190 A. LEITH ADAMS ON GIGANTIC LAND-TORTOISES ETC. 



and that he had not touched upon any geological questions in it. 

 No judgment could be formed from Sicilian deposits, as there 

 seemed to have been no connexion between the islands ; and with 

 regard to the Maltese deposits, he stated that remains of Hippo- 

 potamus were found in breccia and in conglomerates in rock- cavities 

 which appeared to have been caves, and also in fissures with red soil 

 like that of the surface, containing angular fragments of the parent 

 rock. In one cavity he found whole carcasses of Elephants, just as 

 if they had been carried in suddenly, and filled in with earth by a 

 wave. The remains might have been derived from a Pliocene de- 

 posit broken up and swept into the cavities. 



Prof. Ramsay remarked that when the small Maltese Elephants 

 were first described he thought they were generally spoken of as 

 Miocene ; but this might be a misunderstanding. It was, however, 

 confirmed by the prevalence of Miocene rocks in Malta ; but the 

 gisement of these remains might be of later date. He was much 

 struck by the number of Tortoises, but regretted that it could not 

 be decided whether those from Gibraltar were land or freshwater 

 species. If the latter, their presence was exceedingly interesting, 

 fresh water being now so scarce in Gibraltar ; and such remains 

 occur in Gibraltar high up in the rock, where there is now no water. 

 This, it seemed to him, would indicate an enormous change in the 

 physical geography of the region. In a late visit to the north 

 coast of Africa, near Tangier, he had found what were probably 

 Jurassic strata very much contorted, and above them Coralline 

 sands, half consolidated at their junction with the Jurassic rocks ; 

 and here on the old land surface he obtained a jaw of an Elephant, 

 containing a molar tooth which proved it to belong to E. antiquus. 

 This was interesting, from the alliance of that species with the 

 existing African Elephant. From his point of view, he said, the 

 chief interest of the paper was its bearing upon the changes in the 

 physical geography of the Mediterranean and Aralo-Caspian areas. 



Prof. T. Rupert Jones remarked that some of the Maltese gravels 

 contain rock-matter not now existing in Malta. This indicates a 

 great lapse of time, a great depth of rock having been washed 

 away. 



Prof. Seelet inquired whether the author had examined into the 

 affinities of the large Maltese Chelonia and those from the Siwaliks. 

 He noticed differences in the form of the femur, reminding one of 

 the Indian forms, but perhaps indicating a still closer relationship 

 to American types. He inquired whether there was any apparent 

 relation of descent between the Miocene and later forms, and 

 remarked that it seemed to him there was evidence proving the 

 migration of animals and plants, with specific modification, from east 

 to west. With regard to the thickness of the plates of the carapace 

 and plastron, he said that this was no evidence of size. Thus Emys 

 crassus, although but a small species, has plates at least as thick as 

 those from Malta; and he had seen a Kimmeridge-clay species 

 which illustrated the same fact. 



