140 



Fig. 30. 



BRITISH FOSSIL ELEPHANTS. 



Fig. 31. 



Fig. 32. 



E. Asiaticiis. (Collection of 



Royal College of Surgeons, 



No. 2675.) 



E. Africanvs. (Collection 



of Royal College of Surgeons, 



No. 2847.) 



E. Asiaticus. (Collection of 



Royal College of Surgeons, 



No. 2674.) 



Expansion of the mandible. — The mandible of the Mammoth expands more at the 

 angles and between the condyles than in either of the recent species. The ascending rami 

 converge more at their summits in the Asiatic than in the Mammoth and E. meridionalis. 

 I have not seen a mandible of E. antiquus with the condyles preserved, but otherwise this 

 character is like that of the Mammoth as regards the greater relative breadth of the jaw 

 at the middle and base of the ascending rami. This expansion at all stages of growth is 

 marked in these extinct forms, as compared with the Asiatic Elephant ; and shows a 

 relatively broader jaw, at all events as far as the Mammoth is concerned. There is 

 likewise a relatively greater expansion of the mandible of E. meridionalis than in 

 the Asiatic, especially about the angle of the ascending rami. 



Posterior border. — The posterior border of the ascending ramus of the Mammoth and 

 Asiatic are much alike, being more rounded than in that of the other British fossil 

 Elephants and the African species, demonstrating the contrast just referred to in relation 

 to the length of the horizonal ramus. 



The inferior margin of the lower jaw of E. meridionalis shows " a well-marked 

 concave arc," which I have not seen in any ramus of the Mammoth. 



The dental canal. — In both the Mammoth and Asiatic Elephant the posterior and 

 inner border of the ascending ramus usually descends from the inner side of the condyle, 

 and is lost after passing the rim of the dental canal, whilst it is still traceable in the 

 African to the angle, at all events in many specimens of the latter I have been enabled to 

 follow its course to that point which does not seem possible in the jaws of the other two 

 species. 



The canal looks directly upwards in the Mammoth and Asiatic (Woodcuts, figs. 33, 

 34, 35, and 37). This I have noticed is almost constant; indeed, I have only seen the 

 exception (fig. 35), which is recorded at p. 103, where the opening is low down and 

 directed backwards. In E. meridionalis, E. Jfricanus, and, as far as a single imperfect 

 specimen (Woodcut, fig. 36) extends, in E. antiquus, the opening is also directed inwards. 



