126 SALVADOR CALDERON ON THE FOSSIL 



remains of this class have been found either in the Silurian or in 

 the Devonian, which contain such abundance of them, in other 

 localities. 



The Trias is almost barren of fossils throughout the Peninsula ; 

 and the Permian probably does not exist there at all*. We have 

 but little information respecting the Jurassic ; and all the data re- 

 ferring to the rest of the Secondary period are still more defective ; 

 but it must be borne in mind that in general the information re- 

 specting the vertebrate fauna of the first epoch of that period, is 

 everywhere as incomplete as that respecting the deposits which date 

 their origin from it. 



The Tertiary formation, characterized by well marked generic 

 and specific forms of Mammalia, is well represented in the Miocene 

 formations of Spain, principally by Pachyderms, Ruminants, and 

 Proboscidea ; but in the other members of this series we have to 

 lament a great deficiency of data. No objects of flint have been 

 found similar to those collected by the Abbe Bourgeois, which gave 

 rise to the supposition that man may have existed in the Tertiary 

 period. 



It is only in modern times that the caverns of this country have 

 been explored, thanks to the lare Don Casiano de Prado, who, in his 

 memoir upon the geology of the province of Madrid, published an 

 appendix containing a list of all the caverns of Spain known to him. 

 The results obtained give reason to expect much from a detailed 

 examination of these caverns throughout the Peninsula, as there 

 are some which date from different epochs of the Quaternary period. 

 A cave near Ofiate, in Guipuzcoaf , has recently been imperfectly 

 explored, and a large number of remains of hyaena and bears have 

 been found in a good state of preservation. Pour specimens exist 

 in Madrid, in the Museum of Natural History and in that of the 

 Propagator Athenaeum of Natural Sciences. Dr. PalconerJ has 

 given us an account of the palaeontological riches of the celebrated 

 cavern of Gibraltar ; and as this and the one above mentioned are 

 situated at opposite extremes of the peninsula, we may reasonably 

 conclude that all the caverns merit our interest. It is therefore 

 unnecessary to enumerate many others equally curious. 



We now know that the principal characteristics of the singular 

 quaternary fauna of the South of Europe are well represented in the 

 soil of Spain by the presence of cave-bears and hyaenas, of the 

 urus, the horse, and the antelopes ; and we have no doubt that other 

 species, which we are surprised to miss, will be, sooner or later, 

 discovered to have been inhabitants of this peninsula. Discoveries 

 of bones which have been made justify us in afiirming the existence 

 of man during the Quaternary period. Por an account of the many 

 discoveries of objects relating to his industries, we refer to the pub- 

 lications of Professor Vilanova§. 



* Vilanova, Manual de Geol. Madrid, 1871. 



t Ann. de la Soc. Espan. de Hist, nat., t. ii. Actas. 



\ Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxi. p. 364. 



§ Origen, naturaleza y antiguedad del hoinbre. Madrid, 1872. 



