196 BRITISH FOSSIL ELEPHANTS. 



remarkable character in this fragment of an upper molar is its breadth of crown, which 

 exceeds any of the broad-crowned variety of E. antiquus ; the largest of E. primigenius I 

 have examined, being 4'9 inches in its maximum breadth. 



The bending of the plates backwards contrasts with just the reverse in No. 10 a, 

 although both belong to the same side of the upper jaw. This shows that the character 

 is of little use for diagnostic purposes. The above specimen displays external crimping 

 on the anterior border of the machaerides, but not affecting the entire thickness. 



The entire lower molar (No. 3, the Norwich Museum) from Thorpe, Norwich, 

 was the specimen which first led Falconer to doubt the unity of species of the British 

 Elephants, and is so far interesting. 1 It is a long and bent molar, with the crown 

 scarcely more than touched by wear. The breadth of crown and the thickness of inter- 

 vening wedges of cement are seldom so pronounced in the thick-plated and broad 

 tootli of E. antiquus and its very low ridge formula x 11 x in ll'2x3'8 is quite 

 remarkable as compared with the lowest expression of even the second true molar of E. 

 antiquus. The configuration of the tooth appears to indicate the last of the series. There 

 is no pressure-scar, or pronounced flattening posteriorly, which, however, could scarcely 

 appear in its condition of wear. The crown tails off posteriorly, as in all last 

 lower molars. These characters are decidedly in favour of its being that of a distinct 

 form from either of the British species already described, and might well have produced 

 doubts in the mind of one who had already differentiated the characters of its 

 congeners from the Sewalik Hills. The crown fragment, referred to by Falconer, 2 

 may be correlated with the other teeth with thick cement wedges ; but, besides the 

 vertical channellings, it shows some crimping. It has, however, the general appearance of 

 the E. meridionalis; but, as in all broken teeth, one cannot always be certain of their 

 diagnostic values, even in such a fragment as that shown in PI. XVIII, fig. 4, represent- 

 ing a morsel of a huge molar (No. r^ in the Jermyn Street Museum) from Mundeslet, 



where it was dug out of the blue clay of the Forest Bed. Judging from this small 

 portion, the original must have been, indeed, of enormous proportions. 



In Mr. Savin's Collection at Cromer, is a large lower left molar (No. 43) holding 

 fourteen ridges; besides a posterior talon there is a loss in front by detrition of not more 

 than a ridge. It is 10x4 inches in breadth, and must have been a stupendous tooth. 



No. 12, Norwich Museum, is a superb right lower last molar covered with matrix 

 from the Iron Pan, Forest Bed. It holds a? 13 a? in 11 X 3^ inches. 



The crown is narrow and considerably arcuated, and has much the aspect of the 

 narrow tooth of E. antiquus. The two anterior fangs support the first two ridges. All 

 are invaded excepting the posterior talon. The discs are inseparable in character from 

 the typical crown of E. meridionalis. It holds five ridges in 5^ inches. 



1 Op. cit., vol. ii, p. 130, and pi. xiv B, figs. 18 and 18 a. 



2 ' F. A. S.,' pi. xiv B, figs. 1 1 and 1 1 a. 



