178 TEETIAET VEETEBEATA OF THE EAT^M. 



Suborder ART 1 1) ACTT L A. 

 Eamily ANTHRACOTHEEIID^. 



Genus ANCODON, Pomel. 



[Archiv. Sci. Phys. et Nat., Geneve, [4] vol. v. p. 207 (June 1847) (as a subgenus 



of Palai6tJierium.)~\ 



1848*- Bothriodon, Aymard, Ann. Soe. Agric. Sci., Arts, et Comm. du Puy, vol. xii. pp. 239, 



246-247, footnote (as a subgenus of Anthracotherium). 

 1848. Hyopotamus\, Owen, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. iv. p. 103. 

 1848. Ancodus, Pomel, op. cit. supra, [4] vol. viii. pp. 324-5 (raised to generic rank, and 



unnecessarily emended from Ancodon). 



At least two species referable to this genus occur in the Upper Eocene beds of the 

 Fayum, and from the comparative abundance of their remains these animals seem to 

 have been very common in the later Eocene period. As might be expected from their 

 somewhat earlier date, the species here described are rather more primitive in their 

 tooth-structure than are the forms from the Oligocene of Europe and America. This 

 is especially noticeable in the more brachyodont and less selenodont character of the 

 molars, which resemble to some extent those of Anthracotherium, but are still more 

 like those of the much later (L. Miocene) genus Brachyodus, remains of which, it 

 is interesting to note, have been found at Moghara, to the north-west of the Faytim. 

 It may eventually be necessary to separate the present species from Ancodon,, but on 

 account of the great general resemblance of the lower jaw of A. gorringei to that of 

 some of the European forms such as A. velaunus, it seems desirable, until a more 

 distinctive character than the slight differences in the teeth above referred to has 

 been found, to retain the same generic name for both. 



The skeleton in this genus has been described in detail by Kowalevsky J, Filhol §, 

 Scott II, and others, so that here it will only be necessary to give a short account of 

 the various specimens in the collection under their several numbers in the list below. 



* There is some doubt about this date, since wbile the titlepage of the voUime is dated 1846, the cover 

 has 1848. In spite of the fact that it has been authoritatively stated (see Bush, Amer. Journ. Sci. [4] 

 vol. xvi. (1903) pp. 97-98) that this volume was printed in 1847, it seems probable that the date on the 

 cover represents the date of issue (i. e. of publication), particularly as the author's separate copies are 

 known to have been dated 1848 also. This being the case, it seems desirable to adopt Pomel's name Ancodon 

 of 1847 for the genus. 



t Preoccupied in 1844 by Kaup for a genus of Hippopotamidae. 



X "On the Osteology of the Hyopotamidae," Phil. Trans. 1873, p. 19. 



§ '• Etudes des Mammiferes fossiles de Eouzon," Annales des Sciences Geologiques, vol. xii. (1882). 



II "Structure and Eelationships of Ancodus," Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, [2] vol. ix. (1884-95) 

 p. 401. 



