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BRITISH FOSSIL ELEPHANTS. 



by Falconer, who examined the specimen in the Museum at Rome. 1 It was found in 

 " Volcanic Sands," in a railway-cutting between the latter city and Civita Vecchia. 



An instance of the " broad crown with the aggregated ridges " of A Variety is also 

 recorded by him. It is of the usual massive dimensions of the British specimens and 

 E. Namadicus, with a length of nearly 14 and a maximum breadth of crown of 4 - 5 inches ! 

 It holds the exceptional ridge formula of 24 plates, with a loss of the anterior portion of 

 the crown. The above and other fragments from the same locality, " St. Paulo," he 

 states, " present the marked characters of the species." 2 



There is a suggestive fragment of a right lower ramus in the British Mnseum, from 

 Rome. The same is figured and described by Falconer. 3 It holds portions of the 

 penultimate tooth, and is confirmatory of the thick-plated variety. 



Another remarkable and interesting tooth of the thick-plated variety is, according 

 to Falconer, " a last molar of the lower jaw, left side, nearly entire, the only deficiency 

 being in the anterior talon and part of the first ridge borne upon the large anterior 

 fang." 4 It is preserved in the Natural History Museum of Milan, and is from near 

 Verona. This tooth shows, apparently, evidence of x 12 x in a space of about 12 inches. 

 Now, such a formula applied to the ultimate molar of Elephas antiquus, in particular a 

 lower jaw specimen, is perfectly at variance with every other evidence, as far as I know, 

 of the number of ridges in that tooth. It is to be understood, however, that when 

 Falconer wrote his description of E. prisms he had a strong impression as to its specific 

 characters and alliance with E. Africanus rather than E. antiquus, although at the same 

 time impressed by the resemblances between the two latter in certain respects. It is 

 just possible that he may have been mistaken as to the number of lost ridges, or the 

 tooth may be a penultimate true molar ; or else the thick-plated variety often furnished 

 a minimum number of twelve plates besides talons, even in the mandible, which, if that 

 be the case, gives a wide range to the ridge formula in the ultimate true molar of the 

 thick-plated variety, thereby showing a pliability which must interfere materially with 

 other deductions. 



There is a tooth, No. 44,132, B. M., of precisely the same type as the broad-crowned 

 tooth, No. 40,385, B. M., referred to at p. 37. It is from the Via Appia, Rome, and is 

 unfortunately imperfect. There are several pebbles adhering to its sides. It holds four 

 ridges in 6*2 inches, and gives evidence posteriorly of at least two more ridges, so that 

 the tooth must have been either a penultimate or ultimate, possibly the latter. 



A very characteristic specimen, No. 8, B. M., of the narrow crown of B variety, also 

 from Via Appia, Rome, is shown in figs. 13 and 13 a of plate xiv a, ' F. A. S.' It is a 



1 'Pal. Mem.,' vol. ii, p. 185. 



2 Dr. F. likens this tooth to the Canterbury specimen described at p. 402, and shown in the ' F. A. S.,' 

 pi. xii D, figs. 5 and 5 a. 



3 Ibid., vol. i, p. 443, and vol. ii, p. 185 ; ' F. A. S.,' pi. xiv a, figs. 9 and 9 a. 



4 Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 101 and 193. 



