FOSSIL MAMMALIA. 73 



the height of the mastodon. The result of the justest mea- 

 surements, and consequent calculations, seems to be, that it did 

 not exceed ten or twelve feet at most, a stature to which the 

 Indian elephant very commonly attains. The body, however, 

 of the mastodon appears to have been much more elongated, in 

 proportion to its height. The skeleton belonging to Mr. Peale 

 measured fifteen feet, from the end of the muzzle to the poste- 

 rior edge of the ischium. 



The bones of the feet differ, in some minute proportions, 

 from those of the elephant, and we may, in general, remark 

 that they are shorter and thicker. This is especially the case 

 with the metatarsus, and holds good in the phalanges. 



To conclude : the great mastodon, or animal of the Ohio, was 

 very similar to the elephant in the tusks and entire osteology, 

 cheek-teeth excepted. It most probably had a trunk; its 

 height did not exceed that of the elephant, but its body was 

 more elongated, the limbs thicker, and the belly not so volu- 

 minous. Notwithstanding these resemblances, the structure 

 of the molars is sufficient to constitute it a different genus. It 

 subsisted, pretty much like the hippopotamus and wild boar, 

 on roots and the stringy parts of vegetables. This kind of 

 food must have attracted it to marshy places, though it evi- 

 dently was not formed for swimming or living in the water, like 

 the hippopotamus, but was decidedly a terrestrial animal. Its 

 bones are much more common in North America than else- 

 where, and most probably are exclusively confined to that 

 country. They are better preserved and fresher than any known 

 fossils, yet there is not the slightest proof that any of the genus 

 are yet in existence. 



The Mastodon with narrow Teeth. — A number of teeth 

 have been discovered, from time to time, within the last hun- 

 dred and fifty years, in various countries, the origin of which 

 was by no means satisfactorily accounted for. These teeth 

 have been found in different parts of France, of Italy, of Ger- 

 many, and South America. Our author, from a close exami- 



