ANIMALS OF LONG AGO 353 



in their general aspect. The vegetation consists, for the most part, 

 of genera that are still familiar in the meadows, woodlands and 

 forests of the present day. The assemblage of animals, too, be- 

 comes increasingly like that of our own time, as we follow the 

 upward succession of strata in which the remains are preserved. 

 ... As the manifold reptilian types died out, the mammals, in 

 ever-increasing complexity of organization, took their place in the 

 animal world. By the end of the Tertiary periods they had reached 

 a variety of type and a magnitude of size altogether astonishing, 

 and far surpassing what they now present. The great variety of 

 pachyderms" (thick-skinned animals) "is an especially marked 

 feature among them." 



THE PAL.a;OTHERIUM.— In the lowest Tertiary strata (Eocene) 

 remains have been found of an early mammal which has received 

 the name Palaeotherium (literally, ancient wild beast). It is thus 

 described in a volume called The Primeval World, published in 

 1876: "Its body was short, thick and ungainly; it had short but 

 very robust legs; the feet were supported by three toes enclosed 

 in a hoof; the head was immensely large, with a nose terminating 

 in a muscular fleshy trunk, or rather snout, like a Tapir's; eyes 

 small, dull and displaying little intelligence; the general size that 

 of a large Horse. Its remains have been found in such quantities 

 as to show that it must have lived in great herds in the valleys 

 round the Paris basin, the lacustrine districts of Orleans and 

 Argenton, the Tertiary formations of Rome, and the limestone plains 

 of the Isle of Wight. In each jaw it had six incisors and two 

 canine teeth ; its molar teeth resembled those of the Rhinoceros ; the 

 upper were square, with projecting ridges of diverse configuration ; 

 the lower, shaped like crescents. Their feet were divided into three 

 toes; in the Tapirs, the two fore-feet have four." 



The Palseotherium lived at the same time as the Anoplotherium 

 (literally, a beast without arms, or defenceless). Cuvier suggested 

 that this creature had an aquatic habit, but this is by no means 

 demonstrated. It was about the size of a Deer; it had divided 

 hoofs, a long tail, and may have been a ruminant; its build was 

 much lighter than that of the Palseotherium. 



ANIMALS OF EOCENE DATS. — In Eocene times hornless Deer 

 and Antelopes as well as herds of hog-like animals occupied the 

 land, and in the woodlands were the primitive ancestors of our 

 Lemurs, Hedgehogs, Squirrels and Bats. The Uintatherium 

 (literally, the wild beast of the Uinta Mountains) equalled the 



A A 



