1857.] FALCONER MASTODON. 353 



the Red Crag, which Prof. Oweii refers, on the evidence of a single 

 upper and single lower molar, to the Miocene Tapirus prisons of Kaup. 

 Pliocene species of Tapir have been met with both in Italy and 

 France, one of which has been named T. Arvernensis (Croizet and 

 Jobert), and the other T. elegans"^ (Pomel) ; and a supposed third 

 species, T. minor of Marcel de Serres, has been yielded by the marine 

 sands of Montpellierf , The adduced evidence would seem hardly 

 sufficient to establish that the Crag molars do not belong to either 

 of these. And so also in regard to the Crag Suidce referred by 

 Professor Owen to the Eppelsheim species, Sus palcBOchoerus and 

 Sus antiquus of Kaup. The Crag specimens upon which the identi- 

 fication is founded are limited in each case to a single detached 

 upper molar. The tooth referred by Prof. Owen to Sus palcBO- 

 chcerus assuredly bears a very close resemblance to the figure of that 

 of the Eppelsheim species with which he compares it : but the evi- 

 dence, it must be admitted, is too limited to bear out a satisfactory 

 specific identification ; for aught that is shown to the contrary, except 

 a slight difference of size, both of the Crag teeth may belong to the 

 same species. An extinct species of Sus, S. Arvernensis of Croizet, 

 has been found in the Pliocene strata of Auvergne ; another supposed 

 species, jS*. provincialis of Gervais, in the marine Pliocene sands of 

 Montpellier ; and species, as yet undetermined, of the same genus, 

 occur in the Pliocene deposits of Italy. Is it certain that the "Red 

 Crag" molars of Sus differ from all these? 



The Equus of the Red Crag is stated by Professor Owen to resemble 

 in the molar teeth his Equus plicidens of the Oreston Cavern, re- 

 concileable with a Pliocene origin. The evidence respecting the 

 teeth of the form considered by Prof. Owen " as probably of the 

 swhgQxius, Hipparion" has not been adduced. This subgenus had 

 hitherto been regarded as strictly confined to Miocene strata, but 

 Gervais ;|: has attempted to distinguish several species from the marl- 

 beds of Curcuron in the Vaucluse, the age of which, whether Miocene 

 or Pliocene, he alleges, still remains to be determined. 



As regards the two Cervine Ruminants from the Red Crag, the de- 

 termination of the form which Prof. Owen refers to Cervus dicrano- 

 cerus of Eppelsheim rests upon two shed antlers and two detached 

 molars. The horns undoubtedly closely resemble those figured by 

 Kaup of that species ; but, as Prof. Owen states, a species present- 

 ing the rare character of a similar bifurcate form of antler, and 

 named Cervus australis by Marcel de Serres §, has been discovered 

 in the Pliocene marine sands of Montpellier ; and it has not been 

 shown that the Crag form differs specifically from it. The identifi- 

 cation which is most at variance with the conclusions hitherto ac- 

 cepted is that of the shed antler, said to be from a Crag-pit at 



* Pomel, Catal. Method, et Descript. p. 84. 



f Gervais, Paleontol. Francaise, torn. ii. p. 4. pi. 5. figs. 4 & 5. Genais doubts, 

 with De Blainville, whether the materials are sufficient at present to prove 

 that these Phocene nominal species really differ from the Tapirus priscus of 

 Eppelsheim. % Paleontol. rran9aise, torn. i. p. 177. 



§ Gervais, Paleontol. Francaise, tom. i. p. 85, pi. 7. figs. 1-3.* 



