertebrae from 20 to 21. 



Next, as regards E. primigenius, what reliable authority 

 has Prof. Schlegel for the conjectural assertion that the 

 Mammoth had but eighteen dorsal vertebrae and ribs ? The 

 solitary skeleton, 2 reputed to be nearly perfect, of that species 

 known up to the present time, is the famous Adams-skeleton, 

 preserved at St. Petersburg, and of it there is but one 

 original description extant, namely that of Tilesius, who 

 distinctly states that it possessed nineteen dorsal vertebrae 

 and as many ribs : ' Vertebrarum thoracis 19 tantum nume- 

 ravi, totidemque costas utriusque lateris, at plurimas e ligno 

 fabrefactas.' 3 If the statement could be trusted it would be 

 conclusive against Prof. Schlegel's argument. But there are 

 errors of observation in the account given by Tilesius, which 

 divest it of authority. He describes the neck as being built 

 up of six cervical vertebrae : ' Collum ex 6 vertebris com- 

 pressis et coarctatis coniposituni.' The seventh he appears 

 to have transferred to the dorsal series. In the large and 

 finely engraved figure which he gives of the skeleton, PL X., 

 21 vertebrae are indicated by spinous processes, jointly to the 

 loins and thorax, and 7 to the neck. Allowing three of these 

 to be lumbar, 18 would be dorsal, as conjectured by Professor 

 Schlegel. But grave imputations have recently been cast 

 upon this celebrated skeleton that, like that of the Mastodon 

 Ohioticus of the British Museum, it is a make-up derived 

 from more than one individual. 4 Professor Piazzi Smyth 



1 Prof. Schlegel throws out a conjec- 

 ture, that there may be more than one 

 kind of African Elephant ; and in sup- 

 port of it, he refers to two figures of 

 skulls in the ' Ossemens Fossiles,' Plate 

 iv. figs 2 and 10 of vol. i., as indicating 

 differences of length and width ; but I 

 believe that they are both of the same 

 cranium ; fig. 10 representing the front 

 aspect, drawn to a scale of one-twelfth, 

 and fig. 2, the basal aspect on a scale of 

 one-fifteenth. In the latter, the inter- 

 maxillary bones are necessarily fore- 

 shortened, from the position in which 

 the skull has been placed, causing a de- 

 ceptive appearance of short tusk-sheaths. 



2 Of the Mammoth-carcases which, 

 according to the statement of Middeu- 

 uorf, have subsequently been discovered 

 in Siberia, no osteological account, so 

 far as I am aware, has been published. 



(Bullet. Acad. Petersburg. Class. Phys. 

 iii. p. 150.) The observations of Gle- 

 boff refer to the structure of the pre- 

 served soft parts. (Bullet. Soc. Imp. 

 Mosc. 1846, xix. pp. 108-134.) 



3 Mem. Acad. Imper. des Scienc. de 

 St. Petersburg, 1815, torn. v. p. 503. 



4 The mounted 'Koch' skeleton in 

 the National Collection, presents the fol- 

 lowing vertebrae : 7 cervical, 19 dorsal, 

 4 lumbar, 3 sacral, and 19 pairs of ribs. 

 It was constructed according to this for- 

 mula, but the careful observations of 

 Dr. Warren, upon materials of well esta- 

 blished authenticity, indicate the follow- 

 ing numbers : 7 cervical, 20 dorsal, 3 

 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 20 pairs of ribs. 

 (Warren, Op. citat. p. 25). The lumbar 

 region appears to be built up of bones of 

 different individuals. 



