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of extraordinary size had been found in the bed of the Rio Salado, and 

 brought to Buenos Ayres from the Estancia of Don Hilario Sosa. On 

 inspecting them he was immediately struck with their resemblance to 

 the remains of the Megatherium formerly sent to the Museum at 

 Madrid by the Marquis of Loreto, and likewise procured in the pro- 

 vince of Buenos Ayres. These bones, the property of Don Hilario 

 Sosa, consisted of a pelvis, nearly perfect, a thigh bone, several ver- 

 tebrae, five or six ribs, and four teeth. After much solicitation Mr. 

 Parish became possessed of them, and in the hopes of procuring the 

 remainder of the skeleton, he deputed Mr. Oakley, a gentleman of 

 the United States, to make the necessary investigations. 



Mr. Oakley soon ascertained that other bones were imbedded in 

 the mud at the bottom of the river, and by diverting, in part, the 

 course of the stream, he succeeded in obtaining a scapula, an os 

 femoris, five cervical vertebras, several teeth, and numerous other 

 bones which were too much decayed to be preserved. 



Besides these valuable remains Mr. Oakley procured parts of two 

 other skeletons of the Megatherium ; one of them from a small rivulet 

 near Villanueva, and the other from the banks of the lake at Las 

 Aveiras. Both these skeletons were accompanied by a thick osseous 

 covering, or shell, considerable portions of which were preserved, and 

 orm part of the collection sent to England by Mr. Parish. 



The preceding history of the discovery of the bones of the Mega- 

 therium, was succeeded by an enumeration and description of them, 

 by Mr. Clift ; from which it appears that the parts of the skeleton 

 brought to England by Mr. Parish, although comparatively much 

 less numerous and complete than those in the specimen preserved in 

 the lloyal Cabinet at Madrid, fortunately include several essential 

 parts which are deficient in that specimen ; and that consequently from 

 the discovery of these remains, the history of the animal will be much 

 improved. Of the hitherto undescribed parts, the structure of the 

 teeth, — the existence of the pubis and ischium, — and a large propor- 

 tion of the caudal vertebrae, are the most important and essential 

 additions to our previous knowledge of this most singular and 

 stupendous creature. 



